X-Men: Days of Future Past [A REVIEW]

Before indulging in what was - and, according to word around the web, still is - one of the best superhero movies ever, I first cinematically re-familiarized myself with one of my very favorite comic book superhero teams of all time by purchasing the uncanny (yes, I went there) blu-ray set of all six X-Men films: X-Men, X2, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, and lastly, the largely disappointing The Wolverine. Thus reacquainted with the characters, the mythology, and the never-ending battle for acceptance and integration of the mutant community into the human sphere of existence, I was fully prepared to take on Bryan Singer's latest silver-screen effort involving everyone's favorite fighting freaks: X-Men: Days of Future Past. Or was I? Often, sequels tend to suffer from a kind of cinematic fatigue as writers run low on creative juices and, ultimately, they end up making shortcuts that audiences are none too pleased to experience on their end. Was this to be the case?

Upon experiencing the breathtaking opening battle sequence, however, all bets were off, as newcomers Blink, Sunspot, and Bishop, along with familiar favorites Ice Man, Colossus, and the disarmingly well-played Shadowcat, fiercely hold the last few inches of ground they have left against an army of authentically wicked and seemingly unstoppable foes in a dark and brooding dystopian future where the Sentinels (mutant-killing machines bred for the sole purpose of wiping our freakish friends off the earth, designed by the cunning and sleazy Dr. Trask) form a genocidal torrent of death, raining down on our poor heroes as hellfire itself. Luckily, though, it seems this ragtag band of survivors has all the right superpowers to deal with the situation, and the introductory sequence is truly a design, editing, SFX, and choreographic spectacle to behold, whether you're a fan of MARVEL or not - and for that matter, whether you're a fan of science fiction or not. This opening battle alone is worth the price of admission, but wait! We're not done yet!

We soon learn, however, that this battle has been waging for some time now - more specifically, over and over - and that, by projecting various team members' consciousnesses into the past, Shadowcat has miraculously maintained the survival of this last desperate group by repeatedly sending one of them into the past after an attack hits to warn the past versions of themselves of each impending catastrophe. Ergo, it's a seemingly never-ending cycle of attack, time travel, warn of attack, foil plot. Soon, though, the big boys show up - Professor X, Storm, and Wolverine, not to mention everyone's favorite polarizing anti-hero, Magneto - with an entirely new plan: to send Wolvy back in time not to warn of an impending attack, but much, much further into the past, to prevent Mystique's assassination of Nixon which, they presume, was the turning point that lead all of civilization down this dark path of violence and war.

What follows is a delightful arrangement of plot twists and turns, big reveals, heartbreak, betrayal, love, and hate, not to mention one of the funnest jailbreak scenes in cinematic history involving flashy fan favorite speedster Quicksilver (Evan Peters) in an inventive, original, and genuinely clever fight that will likely become to the X-Men movies what the lobby shooting spree was to the original Matrix. While perhaps not as revolutionary, the filming of this particular sequence is utterly jaw dropping, and indeed one of the highlights of Days of Future Past.

While almost nothing resembles the original comic and/or cartoon story lines of the same title - undoubtedly, one of the story's strengths - Days turns out to be one of the wisest plots that writers Jane Goldman, Simon Kinberg, and Matthew Vaughn could have possibly constructed, not to mention a superior screenplay drafted by Kinberg himself that allows each mutant's particular strength to be integrated into the story in a way that both progresses and enhances it perfectly. The interplay - and strategic combination - of all our heroes' many otherworldly abilities provides a synergistic and astoundingly clever construct of teamwork that is as beautiful a cinematic sight as The Avengers' downtown throw down ever was.

The performances are as solid as ever, with stalwart Hugh Jackman still eliciting cheers from the crowd, the ever-reliable Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen expanding their legacy of well-played mutant superpowers, and naturally, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender helping to hold up the already-solidly-constructed masterwork as only Atlas himself could. A huge bonus for 20th Century Fox in this one is the over-night pop culture phenomenon that Jennifer Lawrence has become, and both her emotional and physical performance as the nude, blue anti-heroine only serves to solidify her position as one of today's most in-demand actresses. Indeed, nary a negative comment can be uttered about the entire cast, least of all towards Game of Thrones veteran Peter Dinklage who, while small in stature, emits just the right amount of cold and calculating villainous charisma.

Not much more of XM:DoFP could be revealed without spoiling any of the story for those of you who haven't had the opportunity to experience, arguably, what I believe to be Bryan Singer's greatest achievement in the superhero universe yet and, yes, possibly the single greatest achievement of his life - something even on par with, or dare I say, slightly superior to - The Usual Suspects. Yes, I know, I'll get some backlash for such a statement, but when greatness has been earned, respect must be paid and, Mr. Singer, I thank you for your fantastic contribution to the Marvel universe.

FINAL SCORE: 95 / 100