2011’s X-Men: First Class saw the past of everyone’s favourite mutant superheroes become the future of their current cinematic timeline. In an attempt to reset the opinions of audiences after the misfire that was 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, the younger versions of the genetically different gang were given their time to shine. The successful depiction of their 1960s origins started to reshape the history of the Marvel characters on-screen, paving the way for further installments to continue the job. With X-Men: Days of Future Past, that task is brought to fruition in the most obvious manner possible, reuniting the old and the new to forge a refreshed path.
Director Bryan Singer, last seen at the helm of franchise starters X-Men and X2, also returns to cement the feeling of déjà vu that marks the latest outing. We’ve seen his bag of tricks before, just as we’ve seen his protagonists; what the filmmaker lacks in surprises, he attempts to gain by throwing everything viewers know and love into the same incident-filled feature. The result is an evident amalgam of the apparent best of both iterations, shot with aesthetic patience and precision, and mixed in with dystopian drama and temporal hijinks. That urgency and a strong adversary are absent, as well as anything but cursory enactments of the main characters, seems irrelevant to the mega X-Men movie mash-up.
Based on the 1981 Uncanny X-Men two-issue comic book storyline of the same name, Days of Future Past tells of a not-so-distant time in which Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart, Hunting Elephants) and his cohorts are the targets of a genocide campaign to reclaim the supremacy of regular humans. Only by sending the consciousness of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, Prisoners) back to 1973 can the mutants hope to save their kind from extinction, enlisting the help of the younger Professor (James McAvoy, Filth), Beast (Nicholas Hoult, Warm Bodies) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave) to quell the murderous intent of Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle) against military scientist Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage, TV’s Game of Thrones), the man who sets the future scenario in motion.
In getting the group together, part of the charm of First Class came from seeing the struggles of series stalwarts Xavier and Magneto as they came to terms not only with their nature, but also with their complicated bond in its formative stages. Here, the two sides of the relationship are on display, though for appearances sake only. The Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) version somberly pal around, and the McAvoy and Fassbender version tussle bitterly over ideology, each blessed with excellent performances yet missing any semblance of development. A similar neglect of everything other than plot-driven details thwarts the remainder of the long list of characters, both familiar and not-so.
Instead, when Simon Kinberg’s (This Means War) script isn’t relegating dialogue to rudimentary exposition with lashings of humour, it relishes action – as does Singer’s execution. From the opening attacks by giant robotic foes that set the scene for the mutants’ dire situation, to a high-stakes prison break partially played out in slow motion, both are at their best when showing rather than telling. The scene-stealing latter sequence is the feature’s visual and narrative highlight, adding spark through a new recruit as the film starts to lag, but this vibrancy – and its source – is almost immediately forgotten. It does illustrate the feature’s willingness to showcase the skills of its heroes, perhaps its ultimate saving grace even with its inherent repetition.
The been-there-done-that feeling that just can’t be shaken is part of the film’s primary purpose, with sentiment and nostalgia among its driving forces. In endeavouring to find a new way forward for the franchise, Days of Future Past trades on fondness, fun, emotion and investment – but it needs more than the presence of beloved figures placed in spectacular surroundings to make its X-Men revamp memorable instead of enjoyably average.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Director: Bryan Singer
UK / UK, 2014, 131 minutes
Release date: May 22, 2014
Distributor: Fox
Rating: PG
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