For as much as I lament the fact that Hollywood is mass producing superhero films as quickly as they can write them, I really should just accept the fact that they're here to stay. After each one I always tell myself, "okay, that wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I'm really just tired of them. I think I'll skip the next one." Then, like a sad Alzheimer's patient, I find myself in the same theater watching the same superhero movies with different heroes again saying the same thing over. It's like Groundhog's Day, except they won't stop making them if I start becoming a good person. And... AND... if they finally decide they are done with the movies, someone else will go "fuck you and your tired ideas. I'll just reboot the shit out of it. Suck it Tobey Maguire." Because let's face it; there's still a shit ton of superhero movies in the works right now. All of them culminating in the Justice League or the Avengers or Gleep Glorp and the Floopdy Doos. This is the genius of it all. You make seven solo movies for one collective movie. Then, you can make sequels to the solo movies that lead up to a sequel of the collective movie. Then, you can make part threes and spin offs and circle jerks and all the like! They're a never ending road of superhero medusas!
Was X-Men: Days of Future Past a noble and valiant effort in the X-Men series? Yes. Was it better than your average, mindless summer popcorn flick? Absolutely. Was it loaded with talented people who are the only thing keeping the franchise alive? Definitely. Was it a little audacious that they insinuated that JFK was a mutant? Probably. The biggest problem with superhero movies is they know what not to do. They know why no one wants to see another Hulk movie. They know why X-Men: First Class belongs in the same toilet. These writers and filmmakers are starting to get it: ground the magic in reality. If somehow we can make these films as realistic as possible, get some top-notch actors that will persuade people to come even if they aren't fans of the comics, and really refine the CGI from the previous films and improve on it... people will come. That's what sucks! If all of these movies were Green Lantern status, the superhero genre would be dead. But no, we have to get amazing actors and great writers and respected directors to come and show us how good a superhero movie can be. I mean, come on, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence are Academy Award nominated people! What are they doing in X-Men???
Kicking ass is the answer. Yes, this movie was very good. I'm just very tired of superhero movies. I'm tired of the unoriginality of Hollywood. I'm tired of seeing the words "BASED ON" in the credits of every movie I see now. As a budding screenwriter this does not bode well for me. I'm just tired of them. And when I see them, I somehow think this will be the one. The one that keeps me away for good. And just like the one before it, it somehow gets better. This time around we begin with our old X-Men buddies in the actual future. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellan), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), and Storm (Halle Berry) live in a desolate future where giant sentinels track and kill any mutants they find alive, and there aren't much left. The Earth is a doomed place that will find itself extinct very shortly if something isn't done. The solution: send Wolverine back to the 70s to stop the event that led to this outcome. To do it, he's going to need the help of younger Charles Xavier (James MacAvoy), younger Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence). Together, they need to take down the man who began the sentinel program, Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). Yeah, it's kinda weird that the bad guy is a midget... but that was actually something I thought was pretty genius. He's trying to extinguish all mutant life on earth, yet dwarfism itself is actually a genetic mutation. This is never brought up in the film, which serves only to make the film a little bit smarter. (Damn it.)
Anyhoo, problems ensue, lines get crossed, attitudes need adjusting and shit goes cray. What can I say? It's an X-Men film. And save for that garbage heap of a third movie and all the Wolverine spin-offs, there's really nothing that terrible about an X-Men movie. Even these sequels/prequels to the original three have been solid. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that makes these movies special. It's probably the fact that they find ways to stay fresh in a rotting superhero world. They're able to bend superhero convention, even when you know exactly how the entire story is going to turn out. I don't want to say there's a "twist" at the end, but whatever it was I called it from a mile away. However, that didn't take away from the movie. By this point, we know the structure of a superhero movie. But, with the talent behind this film, it doesn't matter that it plays out exactly as you know it is going to. It's like reading a book and watching it in your mind. Then, the excitement of seeing it adapted to the big screen. It's fun to see what elements you imagined are the same on screen.
What keeps X-Men fun is undoubtedly it's writing and, moreso it's cast. It takes itself seriously, but doesn't shy away from humor and wit. The actors are invested in their roles, yet appear to be having a blast. It's serious, yet fun. It's action-packed, yet reserved. It's what good superhero movies should be. If you're not going to go super Dark Knight on us, at least let us have a good time while we're watching. And it does. For the first time in awhile, while leaving a superhero movie I was thinking about it afterward and wanted to watch it again. And don't worry comic book nerds, there's still plenty for you to conspire about afterwards. There's even a post-credits scene that's going to get a bunch of virgins collectively theorizing about all over reddit while simultaneously watching porn on vine.
X-Men: Days of Future Past essentially erases all the damage caused by the third film and shows us that there's at least a few people hired to make superhero movies who know what they're doing. I enjoyed it, but I really am sick and tired of these movies. I beg of you... bring back the original film. People want to see them. Until then, if we're stuck with it, at least let them be the caliber that this film was.
B+
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