X-Men Days of Future Past is the latest entry
in the Multi-Million Dollar X-Men franchise starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick
Stewart, Ian McKellen and Halle Berry.
This entry finds the popular mutants in a dystopian future in which
mutant life is all but obliterated by Sentinels, Government robots created to
remove the mutant race from the face of the Earth. Veteran of the series Hugh Jackman returns as
the claw-wielding Wolverine, who must travel back to 1973 to prevent the
horrific actions which led to the eventual near extermination of the
mutants. While the title and plot may
sound complex, this entry is by far the best X-Men film and most enjoyable
experience you will have in a 3D cinema in 2014. Here are 5 reasons this New X-Men film is
worth the 3D price:
1.
The BEST mutants are back! It has been awhile since we last saw the
original cast of the Million-dollar Trilogy including Halle Berry’s
Storm, Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde. One of the key highlights of the new film is
seeing the veterans again in adrenaline-driven action scenes that are sure to
satisfy long-time fans of the series.
While the veterans do not have lengthy screen times, they are given
pivotal scenes especially Kitty Pryde whose special powers aid Wolverine in
travelling back in time to prevent the war that ends with the decimation of the
mutants. Fans of the original films will
salivate at the spectacular action sequences featuring their favorite mutants.
2.
Year’s
Best 3D Visual Effects! Few will argue that Days of Future
Past contains the best visual effects of any 2014 film thus far. Even the CGI laden ‘Godzilla’
has no sequences that equal the jaw-dropping visuals of the scene featuring new
mutant Quicksilver. Due to his ability
to run faster than the speed of light, Quicksilver is given the task to break
X-Men nemesis Magneto out of a jail cell hundreds of feet below the
Pentagon. The ensuing scene in which
everything is seen in slow motion but Quicksilver is the most exhilarating
experience you will have in a 3D cinema all year. Quicksilver appears to leisurely stroll as
everyone around him moves in extreme slow motion while he sets traps for
security guards making his rescue of Magneto and subsequent escape both amusing
and breathtaking. This is indeed one of
the best action sequences ever created for a super-hero film.
3.
Jennifer Lawrence is even MORE
spectacular!
Jennifer Lawrence as the villainous Mystique was a highlight of the last
X-Men film, ‘First Class’.
In ‘Days of Future Past’
Lawrence’s role is intensified with grand action
sequences which showcase the Oscar-winning actress’
ability to handle complex stunt work.
Lawrence is at her best in her ‘almost nude’,
blue body paint as she plots to murder a diabolical scientist Bolivar Trask who
plans to wipe out the mutant race and frequently conducts fatal experiments on
non-humans. What Mystique does not know
is that her assassination of Trask results in the forced roll out of his giant
robots engineered to eliminate all mutant life. Trask is played by popular Game of Thrones
actor Peter Dinklage which should make many fans of the HBO series very happy
since he is convincing as the obsessed scientist.
4.
New Mutants are visually impressive! As in the previous entries, we are introduced
to a barrage of new mutants with peculiar powers. The movie opens with new faces including
popular comic book character Bishop (Omar Sy), who has the ability to absorb
energy and redirect it at will. He is
aided well by other new faces including Asian beauty Blink (Fan Bingbing) with
the ability to create portals for teleportation and Sunspot, a mutant whose
super strength is powered by the sun.
While these heroes have little or no lines I found them quite
entertaining as Director Bryan Singer gives them pivotal action sequences to
showcase their powers which result in some truly spectacular visual effects
moments. I particularly liked the always
silent Blink whose teleportation power provides stunning splashes of colour and
awe-inspiring moments as she aids her fellow mutants to escape imminent death by using her portals. Though she is given no lines, popular Chinese
actress Fan Bingbing is stunning to look at and brings a sense of urgency to
the role of Blink. Definitely one of my
favourites.
5.
Wolverine still rules and Halle finally
gets Storm right. Despite all the new impressive mutants
including Bishop and Quicksilver, Hugh Jackman’s
Wolverine is the highlight of the film.
Once again Jackson’s brutish mutant gets the best laughs
and most intense action sequences; the actor gets it right every time. Sent back in time to stop Mystique from
unknowingly instigating the war to end the mutants, Wolverine claws his way
through Government bad guys, giant mutant hungry robots and even has time for a
hilarious nude scene which Jackman himself wanted to remain in the final cut of
the film. Wolverine fans will not be disappointed
since he practically takes over the entire film and does so in grand
style. It really is hard to imagine
another actor in the role; Jackman is truly tour-de-force.
Unlike Wolverine, X-Men fans have not
always been pleased with the interpretation of weather-controlling mutant
Storm. While Oscar-winner Halle Berry
tries her best, and no one blames her for the problem with the character, in
the previous films Storm has little to do and disappears for long periods
perhaps because the writers are not quite sure how to fit such a domineering
comic book character into the overall plot.
I was worried about her appearance in this new entry since Berry
admitted that she could not do the high intense stunts required due to her
pregnancy which might make her appearances even shorter than previous
films. However, this is not exactly
true. Thanks to a genius move by
Director Singer and a spectacular performance by Berry, Storm is given a vital
scene in which she is finally allowed to display her full powers. Fans of the comic book version of Storm will
be fully satiated as the character does not have many scenes but plays a key
role in a particularly intense action sequence. Storm soars again and this time
Berry and the writers get it just right!
Ratings: ***** out of 5
Review by Timothy Austin
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