X-Men Movies/YouTube
X-Men First Class is what the X-Men franchise should have been. It was an inherently good film with complex characters and great super power effects sprinkled in. First Class was significantly better at establishing the characters’ unique motivations and personalities without relying on special effects. There was great casting, groovy ’60s references and it was a stand-alone film that entertained die-hard X-fans and noobs alike.
The trailer for X-Men: Days of Future Past is up and running. I instantly had PTSD flashbacks to the original films. Bryan Singer sets up the first two to end with an epic war and the Phoenix Saga, one of the most memorable storylines in X-Men history. Then he pulls out to make the worst Superman movie ever, Superman Returns. What follows, X-Men: The Last Stand, has all the superhero action you’ve been craving but a horrible mash-up of three major X-storylines and cracked-out plot twists.
The best part of First Class is that it brought hope. Hope that the X-Men trilogy would remain in the clearance bin. A storm is brewing and it’s not Halle Berry in a bad wig. It’s fear…for the future.
These are my major fears for X-Men Days of Future Past:
Berry’s Personal Life Will Affect the Script
Halle Berry is an amazing actress and stunning beauty. However, she doesn’t have the dynamism and attitude to play Storm. She brings more intensity to her role as an ex-junkie in Losing Isaiah than she does as Storm, weather goddess and overall bad mama jama. Storm’s role in the franchise had to grow to keep Oscar-winner Berry involved in the project.
Apparently, her new pregnancy will affect Storm in this film. In an interview with the BBC, she said “Storm probably won’t be as badass as she was going to be because we won’t be able to do any fighting or flying or things like that.”
I’m sure Viola Davis, Angela Bassett, or even Octavia Spencer would be happy to fight, fly, and give a more badass performance as Storm in the future.
Too Many Characters
Judging from the trailer there are a hell of a lot of characters in this movie. Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Professor X (James McAvoy) return from First Class. Magneto, Rogue, Shadowcat Storm, Iceman, Colossus, Wolverine and Professor X (Patrick Stewart) return from the trilogy. The new characters of Bishop, Sunspot, Warpath and Blink, Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask and Evan Peters as Magneto’s son, Quicksilver.
There were some great actors in First Class but there was just the right amount of mutants to allow for actual character and plot development. The number of mutants in X-Men was too low and The Last Stand had too many.
Too Many Plot Points
From the trailer alone, the film is attempting too much. The film will have to fill us in on what’s been happening to the characters after First Class. It will also have to establish the world of the future. It will introduce the Days of Future Past storyline and introduce Bolivar Trask’s Sentinel agenda. It also plans on establishing a relationship with Magneto and his son and introduce a whole new group of mutants. Plus, there are rumors of the introduction of Apocalypse. I can barely explain that in a paragraph let alone a two-hour movie.
Lame Design Choices
The costumes in First Class were amazing. The retro-futuristic brings a sense of realism to the costume design of the comics. Days of Future Past looks a little too fetishy. People are fighting for food and water in the future but there are ample amounts of patent leather and latex? Did they get the production designer from Mortal Kombat: Annihilation?
Also, Hoult’s make-up for Beast in First Class was so amazing and in-line with Beast in the current X-Men Comics. Reworking his make-up so he looks like Kelsey Grammer was unnecessary.
Ian McKellan Will Spend The Whole Movie Talking About “War”
McKellan’s Magneto spends 65% of his screen time in the trilogy talking about a war. He mentions it once in the trailer. If McKellan says “war” one more time I run the risk of turning into Dark Phoenix myself…or having a brain aneurysm. I’d much rather hear him say, “You shall not pass!”
Days of Future Past could end up being amazing. But if it isn’t, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.
