X-Men: Days of Future Past

Hollywood’s dogs and cats baked a cake where they wanted to include everything and everyone across universes, time, and space. And as a result, there is no space or time on the screen for anything or anyone. Everything is so rushed that what was the biggest strength of X-Men until now, completely vanishes. I mean the exploration of the characters, their development, their fears, their relationships with each other and the resulting emotions. Here, everyone is invariably relegated to the roles of emotionless puppets reciting big words, interrupted here and there by some mandatory blockbuster action. Moreover, the action is only there for its own sake; which doesn't mean it's bad in itself because it's not. Singer bit off more than he could chew, which is even more of a shame because now and then there is a flash of genius (mostly thanks to the cast), that shows how good it could have been if someone in charge realized that less is sometimes much more. (2014-05-21)

I admit that there are some shortcomings when it comes to the profiling of the characters and their interactions, where the reasons someone is doing what they are doing are not always convincingly explained. However, the film manages to be sufficiently entertaining, tense and riveting that I didn’t start thinking about those issues until I left the theatre. In the cinema it was excellent, uninterrupted fun. In short, a very pleasant time spent with old (and new) friends. I liked Evan Peters as Quicksilver, there could have been more of him, his scenes are interesting and fun. Overall, I had more fun than with the (IMHO) overrated First Class. (2014-05-30)

Time travel means paradoxes and cracks in space, agency, and logic. I can fault it for the fact that it disrespectfully kicks its older brethren in the balls from its position as a successor to the original trilogy, and it does so with the conscious vigor that Matthew Vaughn and Bryan Singer brought back to the franchise last time, and from the relieved position of the spiritual father, rewrites the universe in the way we adored him for a decade ago, letting the superheroes talk rather than drawing swords from their wrists. It has the support of the actors, with Jackman cracking one-liners, Fassbender staring stubbornly, and McAvoy forgetting to shave his beard. Yet they work with complete certainty, turning a complicated script into a blockbuster joy that multiplies in every additional action scene (albeit that one is really hard to top). I actually do have one major complaint about it: I wanted more of the old group. But you can't stop the (r)evolution. 4 ½. (2014-05-27)

The new X-Men will disappoint especially those who hope that Singer will pick up exactly where he left off, i.e., that after years he will again make a film that will improve on the genre of comic films. Times have changed, and so have Xavier's boys. The series has clear rules, poetics that it supplements easily rather than develops rapidly (as was the case with the groundbreaking X2). It can be said that Singer is merging the old and the new world. Of course, unlike Vaughn, his retro isn't that light-footed, and yet it has a great energy in places. In fact, it only fails in the finale, which falls asleep instead of escalating. Other objections include the fact that Days of Future Past only repeats what we have seen several times, fails to progress the characters (with the exception of Mystique, who is unexpectedly active and important, and she is simply no longer "an object of the professors' wills"... I still have to ask, whose perverted idea was it to make Jennifer Lawrence a symbol of Hollywood emancipation?... nevermind), whilst rather sketches the new characters and uses them as a bearers of interesting action skills. The fact is, however, that Singer focuses entirely on the central characters (Charles, Erik and Logan). Watching the new crew is ballbusting, as both McAvoy and Fassbender are full of energy, cynicism and inner drama. Particularly young Magneto bends space-time towards him uncompromisingly. The old men are more like pitied and melancholic characters. In addition, I completely failed to decipher how they relate to the original trilogy (especially Charles). Another continuum? Maybe. In the end, Days of Future Past is not a riveting act of the "builder of worlds", but for the most part great maintenance of the poetics of the series, its anchor and at the same time a restart. And it is only slightly worse than First Classs. After it ended, I thoughtfully wondered whether the times when similar comic films had redefined the complex relationship between blockbuster and reality are behind us. The gap between the X-Men, Batman, and the formerly frivolous escapists is beginning to be closed on a tolerable compromise that has a certain edge, but at the same time does not irritate in the slightest and does not explore new territories as intensively as a few years ago. Time will tell. [75%] (2014-05-17)

Bryan Singer's return to the Gifted Youngsters was eagerly awaited by the whole film world, and the feeling you get when the universes of X:Men: First Class and the classic adventures intermingle onscreen is relatively unmatched when it comes to sending chills down your spine. There's no denying that this mouthful was a truly enormous one, and thanks to the participation of virtually all surviving mutants, the X-Men: Days of Future Past grows into a truly epic event. Therefore, a running time of just over two hours is actually pitifully little for such a fateful combination. There is a heap of important events, heartbreaking speeches, and moments that will have a solid place in the entire saga, but precisely because of everything that needs to happen, there is no room for a proper break. It either requires another screening or, if possible, a more sprawling director's cut, which would have a real chance of becoming the best mutant spectacle. So far, it stands at hesitant 90%, which mainly saddens me because young Magneto has a somewhat conflicting role and behavioral shifts (not consistent with his character, for example, in X-Men 2), and I still don't know if Trask was even a villain. On the other hand, the emphasis on the development of Mystique is a pleasant surprise, as is the fact that Charles Xavier's rock bottom feels perfectly natural. And why does it still end up getting five stars in the end? The ending. For a person who has seen most of the installments several times and still worships the first X-Men as one of the best comic book movie franchises ever, the feeling of (semi)closure of one chapter is so poignant that I would forgive much more than just a few loose ends. (2014-06-02)