Last Sunday, I saw Bryan Singer's latest installment in the X-Men movie saga, and needless to say, it did not disappoint. In fact, I believe that it was the best comic book movie I've seen over the last two years—since The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises were released in theaters in 2012. Clearly, Singer wanted to make up for the disappointment of 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand (directed by Brett Ratner) by creating a story that not only featured the excellent cast of 2011's X-Men: First Class but also (spoilers ahead) resurrecting characters who were killed off in Ratner's flick. The portrayal of the Sentinels (particularly the ones in the future) in X-Men: Days of Future Past was awesome, and it will be interesting to see how Joss Whedon portrays Quicksilver (played by Godzilla and Kick-Ass' Aaron Taylor-Johnson) in Avengers: Age of Ultron after Evan Peters' exhilarating turn as the fast-moving mutant in Days of Future Past (that scene in the Pentagon kitchen was probably the best highlight of the film). Michael Fassbender's performance as Magneto in this installment is how I always pictured the depiction of the metal-manipulating mutant in a live-action movie (sorry, Ian McKellen), and Hugh Jackman was once again terrific as Wolverine...even if he didn't have adamantium on his claws for much of the film.
Along with Evan Peters' take on Quicksilver, another cast member who stood out was Jennifer Lawrence, unsurprisingly. Being a three-time Oscar nominee with an Academy Award under her belt, Lawrence deserved to be the focus of Days of Future Past...with her character Mystique playing a prime role (and sometimes speaking Vietnamese while doing it) in events that would either spell the end or salvation for a mutantkind decimated by the Sentinels. Peter Dinklage, who worked on such fare as HBO's Game of Thrones, did a great job as the diminutive but dangerous Dr. Trask—who was the one responsible for creating the Sentinels.
I believe that Days of Future Past did for the X-Men series what The Dark Knight did for Batman— X-Men: First Class and Batman Begins notwithstanding. (Some spoilers ahead, again) Lurking on the horizon is Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen...and Cyclops, Jean Grey and company (which possibly includes Channing Tatum as Gambit) will need to work together under the leadership of Professor X to fight this all-powerful mutant when X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters in 2016. If Days of Future Past is any indication, Singer will create with Apocalypse another epic flick whose comic book excellence could rival that of The Avengers and Marvel's other cinematic hits. But I'm too busy raving about a film that doesn't hit theaters for another two years; watch Days of Future Past if you want to see how phenomenal comic book movies can be when they feature the right director, story and actors on it. That is all.
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