After the disappointments of "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", the mutant franchise got the desperately needed shot in the arm it needed with 2011's "X-Men: First Class", which served as both a prequel and a soft reboot to the franchise. In a box office battleground that included a still budding Marvel Cinematic Universe and Christopher Nolan's acclaimed Batman films, the X-Men were on track to being relevant again, thanks in part to the return of Bryan Singer to the franchise since leaving it after "X2". When it was announced that the "First Class" sequel would be based on "Days of Future Past", one of the greatest X-Men stories of all time, the biggest thing fans took from that was that we would finally see Sentinels in an X-Men film. But then it was announced that in addition to returning "First Class" actors, the film would also see the return of cast members from the original trilogy, including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and many more some thought we'd never see again. Things were shaping up to make this film the ultimate X-Men film. Now the "future" has arrived in theaters, and has delivered a film that could even stand up to the Avengers.
Firstly, the film is for the most part a "First Class" sequel, as it was intended and believed to be. It still acts as a continuation from the events of "Last Stand" however, so even though the franchise's continuity is convoluted to say the least, the two timeframes are able to mesh together perfectly in this film.
When comparing the two films though, some might see "First Class" as the more lighthearted of the two, as we get to have some fun watching the training montages, while "DOFP" takes on a more darker tone similar to the first two X-Men films. That's not to say it's so bleak that it'll make you want to kill yourself though. If anything, Fox has taken some cues from the Marvel films, keeping with a serious tone but able to inject some humor every now and then. Along from that, the special effects, action, and choreography has really evolved since the original films, to reflect a more comic book tone, and downplays some of the realism seen before in the franchise. The best example I can think of is seeing Iceman finally using his powers to his fullest, not only having a full ice look, but performing his signature ice bridge technique.
The action scenes also seem to take on a more brutal approach than ever before, specifically the battles with the Sentinels in the future. Honestly, this is the first time that I've ever seen Sentinels as a real threat to mutants and actually scared me as much as they would the X-Men, especially during the climax scene in the future, because you knew that this was the biggest all or nothing moment of the whole franchise. I mean, yeah, giant robots would be freaky, but the idea that they would be able to adapt to the mutant they were hunting makes it even more scary.
Just like their previous film together, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence continue to shine as their characters. Even though we know how these characters end up turning out, the fun of seeing how they get that way makes it so much more interesting. Let me examine each one.
- JAMES MCAVOY AS CHARLES XAVIER: For the first time ever on film, we see Charles having no clue what's to do. In both the original trilogy and "First Class", he's been seen as the guiding mentor to everyone, so what happens when the Professor needs guidance himself? He turns to, well, the Professor. Future Professor to be exact. The interaction between McAvoy and Stewart made for an amazing moment, with a pep talk that could inspire everybody.
- MICHAEL FASSBENDER AS MAGNETO: In "First Class", I could feel real sympathy for Erik and even rooted from him, something I never did for Magneto before. In "DOFP" though, while Fassbender continues to make the role his own, you can definitely see that he was becoming the Magneto we see in the original trilogy. To quote Wolverine in one scene of the film "So you were always an asshole." An accurate statement actually, because with the climax scene in the past, you can see that Erik is a fucking hypocrite. He doesn't want to see his species be hunted down, but he's not above hunting down the opposing species, like what he did in "X2" to make Charles kill all the humans after stopping Stryker's plan to kill all the mutants. Maybe if Erik was able to meet his future self, he could have lightened up. I made this meme that I feel is accurate of the situation:
- JENNIFER LAWRENCE AS MYSTIQUE: What I really like about seeing a younger Mystique is that we see her motivations as opposed to just being Magneto's second-in-command in the original trilogy, which is why I feel Jennifer Lawrence is better in the role than Rebecca Romijn, and even gives a better performance in this film than in her previous outing. You really feel for her, especially when you're really hoping she'll end up doing the right thing.
If there's one breakout star in the film though, it's definitely Evan Peters as Piet-, ahem, I mean Peter Maximoff, better known as Quicksilver. When it was first announced Quicksilver would appear in the film, a lot of people thought Fox just decided to add him in because Marvel was going to use him in their next Avengers film. I didn't expect much from Fox's Quicksilver, given their track record with their character adaptations compared to Marvel's. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this version. He added some great moments of humor and one of the best action scenes in any comic book movie in my opinion. I really look forward to seeing him return in "X-Men: Apocalypse", especially if they decide to further explore his relationship with Magneto. Aaron Taylor Johnson's performance as Marvel's Quicksilver is going to have to be pretty special to top Fox's.
Just like "First Class", from a first glance, it would seem like there were too many characters involved, but this was another film that was able to make it work, where characters were able to have some shining moments and weren't just thrown in there for the sake of appearances. Even characters that were there for just a cameo didn't feel pointless. It goes without saying that original trilogy actors, such as Halle Berry, Ellen Page, and Shawn Ashmore, haven't missed a beat and personify their roles. Hugh Jackman of course nails it once again as Wolverine. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are able to keep the Xavier/Magneto frenemy bromance alive as well, including an emotional moment during the film's climax. You can even get attached to new characters Sunspot, Bishop, Blink, and Warpath, and feel they're actually worth having in the film.
As the final moments of the film show, essentially, the X-Men franchise has pulled a "Flashpoint." What that means is is that almost everything is fair game again in the series, and you'll get that feeling once you see some familiar characters alive and well. Fox has been able to restart the X-Men but without pissing off people who hate reboots and recastings. I must say that this opens a lot of opportunities for the franchise again. I'm also willing to bet that after "X-Men: Apocalypse", which is supposed to be another "First Class" sequel, Fox's mystery Marvel movie of 2018 will see the original cast return again, but as the main stars of a new X-Men film, possibly acting as the start of a new era in the franchise.
This new X-Men film has done for their franchise what Avengers did for Marvel. It has energized the series, is drawing in a big crowd that may not have been interested before (or in this case lost it), and even teases a villain that casual fans will probably have to look on the internet to find out who that was. All the credit must go to Bryan Singer though. I mean, I knew the film would be amazing, but because it started the way Singer's first two X-films did with a Patrick Stewart/Xavier narrative opening and a pretty badass opening title sequence, it really pumped me up and brought back a sense of nostalgia. Seriously though, Bryan Singer is for Fox and X-Men what Joss Whedon is for Marvel and Avengers in terms of direction of the universe. Considering he's been involved with every successful X-Men film, with the exception of "The Wolverine", Fox would be smart to not let Singer go again if they don't have to (taking his legal situation into account but I won't go into detail on that here).
Along with everything I've talked about, anything that basically says "Fuck you Brett Ratner!" for his derailment of the X-Men franchise in the first place is a win in my book.
RATING: 9.5/10
To close out, here are my current rankings of the X-Men series:
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
- X-Men: First Class
- X2: X-Men United
- The Wolverine
- X-Men
- X-Men: The Last Stand
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
No comments:
Post a Comment