X-Men: Days of Future Past

I admit that there are some shortcomings when it comes to the profiling of the characters and their interactions, where the reasons someone is doing what they are doing are not always convincingly explained. However, the film manages to be sufficiently entertaining, tense and riveting that I didn’t start thinking about those issues until I left the theatre. In the cinema it was excellent, uninterrupted fun. In short, a very pleasant time spent with old (and new) friends. I liked Evan Peters as Quicksilver, there could have been more of him, his scenes are interesting and fun. Overall, I had more fun than with the (IMHO) overrated First Class. (30/05/2014)

I have to say for the first hour I was completely screwed and had no idea what was going on in the movie. This lasted till the end of the movie, just so I could, with a twist from the future to the past with a stop in the alternative present (which is all this instalment is about), understand that this film cancelled everything the X-Men encountered in the previous movies. Suddenly, the dead from the previous instalments were alive, the bastards were made more human and Bryan Singer created a brand new world he would happily draw from in the future. As for the fans, this movie was quite a mindfuck. (24/05/2015)

Hollywood’s dogs and cats baked a cake where they wanted to include everything and everyone across universes, time, and space. And as a result, there is no space or time on the screen for anything or anyone. Everything is so rushed that what was the biggest strength of X-Men until now, completely vanishes. I mean the exploration of the characters, their development, their fears, their relationships with each other and the resulting emotions. Here, everyone is invariably relegated to the roles of emotionless puppets reciting big words, interrupted here and there by some mandatory blockbuster action. Moreover, the action is only there for its own sake; which doesn't mean it's bad in itself because it's not. Singer bit off more than he could chew, which is even more of a shame because now and then there is a flash of genius (mostly thanks to the cast), that shows how good it could have been if someone in charge realized that less is sometimes much more. (21/05/2014)

In the case of this film, The Rogue Cut is absolutely crucial, or if Anna Paquin is not in it, then I’m not interested. The result of this change is a distinctly compact work that will engage and not offend even comic book readers. It almost seemed that this old (by today's standards) franchise was over, but now it has gained a second wind and is boldly competing with The Avengers. Rogue nostalgia and the return of characters like Phoenix made me feel better. Of the new characters, Quicksilver got to everyone, while the one in The Avengers was downright lukewarm (even though he had his sister by his side). Well, I'm going to have to watch it again soon. (31/07/2015)

The new X-Men will disappoint especially those who hope that Singer will pick up exactly where he left off, i.e., that after years he will again make a film that will improve on the genre of comic films. Times have changed, and so have Xavier's boys. The series has clear rules, poetics that it supplements easily rather than develops rapidly (as was the case with the groundbreaking X2). It can be said that Singer is merging the old and the new world. Of course, unlike Vaughn, his retro isn't that light-footed, and yet it has a great energy in places. In fact, it only fails in the finale, which falls asleep instead of escalating. Other objections include the fact that Days of Future Past only repeats what we have seen several times, fails to progress the characters (with the exception of Mystique, who is unexpectedly active and important, and she is simply no longer "an object of the professors' wills"... I still have to ask, whose perverted idea was it to make Jennifer Lawrence a symbol of Hollywood emancipation?... nevermind), whilst rather sketches the new characters and uses them as a bearers of interesting action skills. The fact is, however, that Singer focuses entirely on the central characters (Charles, Erik and Logan). Watching the new crew is ballbusting, as both McAvoy and Fassbender are full of energy, cynicism and inner drama. Particularly young Magneto bends space-time towards him uncompromisingly. The old men are more like pitied and melancholic characters. In addition, I completely failed to decipher how they relate to the original trilogy (especially Charles). Another continuum? Maybe. In the end, Days of Future Past is not a riveting act of the "builder of worlds", but for the most part great maintenance of the poetics of the series, its anchor and at the same time a restart. And it is only slightly worse than First Classs. After it ended, I thoughtfully wondered whether the times when similar comic films had redefined the complex relationship between blockbuster and reality are behind us. The gap between the X-Men, Batman, and the formerly frivolous escapists is beginning to be closed on a tolerable compromise that has a certain edge, but at the same time does not irritate in the slightest and does not explore new territories as intensively as a few years ago. Time will tell. [75%] (17/05/2014)