So I thought I’d review X-Men: Days of Future Past in the style of my “Meanwhile…” posts, where I compare what’s “Hot” and “Not.” But in this case, I’m calling my categories “LOVED IT!” and “Not so much…”
Because, basically, I loved this movie–that’s why “LOVED IT!” is all in caps. It was a lot more fun than The Amazing Spiderman 2, which we saw a few weeks ago (and I may get around to reviewing someday, eventually…if I can work up the enthusiasm for it…). But honestly, I don’t think there will be too much in my “Not so much…” column for X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Well…let’s get started and find out!
LOVED IT!
CASTING, CASTING!
First of all, what a great concept, to combine the casts of the two tiers of X-Man movies! For someone like me, introduced to the X-Men (and indeed the entire Marvel Universe) through X-Men (2000), the original cast of those first three movies will always be, in my mind, the REAL X-Men. Now, having said that, I also immensely enjoyed X-Men: First Class a few years back, in which we get an X-Men origin story. 
In some ways, First Class was even better than some of the original movies, and one of these days I would love to get around to reviewing First Class as well.
But for now, I’ll just say: I’m totally on board with combining the casts. It’s interesting to see how the newbie mutants have matured over the decades, not just in their appearance, but also in how their experiences have shaped their personalities. Of course, I don’t know a lot about the X-Men, having only read through three comics at this point, but the parallel between the two movie casts is nearly seamless. Russ and I often comment that one of the greatest strengths of Marvel movies is that they start out with EXCELLENT casting (Can you imagine anyone other than Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark?). Marvel usually gets it right in the casting, and in the world of X-Men, they’ve gotten it doubly right. And that makes it doubly enjoyable to watch Days of Future Past.
I’M FROM THE FUTURE AND I’M HERE TO HELP YOU
You know that moment when you’re sitting in the theater, and you hope the movie is going to be good, but you’re not sure yet, and then suddenly something happens on screen, and you get a warm, fuzzy feeling and smile, and think, “Oh…yes!!” Well, that happened to me the first time Wolverine, suddenly finding himself 
transported back to 1973, unapologetically introduces himself as being from the future. And then he goes on to tell everyone he meets that he’s from the future.
Too often, in movies about time travel, the travelers are so extremely secretive or coy about what they’re doing there. Yeah, of course, it adds a layer of drama, but in this movie, Wolverine’s brutal honesty works so much better. He doesn’t strike me as the type of guy to be coy (though secretive may be an entirely different matter…). He comes right to the point, and because the people he’s trying to help are open to all the wild possibilities, they quickly accept him. It was refreshing to not spend a whole lot of time tiptoeing around the concept of time travel. We’ve got a world to save, let’s get on with the action!
LITTLE BIG MAN
Again, being new to the X-Men title, I don’t yet know anything about Bolivar Trask, the villain of this piece, other than the fact that he shares a name with some infamous Dark Shadows villains. Therefore, to me, Trask is simply a good name for a villain.
Russ has explained to me that though Trask is a canon character, in the comics, he is not a “little person,” as we see him here, portrayed by Peter Dinklage. Again, with the casting! What a creative choice to have the “Big Bad” be a man of small stature. It fits in so perfectly with the entire X-Men theme that appearances can be deceiving. Nice touch.
DON’T I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
One of my favorite moments: when Xavier first meets Wolverine, he keeps giving him funny looks, and eventually says something along the lines of “OH! I just figured it out! I remember where I’ve seen you before!” Their first meeting, in X-Men: First Class, seemed nothing more than a throwaway comedy cameo, but now it comes up again as the punchline to the joke. The entire movie could survive perfectly well without this “bit,” but you have to love the attention to detail. Was it all planned this way from the beginning, or at some point later, did someone say, “Hey! Wouldn’t it be cool if….?” I don’t know, and I don’t care. The end result is fun.
TAKING LIBERTIES WITH HISTORY
Historical events from 1962 are woven into the plotline of X-Men: First Class, and now we find ourselves eleven years down the road. The events of 1973 are not strictly historical, but the mindset, the music, fashions, and grainy news footage all contribute to the feel of the era. Several historical references are played for laughs, and one or two fit into that “Wouldn’t it be cool….?” category. It was also cool that they had a fairly good Nixon lookalike (Mark Camacho) who delivers his “My fellow Americans,” line with stirring conviction.
QUICKLY NOW!
Oh! Yes! Quicksilver makes it into this movie. Also cool. I won’t say more. There’s one scene. If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t…go see the movie.
BEASTY BOY
Loved Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy in X-Men: First Class, and love him even more in Days of Future Past. As a human, he’s adorable, and as Beast, this second appearance finds him looking a little rougher around the edges. And that’s a good thing. Because he is, after all…a beast…
And yet now, as a human, even more adorable.
SHADES OF GRAY
Finally, in my “LOVED IT!” column: this is a movie about superheroes. Good guys and bad guys, right? Well, hold on just a minute there! In some superhero movies, those lines are clearly drawn, but not so much here. Every character in this movie is motivated by what they consider noble intentions. Every character can make a good case for their actions. It’s not so much about Good vs. Evil as it is about conflicting agendas. And sometimes, it’s about inner conflict. Any way you slice it, conflict is good, and this movie has plenty of it.
Not So Much….
THIS TIME WE’LL GET IT RIGHT. RIGHT?
Okay, I guess I have to say something bad about this movie or you’ll think I’m just a gushing fan girl. Well, I am a gushing fan girl, but I’m also someone who is incredibly inept at 
understanding all the ramifications of time travel. However, I don’t think I’m alone in this, and perhaps I need to share my dunce cap with the writers and producers of this movie. They try, but paradox will rear its ugly head now and then.
There isn’t actually a whole lot of traveling back and forth in time, which is good, since it cuts down on the number of times Wolverine could end up being his own grandpa. It also helps keep the story fairly easy to understand. But when it’s all over, as you’re leaving the theater, even before that warm fuzzy feeling has completely left your body, you suddenly perk up and say, “Hey, wait! If all this happened in 1973, then WHY…???…and HOW…???”
You’ve seen time travel movies before, so you know the drill. No one ever gets it completely right. That comes with the territory. Don’t let it bother you—just go see the movie.
And keep your eyes open for Quicksilver. He’s…fast. And you wouldn’t want to miss him.
Namor pitches a fit and smashes the frozen idol to the ground. Then he leaves, never realizing his single, reckless action inadvertently serves as the catalyst for the strengthening of the Avengers.
In Avengers #4, the Avengers rescue the shadowy, frozen figure from the depths of the ocean, and as the ice melts away, they discover the shield and the mask, quickly realizing what they’ve discovered.
Seems the Avengers were turned to stone by a stranded alien who only wants to “phone home,” but must resort to defending himself by turning people to stone. In a neat twist, this alien, whose “name would be meaningless to you as earth tongues cannot even pronounce it,” has been the inspiration for the Medusa myth, frightening people with his long scraggly hair before zapping them with his stone-ray gun. 
So he does…and they do…only Namor and some undersea warriors crash the party. The expected battle ensues, till The-Alien-Formerly-Known-As-Medusa blasts off in his newly repaired spaceship from the middle of the ocean, causing volcanic waves that scatter the clashing combatants.
But let’s give Cap a little leeway here, shall we? His “past” took place yesterday. He’s suddenly been transplanted 20 years in the future, where he’s alone (or, if he finds the time to track down anyone he used to know, they’ll either be either dead, or really old, and that’s going to cause yet another shock). Cap is trying to cope with an impossible situation, and if it helps him to pretend that Rick Jones is his old pal Bucky…then, let’s just let him. Right? It’s not hurting anyone, and maybe it makes him feel better.
“The Man Called Electro!”
“The Master Plan of Doctor Doom!”
“The Black Knight Strikes!”
This time around, Wasp tells a tale to orphans about 
“The Hands of the Mandarin!”
“The Return of Zarrko, the Tomorrow Man!”
“The Invasion of Asgard!”
“The Return of the Eel!”
Well, look. We can’t have it both ways. If the Eel is being released for good behavior, then it can’t also be true, as the television news reports, that he is “one of the most dangerous criminals of our time.” Dangerous criminals don’t continue to be dangerous criminals if they are engaging in “good behavior.” 
However, here’s another nagging little detail. During his next job, as the Eel reaches for the precious oversized ruby conveniently left on the nightstand of a hotel bedroom, he gloats that this will “become famous as the greatest theft of the century! And no one will ever be able to prove that the EEL was responsible!”
Did we really need this scene? Is this another one of Stan’s gallant efforts to make Sue seem more useful and important? It might accomplish that, but at the same time, it also makes Johnny appear not very bright. Of course, he is only a teenager, and “livid with rage.” But does that really explain why he’s so frustrated by the elusive Eel?
But after panicking, Leopold quickly develops a plan. In his best “internet tough guy” fashion, he hurries off to don his disguise, and once in disguise, his cockiness returns, and he’s all “So!” and “You haven’t got a chance against me!” Not only is he ready to attack, but he’s had enough forethought to cover his costume with asbestos grease, nullifying Johnny’s superpower. Uhhh… asbestos grease?
So why is the dainty little lady carrying this, while Thing and Mr. Fantastic stand idly behind her? Is Sue just beginning to experiment with a new superpower of super-strength? Or have Thing and Reed developed the superpower of Extreme Doofism, letting a little slip of a thing like Sue carry a 100-pound package while they stand in the background grinning like a couple of laughing hyenas? (Well…Thing is grinning. Reed’s just standing there looking all GQ.)
Mordo casts a spell over Strange’s house, causing it to disappear into an unknown dimension. As Mordo marvels, “How EASY it was!” Strange releases his ethereal self, which promptly gets trapped by Mordo (“How EASY it was!”) while Mordo goes off to kill the Ancient One. But Strange escapes and reaches the Ancient One first, and is given a magic ring, which Strange uses to defeat Mordo. 
