by APOORVA KETHIDI Staff Writer
“X-Men: Days of Future Past”, released on Friday, May 23, proved to be the best installment of the franchise in over a decade.
The story starts out in the year 2023 when dangerous and adaptable robots called Sentinels are hunting and destroying all mutants.
The last few remaining mutants, members of the X-Men, turn to their last option to send Wolverine/Logan (Hugh Jackman) back in time to the 1970s, when most of the movie takes place. Their goal is for Wolverine to stop Mystique/Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing the Sentinel creator Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), an event that caused the government to use Trask’s research to create the Sentinels.
During the 70s, Wolverine needs the help of young Professor X/Charles (James McAvoy) and young Magneto/Erik (Michael Fassbender), both of whom are inconflicted situations. Charles is a drunken mess while Erik is in prison for the possible assassination of John F. Kennedy. Wolverine must convince them that he was sent from the future by their older selves, Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellan), to stop a war from beginning.
“The whole idea of going back into the past was such a awesome idea. It really allowed for the movie to have multiple options for an ending, so everything suddenly becomes unpredictable,” said freshman Aniya Muhammad.
This film is different from the previous ones because the main conflict focuses on mutants against the world, while the others were simply mutants against mutants. However, that was not the only difference.
The action sequences may have been limited, but the existing ones were some of the best of all time, specifically a mind-blowing scene with Quicksilver (Evan Peters). The scene also hints at a possible family relationship between him and Magneto.
Director Bryan Singer was able to perfectly incorporate the massive cast by focusing on the characters more than the plot. This is no doubt one the biggest reasons why the film is so extravagant, because we get to see the depth of the characters.
“I have watched the other films and I have to say that this movie has the most importance for the characters. I would have never been able to understand Mystique if Singer had not built up such complexity for her,” said freshman Laurel Fox.
“Days of Future Past” has already made over $300 million worldwide, and is the second largest weekend opening in the series behind 2006’s ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’. It was not only a success with fans, but also critics who gave the movie rave reviews and has become the first critically acclaimed X-Men film since ‘X-Men: First Class’.
A sequel, “X-Men: Apocalypse” is set to be released on May 27, 2016.
“X-Men: Days of Future Past” is a must-watch, and is a perfect 5 out of 5.
What did you think of the new X-Men installment? What were your favorite and least favorite moments?