X-Men: Days of (Back to the) Future Past

SPOILERS!

One of my favorite reviews that I ever read was for a Rush album; the reviewer simply gave the album 3 stars and wrote "If you're a Rush fan, add two starts; if you're not, subtract two".  X-men: Days of Future Past is kind of like that.  Fans of X-men and the series of films in particular, will love it. Honestly, I'm not sure what someone who is completely unfamiliar with the franchise would make of it.  Granted, this sort of thing is less problematic these days as fewer sequels are being made as stand alone films; you can't just watch the last Harry Potter movie without watching the first. 

However, since I am, in fact, one of those aforementioned X-men fanatics I can say this: I loved it!  This is, basically, the X-men movie that I have wanted to see since I was 13-years-old.  And that's really who this movie is mad for: the 13-year-old comic fan who doesn't give a rat's ass what anyone else thinks of the movie--- it should only give him what he wants to see.  And that it does....

Still, this movie could have been mess; it probably should have been a mess.  After all, it attempts to tie together 6 movies of varying quality and plot consistency (although, honestly, we can probably ignore the two Wolverine films as they don't really factor that much into the plot--- even the origins material was covered sufficiently in X2). Add to that a time travel storyline that, when examined with any scrutiny, creates more questions than answers (as is illustrated here). 

What allows me to suspend my disbelief is that, despite whatever plot holes are produced by the convoluted plot, the film maintains a strong emotional center.  As it was in First Class, this emotional core is built around the triumvirate of Charles Xavier, Magneto and Mystique.  Xavier has fallen into a depression following the failure of his school; however, it quickly becomes clear, that depression can be traced back earlier, to the loss of his childhood friend, Raven/Mystique to Magneto's cause.  It was a loss that he is not quite as at peace with as he seemed to be at the conclusion of First Class. He blames his old friend, Erik/Magneto, for her desertion and that has only served to further widen the rift in their friendship (that, and he also believes Magneto was behind the JFK assassination).

Once again, McAvoy and Fassbender bring depth and humanity to these men; they are not yet the iconic figures they will someday become, each representing a different side of the mutant issue; at this point, they are two friends on different sides of an argument. For her part, Jennifer Lawrence does a great job as we see Mystique's transformation into the femme fatale she will become in the original films; unlike First Class where she came across very much like the girl next door (and, quite frankly, Lawrence's performance seemed phoned in). We're now seeing a character more akin to the one who, in X2, slides through a closing doorway while giving her enemy the finger.  Whether it's her Oscar Winning, Hunger-Games-starring mojo at work or the fact that, maybe, she just found the development of her character more fun this time around, Lawrence owns the role (Sidenote: the first time I taught my Superhero and Ethics class, I was surprised at the number of my young, female students who named Mystique as their favorite superhero; this was shortly after First Class had come out and I'm sure Lawrence's portrayal had some small role in that and, after Days of Future Past, I'm sure she'll have an even bigger fan base).

On a more superficial level, the movie just looks really cool.  The future sequences look absolutely epic! The opening fight scene is brilliant.  This is, in fact, the first time in an X-men movie (and maybe even any superhero movie---excepting maybe Avengers) where we see a group of X-men fighting and using their powers in tandem with one another, playing off of each others powers to fight their enemies.  Coolest of all is Blink (the role doesn't have a lot of character depth to it but, damn, she looks cool as hell!) whose teleportive abilities are used to brilliant effect in combat against the sentinels.

Speaking of great sequences, Quicksilver's big moment in the pentagon jailbreak sequence is brilliant and a true highlight of the film.  It has already been confirmed that the character will have a larger role in X-men: Apocolypse and he deserves it. I'll bet even Whedon himself is now a little nervous about how his version of the character will be received in Avengers 2.

Also, thankfully, the CG Beast of First Class has been ditched in favor of practical make-up (fur is one of the most difficult things to animate realistically... duh!).

BIG SPOILER: 

I think I'm not alone in my enjoyment of the film's conclusion; they lift a page right out of Back to the Future and, rather than simply re-establishing the status quo of the present, they improve it.  Most notably, since Scott and Jean are now alive, it would seem as though X-men: The Last Stand, the weakest in the series, never happened (and for that matter, much of X-men Origins: Wolverine and  The Wolverine probably never happened either).  In fact, the refined present was so ideal that I half expected older Professor X and Magneto to come in from their tennis match to find a box filled with Professor X's newest book on Mutant/Human harmony and assuring Wolverine that he can accomplish anything if he puts his mind to it....

In more ways than one, X-men: Days of Future Past serves to reshuffle the deck on the franchise in a way that the future films will have a fresh start; how well that plays out remains to be seen.  We already know that X-men: Apocalypse and a third Wolverine are in the works.  Beyond that, who knows?  Will they go back and do an X-men 4, picking up where Days of Future Past left us? It has already been confirmed that  Apocalypse will take place in the 80's and feature the First Class line up --- so will this further explain what happened in the time between the past and future of Future Past?  But, for what it's worth, Days of Future Past manages to work on multiple levels and, quite frankly, maybe they should just leave well enough alone.  They tied together most of the loose ends, smoothed over some inconsistency, and even undid some of the errors they made with the weaker links in the franchise--- so why not just go out on a high note?

X-men Movies: Worst to Best

As the release of  X-men: Days of Future Past is upon us, I thought I would take a look back what the franchise has brought us so far; so here they are: worst to best. 

X-men Origins: Wolverine
  

X-men Origins: Wolverine is a train wreck on every level: plot, performances, casting, effects... it's just terrible.  It tries to somehow condense Wolverine's backstory (which is pretty convoluted in the comics) into a coherent plot that somehow ties into the rest of the franchise.  The result is a mess. Note: Ryan Reynolds was a perfect choice for Deadpool---- too bad they sewed his mouth shut by the time he actually became the character.  The "merc with a mouth" thing doesn't work when he has no mouth. Supposedly he will get a chance to talk in the spin-off which is currently in development hell.

The Wolverine

Not as bad as its predecessor, but still pretty bad.  The first act is actually pretty good, the second act is boring, and the third  act an overblown mess.  If it had just remained faithful to the Claremont/Miller Wolverine series it was based on, it would have been much better.  I really wish Aaronofsky had remained involved.  I'm interested in seeing what he would have done.

X-Men: The Last Stand

This one really isn't as bad as a lot of people have made it out to be; the plot is serviceable and the real problem lies in the script: cringe-worthy dialogue and some annoying plot discrepancies.  It has its moments: Kelsey Grammar as Beast was a good if underdeveloped choice, Magneto revealing his holocaust tattoo as explanation of why he doesn't bear a mutant one, and I loved the "I'm the Juggernaut, Bitch!" bit--- and, when I found out this was based on an internet gag, that made it even better. I also don't have a problem with the way they handled Dark Phoenix; explaining the whole cosmic entity thing could be a bit much for the average movie goer.

X-Men

I recently re-watched this and it is much better than I remember it being.  The first two-thirds of the film in particular are rich in character development and a lot of nice, small moments that are true to the characters comic book origins.  My biggest problem has always been with the movie's central 'MacGuffin' as it were: Magneto's 'Mutant Making' machine.  It was always a bit too 'Dr. Evil' for me.  Also, the costumes, not only did they not look that great, but they restricted the movements of the actors so much that, in the film's climax, you'll notice that, for a team of superheroes, these guys sure do spend a lot of time walking briskly.

X2: X-Men United

Considered by many to be the best in the franchise (and, at the time of its release, it was) it improved upon the original exponentially with a stronger plot and greater character development.  Also, it avoided those damn costumes until the very end.  There were plenty of Easter eggs and cameos for hardcore fans; I'm a bit disappointed that they made Nightcrawler such a sad sack, he was always such a fun, swashbuckling character in the comics, although the inclusion of his faith was a nice touch.

X-men: First Class

A dark horse contender no doubt; it was a movie I had very little hope for but it has since become my favorite in the series.   No doubt seen by many as the last gasp of the franchise, it had a more modest budget, however, the result is a stronger plot and better characterization. Sure, people may have complained about some finer plot points not matching up with the others in the series, but that wasn't really a problem for me as I saw it more as a reboot; well, that and the fact that, as a comic book fan, if  you try to reconcile every plot inconsistency you encounter, your head will explode.  Oh yeah, and it didn't feature Wolverine (except for one brilliant cameo). So what?  A true X-fan knows there is more to the team than Wolverine.  McAvoy and Fassbender are brilliant as Charles Xavier and a pre-Magneto Erik Lensherr.  Whereas the other films in the series seemed to have started with a big action set piece and then built around it, First Class has a plot that seems to evolve more organically.  Best of all, the climax manages to not only be action packed but emotionally satisfying as Magneto accepts his nature and that the differences between he and Charles Xavier can never be reconciled.  My hope is that Days of Future Past doesn't lose the emotional resonance in the shuffle of a complex plot, bigger budget, and 3D effects.

Note: The film's weakest point in my opinion was January Jones' wooden performance as Emma Frost; if you wanted to cast a Mad Men actress in the role, put Christina Hendricks in a blonde wig--- The White Queen isn't Betty Draper; she's Joan Holloway!

The Amazing Spider Man 2.... and 3.... and part of 4....

The first Amazing Spider-Man is really quite good and I have never been able to quite put my finger one why I don't like it more.  However, I know exactly why I'm not thrilled with the sequel: way too much plot.  It feels as thought the studio was trying to cram two movies into one complete with a preview of a fourth.  There are way too many stories going on here: Peter hiding his identity from Aunt May, Peter's relationship with Gwen, Peter's relationship with Harry, the origin of Electro, Harry dealing with his father's legacy, Harry becoming the Goblin, Peter dealing with HIS father's legacy.... so many plot threads to keep track of you forget that you're there for a Spider-Man movie. I don't know why they packed so much into one movie; maybe they were just afraid that Andrew Garfield wouldn't sign on for a third movie without (real life girlfriend) Emma Stone on board or maybe they just couldn't secure her for a third film (that shouldn't be a spoiler for anyone who has ever read a comic book)

One plot element that could have been chucked quite easily the one involving Peter's parents; I always hated when the comics tried to explain this, period; Aunt May and Uncle Ben are his parents---'nuff said! However, I always found it especially irksome when they tried to somehow connect his parents with his origin or powers in some way. In the film, it turns out that the spider Peter was bitten by in the first movie was developed by his father using his own blood so that only someone of his bloodline could benefit from it! My problem with this is that it makes Peter's story one of destiny; he was somehow meant to have these powers.  Part of the appeal of Peter to me is that he has always been the superhero everyman; he never asked for or wanted these powers--- he was just some poor schmuck who happened to be in the right place, at the right time (or wrong place depending on how you see it). He, at first, abuses those powers (as the average person one) but then, of course, learns that "with great power, comes great responsibility".  His story is not one of destiny it is one of chance and choice.

As for the other plots, Harry shouldn't have yet become the Goblin; his transformation feels rushed and almost tacked on.  After injecting himself with the 'super-spider' venom, he collapses and, even though he just entered the facility 30 seconds earlier, somehow knows to crawl directly to the body armor and glider that will preserve his life; it's a mess.  And all for only about 5 minutes of screen time as the Goblin.  Think about that for a minute: the Green Goblin, Spider-Man's deadliest foe, shows up for 5 minutes and has one fight with Spider-Man.... really? They should have simply introduced Harry in this movie and then had the transformation take place in a third film (and, hey, then maybe Emma Stone could have stuck around a little longer). Also, he looks pretty stupid as the Goblin.

On top of that, the number plots slows the pacing to a grind and, the more plots you have, the more plot holes. They should have trimmed down the story; just make it Spidey Vs Electro with a subplot of furthering the romance between Peter and Gwen.  Save the Goblin for part three. 

Also, the CG is bad... I mean, really bad in places; the Rhino almost looks like something out of a Sci-Fi original movie; what's weird is that it is inconsistent in its badness.  In some places, it's decent; in others, awful.  As though some scenes were left unfinished and completed in a rush. 

It's not that there isn't anything to like: Andrew Garfield is great as Parker/Spidey, Emma Stone is delightful and has great chemistry with Garfield... oh, and they finally made Spidey funny!  I've longed for a movie Spider-Man who slung jokes just as much as webs.  Also, the first third of the movie is actually a lot of fun before it trips up and gets lost in its own plot.

May's Album of the Month: Radiohead- Pablo Honey

Ok, so we all owned Pablo Honey at some point in 1993, and we mostly just owned it for one reason: "Creep". By 1994, most of us had traded that CD back in to the store thinking that Radiohead were flash-in-the-pan, one-hit-wonders. But, there was that one friend, who was really into the album who insisted that there was more to the band than "Creep" and that they were the future of rock.  Turns out, of course, that he was right.  By 1995, Radiohead released The Bends and showed everyone that they were a force to be reckoned with.  However, at least stateside, their debut album remains vastly underrated (I did some checking and, as it turns out, the album did have a bigger impact in the UK).

The Bends is usually held up as an exemplar of the group as a 'rock' band, however, in many ways, Pablo Honey actually rocks harder; The Bends was a great leap forward for the band, and it's definitely a bit more polished but Pablo Honey is more raw, more immediate. Thom Yorke's vocals have never soared quite as high as they do on this album, especially on more recent albums where he tends toward more subdued vocals or falsetto. Also, it is also a lot more ambitious than people remember; the guitar freakouts on this album could be just as avant-garde as anything on Kid A or Amnesiac.

Key Tracks: "You", "Creep", "Anyone Can Play Guitar","Thinking About You", "Ripcord", "Blow Out"