X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

A Blast From the Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past is an ambitious film uniting both members of the old cast from the original trilogy and the new younger faces of X-Men: First Class. The plot follows Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) as he is sent back in time to the 1970's to prevent the assassination of Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) and avert a dystopian future in which nearly all mutants have been hunted down and killed.

Although the plot follows the character of Wolverine for the most part, the true stars of the film are Mystique or Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) and Professor X (James McAvoy). Whereas Fassbender's Magneto stole the show in First Class, in this film McAvoy steals the limelight with a truly emotional character arc with one highlight especially being a scene shared with the future Professor X (Patrick Stewart) that contains some fantastic acting on both parts. It's a testament to the screenplay and the writers that the film mostly manages to juggle the high number of characters and complex plot relatively well. While it was nice to see some of the old cast return, they are very much left aside while the newer cast along with Jackman deal with events unfolding around them.

James McAvoy as Professor X

As with many great ensemble films, this film gives each character something to do while even introducing new characters in the process. One notable example is Quicksilver (Evan Peters) who has some truly humorous and spectacular sequences. The action is excellent and the Sentinels, particularly in the future, are a formidable foe. Bryan Singer returns to this franchise with his last film being X2 and admirably picks the mantle back up without any cause for concern. There is enough fan service there to please those who like the comics and enough story and character to keep the average cinema audience entertained. The film also contains enough lighter or comedic elements, an important point in a film about a dystopian future where there is a danger of too many darker themes.

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Michael Fassbender as Magneto

A minor issue I had with the film was that it did feel a little bloated. The X-men franchise is well known for its wide and varied cast. Part of the fun of these films is seeing all the different mutants, their powers and what they can do. But with new mutants introduced every film, you could see why this could be a problem. I was a little disappointed to see some characters from X-men First Class removed entirely from this plot, with their absence being explained away quite arbitrarily. In addition, many characters are reduced to simple cameos. It will be interesting to see how this is addressed in X-Men: Apocalypse which is slated for a 2016 release. And yes, there are moments that hint towards this next film, particularly if you stay for the end credits Easter egg.

Nevertheless, X-Men: Days of Future Past is a fantastic return to the X-Men franchise for Bryan Singer. Although some of the film feels like course correction after the much disliked X3, there is plenty here to enjoy. Xavier's relationship with Raven is a fascinating one and is explored more in this film, seeing Logan interact with past versions of characters is as amusing as it is interesting and the action looks great. If you're looking for an X-Men film done right, you could do a lot worse than Days of Future Past.

My 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2014

2014 is shaping up to be a great year for movies. Although some films have already been pushed to next year, there are still plenty of hyped up blockbusters coming our way as well as I'm sure, some under the radar hits. Here's my top 5 list (so far):

1) X-Men: Days of Future Past

I'm a big X-men fan and have enjoyed to varying degrees each installment of the franchise so far. Bryan Singer is back in the director's chair for this one after leaving the franchise following X-2. The film is toting a massive cast mixing both the cast of First Class and the original trilogy. The likes of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry and Jennifer Lawrence are just some of the big names returning to this one. The film will also feature new characters such as Quicksilver, Bishop and Blink. The plot will follow the X-men in both a dystopian future and the past, as they try to fix their future timeline in the past using time travel. It remains to be seen whether Signer will be able to reach the critical acclaim of his own X-2 and First Class or disappoint fans with another X-3 by Ratner. However, early impressions of this one look good.

70's? Check.

2) Godzilla

I wasn't massively aware of this film until rather recently. Starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Aaron Taylor Johnson (Kick Ass) the film will follow, well, Godzilla as he wreaks havoc through cities. Its a story that's been told many times now, but this take promises to offer something fresh while going back to the original from the 50's. It's still early but with a May release coming up this is one to keep an eye on. Not convinced? Check out this trailer...

3) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The second installment of the Captain America films, this latest Marvel foray into it's First Avenger's escapades promises something different to the first. Playing out more like a conspiratorial/political thriller, Cap must team up with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) to face the Winter Soldier. The film will also surely address Captain America's adjustment to modern life and the fallout from The Avengers while also teasing for the next Marvel films.

Chris Evans as Captain America and Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow

4) The Amazing Spiderman 2

I wasn't a huge fan of the first Amazing Spiderman film. The Raimi films had done a good job of setting up the character and his origin, something that I felt didn't need to be rehashed again while I found the Lizard to be a lesser villain than those shown in the previous films. However, this sequel promises more action, more villains and greater stakes for Spiderman. It looks like Sony Entertainment Pictures is taking a leaf out of Marvel's books and trying to form their own Spidey universe, with a Sinister Six title already green lighted as well as future Spidey titles. I'm interested to see where this goes and I hope Marc Webb can pull it off.

Andrew Garfield as Spiderman/Peter Parker

5) Interstellar

My final pick is Interstellar. I'm a huge fan of Christopher Nolan's work from Memento to the Dark Knight trilogy to Inception. He has a great sense of story and knows how to craft a great plot. The fact that little is known about Interstellar is making me even more excited as Nolan is not only capable of making great films but also great blockbuster films that not only entertain but make money. The fact that this is an original film is greatly exciting. This sci-fi flick about black holes and the exploration of space will star Matthew McConaughey and will release later this year.

So those are my top 5 anticipated picks for movies (so far) this year. Tell me yours in the comments below? Any of these films feature on your top 5?

If you missed my top 5 most anticipated games for 2014, you can check that out here: My 5 Most Anticipated Games of 2014