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)

The best comic book movie? No, seriously not. A character driven special effects picture that reflects fear of the future, plays around with historical facts to outrageous lengths, while not becoming any less entertaining, foreboding and, primarily, tense. And that’s quite rare. It’s been a long time since I actually feared for a character and every digression from the original timeline raised my eyebrows. The explanation of time travel is absolutely exemplary, mutation is a great way how. The cast is commanded by Fassbender and McAvoy (their scenes are flawless), Jackman too, even if his Wolverine stays a bit in the background. A perfect screenplay, sure direction and mainly a pure-blooded, intelligent blockbuster. Best scene: Pietro vs. bodyguards. (25/05/2014)

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)

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)

Time travel means paradoxes and cracks in space, agency, and logic. I can fault it for the fact that it disrespectfully kicks its older brethren in the balls from its position as a successor to the original trilogy, and it does so with the conscious vigor that Matthew Vaughn and Bryan Singer brought back to the franchise last time, and from the relieved position of the spiritual father, rewrites the universe in the way we adored him for a decade ago, letting the superheroes talk rather than drawing swords from their wrists. It has the support of the actors, with Jackman cracking one-liners, Fassbender staring stubbornly, and McAvoy forgetting to shave his beard. Yet they work with complete certainty, turning a complicated script into a blockbuster joy that multiplies in every additional action scene (albeit that one is really hard to top). I actually do have one major complaint about it: I wanted more of the old group. But you can't stop the (r)evolution. 4 ½. (27/05/2014)