‘X-Men Days Of Future Past’ Reviews: ‘Everybody Dies But They Can All Return!’ Visually Entertaining Film Abuses Time Travel Element

"X-men: Days of Future Past" made its premiere over Memorial weekend. It is very appropriate since remembrance, or the lack of it is the main essence of the film.

Before we delve into serious matter of the plotholes, it must be stated that "X-Men: Days of Future Past" was by and large a very good movie.

From Screenrant:

"X-Men: Days of Future Past is by far the most ambitious film in the franchise - an attempt to take the entire six-film saga (and all of the notorious continuity errors that come with it) and soft-reboot it via a story that is both character drama and spectacle, meant to honor both the Original Trilogy and First Class halves of the franchise. Against all odds, Singer manages to deliver all of the above, resulting in the best X-Men movie to date, and a comic book movie that could (arguably) be placed in the company of the genre's elite."

Fox News called it the "possibly the best superhero film of the year!" Although, since it's also from Fox, there might be questions on the objectivity.

Nevertheless, it is the best of the X-Men franchise (almost unanimously) and there is no question of the film as a visual spectacle. Casual fans (movie fans, not the comic book fanboys) will be impressed by the movie's 'Back to the Future' storyline. But when the fanboys take the floor, that's where we'll see the 'not impressed' look.

Grantland reviews the film in the eyes of a comic book fan, and the comparison will bring out the perils of bringing a complicated story line from the comics to the big screen. There were some compromises to be made-one that was noticed way before the movie was shown:

"The time warp is courtesy of Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), who was the main character in the original comic-book issues this film is based on. Her role here is much smaller, but (as a kind of consolation prize from the screenwriting gods) she's been granted the noncanonical but highly useful ability to shuttle another person's consciousness back in time. And somehow Wolverine's mutant healing abilities make him the only man for the job, because his psyche can repair itself after the strain of time travel."

They directly address the issue afterwards:

"The real reason he's the chosen one, of course, is that the X-Movies have spent three films and two spinoffs building up Jackman's Wolverine as a character, allowing no one else so much as a quotable line. He's the right man for the job because he's the protagonist."

While Ellen Page is not exactly a stand-in, the investment in Jackman is just one of the many reasons why he needs to take the central role. The visual possibilities are wider with the bad-ass anti-hero in both timelines. Also, the issues about Jackman's age and his impending retirement gives Fox the license to milk every minute of his presence. To Bryan Singer's credit, he made the compromise worthwhile.

The bigger disappointment is the idea that Fox is using the time travel element to 'wash away the  past mistakes.' From Grantland: "Singer's Days of Future Past builds to an everybody-dies climax, complete with sad slow-motion impalements, then undercuts it with a happy ending. No spoilers, but let's just say Wolverine kind of wakes up to find that his novel A Match Made in Space has been published and Biff Tannen is detailing his car. Nothing about these last moments suggests there's more story to be told, although the obligatory post-credits scene - featuring our first look at a villain whose identity the announced title X-Men: Apocalypse has already revealed - promises there will be. Maybe "En Sabah Nur" is ancient Egyptian for 'It is what it is.'"

Perhaps it's time for fanboys to accept reality that the movies are way too different a genre for them to be totally faithful in terms of content. Still, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" seemed somewhat of a cop-out. But it's a very enjoyable ride nonetheless--one that's very much worth watching.