The first thing I wanted to do after seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past was to go back in time and watch it again. Sheer excitement and mutant thrills, with a delicious dark flavor and effects verging on the hallucinogenic – especially that one scene…
The future, my friends, is a dark and desolate place, full of danger. Even the X-Men, with all their amazing powers, are feeling the pressure. How to deal? Easy, just go back to 1973 and change one small detail to make the future (I mean the present) look bright again. Time travel has its tricky spots, but perhaps for that very reason, it never loses its allure. They really work it well here, even if they missed a logical turn or two, I was so involved in the action, I certainly didn’t notice.
The gang is all here, and I mean all here. Days of Future Past neatly solves the potential disconnect between the X-Men films, with a story line that goes back to the past connecting the X-Men ensemble of Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellan) to the adventures of their younger selves – Charles (James McAvoy) and Erik (Michael Fassbender) of the fine film X-Men: First Class.
The amusement factor of retro moments is a nice counterpoint to all the death and danger. The era references are sweet immersion in nostalgia indulgence, from Roberta Flack’s version of Ewan McColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, to lava lamps, water beds and curtains with that wavy brown print that people apparently thought was attractive 30 years ago. Rabbit foot keychains, personalized license plates, the 70s references abound (there are a few more in the photo above) – how many can you find?
Rivaling Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) for my current X fave (which is hard to do, because what could possibly be cooler than shape-shifting?) is Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Not because he is such a likeable character, au contraire. He is the ultimate obnoxious teen, but really, can you blame him? No wonder he feels misunderstood, as you will see… My only complaint about this film: not enough Ellen Page.
No friends, there will be no spoilers here because I hate them. Just go see the movie. Really, you should. Full and proper disclosure: I think the world of Marvel is simply marvelous, and I take every opportunity to visit there, again and again.
See X-Men opens today – May 22nd – in Israeli theatres. See you there!
X-Men: Days of Future Past (USA, 131 min, 2014, English with Hebrew subtitles)
Directed by Bryan Singer; Screenplay: Simon Kinberg; Based on Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont and John Byrne; Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen.
