X-Men: Days Of Future Past

X-Men: Days Of Future Past
PG-13
Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Evan Peters, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Josh Helman, Lucas Till, Evan Jonigkeit, Gregg Lowe, Mark Camacho, James Marsden, Famke Janssen.

Synopsis: The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original "X-Men" film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, "X-Men: First Class," in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future.

Review: Being the latest comic book franchise to be influenced by what seems to be the 'Avengers' effect, 'X-Men: DOFP' takes the advantage of its inaugural 'inbetweenquel' status to establish a timeline bridge that connects beloved characters from both the original trilogy and 'First Class' reboot. With a few timeline mistakes tweaked here and there, franchise starter Bryan Singer returns to the director's chair with a vengeance. Although minor things weren't properly addressed (questions like how the heck did both Professor X and Wolverine got their body and adamantium claws back respectively, for potential answers, please highlight lines below after the jump), the film maintains the inclusion of previous events through flashbacks without delving too much into the past. As juggling such multitude of mutant characters is a hard task to do, the filmmakers have no choice but to limit or completely write off a few notable characters (McKellen's older version of Magneto is given nearly zero-dialogue, and don'even get my started about Anna Paquin's Rogue...). Apart from that, highlights of the flick include Evan Peter's Quicksilver, Fassbender's hell-bent young Magneto and of course, McAvoy's hopelessly disheveled, junkie version of Charles Xavier. Set against the groovy 70's background and the grim Apocalypse-like future, few significant events in American politics were smartly weaved into the mutant storyline, not without lava lamp and waterbed. With a strong, tensile scripts delivered by A-list performers, 'X-Men: DOFP' is one of those pleasant summer surprises that was here to thrill. However, for all ya'll Wolvie fans out there, be prepared to be disappointed as our very own X-Men's poster boy is nothing but merely a plot device here. Lastly, time-travel is a magical concept here that transcends continuum and space, thus enabling the how experience to be somehow an indirect throwback to all the quirky yet logical elements from J.J. Abrams' 'Star Trek'. Finally, do stay for the EPIC post-credits scene.

Questions & Answers (Please highlight the lines for spoilers):
1. How did Professor X survive his death?
As seen from 'X-Men: The Last Stand, Professor X's consciousness is transferred to a bedridden patient. Under Dr. Moira's nursing care, the person was revealed by one of the writers to be 'P. Xavier', Professor X's braindead twin brother. With 'X-Men: DOFP' semi-canon nature, details into such element were ignored, thus providing no explanation whatsoever to Professor's resurrection.
2. How did Wolverine get his adamantium claws back in the future after losing them to Yashida in 'The Wolverine'?
Based on a January news report, director Bryan Singer mentioned something about Magneto's involvement in forging, manipulating and reconstituting the metal claws back into Wolverine's. Voila!
3. How did Magneto get his power back?
Easy. The effects of the 'cure' is presumed to last temporarily.

Rating: 4/5 Stars