Film review - X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past sees the characters from the X-Men film trilogy joining forces with their younger selves from X-Men: First Class in an epic battle that must change the past, to save the future.

You know you’re in sure hands as soon as Patrick Stewart intones the themes (faith, destiny, hope) over shots of a stormy 2023 apocalypse, where mutant-killing robot  Sentinels have set Prof Xavier a poser: ‘Is the future truly set?’

The test for that question is a madly ambitious tale of choice and redemption, ushered briskly across space and time as 2023 Wolverine’s consciousness is zapped into his 1973 body.  His mission: find the young Charles Xavier, reunite him with a young Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto and stop young Mystique before she ruins things for everyone.

Once Wolverine wakes up in the past he has his work cut out for him. The Vietnam War has just ended and no one wants to go through another ordeal like that. Enter Dr. Bolivar Trask a scientist who has developed mutant-killing machines that will keep the US safe from future enemies. Empathy is not Trask's strong suit. Like concentration camp doctors in WWII, Trask is perfectly happy to ‘experiment’ on mutants to perfect his machine. Meanwhile, back at Xavier's Institute, Charles is a broken man with few hints of the Professor he may (or may not?) become. Erik is not the easiest man to talk to for a variety of reasons that will delight conspiracy theorists. Getting them to work together will take all Wolverine's powers of persuasion.

The X-Men series has always worn its allegorical nature on its sleeve; it’s about people who are different, no matter what the context.  X-Men have always stood in for the outcasts, the refuse and the unwanted who feel like they've got nowhere else to go.

There is also a strong sense of cause and effect in this film: that our actions have real consequences, and this means we each have a great responsibility every time we make a decision, no matter how small. We see characters deeply remorseful over the consequences of their actions when they finally realise what they have done.

A prominent theme of hope plays throughout this movie, as well as the belief that no one is too far gone; everyone deserves a second chance to change their ways and make amends. As Professor Xavier says at one point, ‘Just because someone stumbles, loses their way, doesn’t mean they are lost forever.’

One of the clearest parables about this is that of the prodigal son, found in the Gospel of Luke. In this parable the son claims his inheritance, moves away and sinfully squanders his fortune only to return offering to serve his father rather than to continue feeding strangers pigs. Instead of being harsh to the now repentant son, his father, a type of God our father in heaven, rejoices. That is how God looks upon us when we come back to him after losing our way. God not only has the power and willingness to forgive us of our sins, but he can mend us and even rewrite our history so that the darkness of our past takes on new meaning. To put it simply: God can restore to us what was lost in more ways than we can imagine, especially when we consider the implications of Heaven and eternity.

Like most Marvel films, X-Men: Days of Future Past is a fun, fast-paced romp, with plenty of humour and action scenes.  A scene involving an escape through a prison kitchen is both mind-bendingly brilliant and hilarious, while the ’70s vibe is omnipresent with polyester shirts, bad hair, great music and Richard Nixon.  The ensemble cast is stellar and includes Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Peter Dinklage.

Overall, this is a stirring, thoughtful and engaging sequel to the excellent X-Men: First Class and well worth a look.

Review by Martin Barratt

X-Men: Days of Future Past
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy
Director: Bryan Singer
Rating: M (Violence and offensive language)
Run time: 2 hours 11 mins