Ten Stars or Less

run time: 131 mins
rated: PG
considered: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
director: Bryan Singer
starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Daniel Cudmore, Bingbing Fan, Adam Canto, Booboo Stewart, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Lucas Till, Evan Jonigkeit, Mark Camacho

movie summary: At some point in the future, the X-Men will hunted down by robot machines engineered to find and kill any and all mutants. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellen), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), and Storm (Halle Berry) are all that is left of the original X-Men group who are on the run from the robots in the Himalayas. They meet up with a few other mutants who have been fighting the robots for a long time. They gather in the mountains to attempt to travel back in time to prevent the machines from being created and destroying their race.

Professor Xavier has his telepathic abilities but traveling through time would not be safe for him since he is older and more brittle, the same can be said for Magneto, so this leaves Wolverine as the only X-Men member capable of going making the journey. Time travel should be easy on his mind and body since he has the ability to self-heal. Magneto and the Professor explain that Wolverine will need to go back to 1973 when the robots were being introduced by Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinkage) in Washington, DC. His mission will be to find Xavier, Magneto, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast/Hank (Nicholas Hoult) and get them to corporate together to take down Trask. There’s only one catch with the band getting back together, none of them talk to each other since the events of 1962 and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Wolverine goes to sleep in the future and wakes up in the past, he borrows a car and heads to upstate New York to find Xavier’s school for the gifted closed and run down. He is greeted by Hank/Beast who doesn’t know him and informs him the “Professor” doesn’t live there. Thinking this is crazy Wolverine forces his way into the house to find Xavier to be a washed up heavy drinker who is on some heavy drugs for his gun shot wounds that allow him to walk again but not use his powers. Beast transformers and fights with Wolverine around the house when Xavier finally calms them down only to laugh at the Wolverine’s story about time travel. When the three of them finally agree to work together Xavier explains Magneto is being held prisoner in Washington, DC and that they will need help to break him out, Wolverine knows just the mutant who can pull the job off. The trio finally leave and track down Quicksilver (Evan Peters) who has lightning quick speed that can pull off such an escape. Magneto is surprised Xavier would bother to break him because of the events that occurred last time they were face to face, after a few punches Wolverine calms everyone down. The four of them board a plane to London where Trask is going to be giving a speech to some of Asia’s top generals in an attempt to launch his robot program. Mystique shows up to assassinate him only to chased down by Magneto who decides to take matters into his hands.

The meeting takes place in a five-star resort where all hell breaks loose, Mystique flies out a window into the crowd below exposing herself to the world. Magneto continues his pursuit dominating both Beast and Wolverine in the process. Trask can’t believe what he has just witness and scrapes Mystique’s DNA off the ground to use for his robots. He is thrilled with the idea that his robots would have the ability to transforms into anyone like Mystique does. Xavier stops taking the medicine so he can regain his telepathic abilities to track down Mystique and Magneto. Along with Beast and Wolverine, the three of them find out Trask is in Washington, DC again getting his robots approved by President Richard Nixon (Mark Camacho) and is only a few days from getting them turned on. They pack up again and head to the National’s Capital to prevent Mystique from killing Trask yet again, this time the four of them are caught off guard when Magneto decides to use the robot unveiling at the White House as an opportunity to showcase his power. He brings down the whole event and half the city of Washington in an attempt to send a loud and clear message that mutants have powers and if these robots get launched some of them are powerful enough to bring them down. The world watches in horror as the Wolverine, Xavier, and Beast will try their best to stop Mystique and Magneto from setting the world down a path that will end the mutant race in the future.

my thoughts: I’m so excited to tell you about X-Men Days of Future Past that I’m not sure where to begin. As previously stated in other reviews I have never been a huge X-Men fan and most of the original movies are hit and miss with me, except X-Men First Class which I love. I previously thought that was the best movie of the franchise until last night when Days of Future Past became the best movie I’ve seen so far in 2014. When I got to work this morning and told my boss about the movie I explained this is a movie I would actually love to own along with First Class. It had everything you could ask for in an action packed superhero movie, there was lots of humour, a compelling story, amazing character chemistry, and enough drama and tension to keep you on the edge of your seat for two hours. You will find yourself laughing out loud as some events unfold while other moments you will watch in awe when things go bad and they need to use their powers to fight the good fight. The best part of the movie is the ending which brings the franchise full circle and is very touching, I personally love happy endings so I was extremely pleased the way it ended and applauded them for doing it the way they did.

Like most X-Men movies Wolverine plays a major part of the story along with Professor Xavier and Magneto, the three of them are seriously the legs of the whole franchise despite an amazing performance by Mystique/Jennifer Lawrence. She has come a long way very quickly in Hollywood because of her talent which was on full display in Days of Future Past. I felt in First Class she was not used enough or actually had a significant role but this time around she joins the big three as one of the stars that the movie focuses on to move the story along. Most people will groan at the thought of a time travel movie, but given how great the performances were of McAvoy and Fassbender from First Class along with Days of Future Past, you won’t even care what the main theme of this movie is when you see them light up the screen with their performances. Fassbender is a brilliant choice as a young Magneto because he fits the part so perfectly. He just looks like a smart, dark, and cunning person that is always out to do something destructive in accordante to his personal agenda. McAvoy takes a step back from the typical Professor Xavier role we have come to expect because he needs to show weakness and lack of désire towards life and his fellows mutants for this story to work. He has suffered through the years in numerous attempts to united mutants always to get hurt both physically and mentally, he has had enough until his best friend Wolverine reasons with him to lead the fight to save their race.

Days of Future Past is the best movie of the X-Men franchise and will be extremely tough to replace as the crown of the mutant race. The clash of past and present X-Men characters was brilliantly done and presented in a way that will please fans and moviegoers across the globe. The story sucks you in and makes you forget you are watching a “superhero” movie and is so compelling that will not be sitting there wondering what time it is and how longer until it’s over. It may be tough to sit through the whole end credits, but this is a Marvel movie so be prepared for a scene to foreshadow an even powerful enemy who is on the way.

my star rating: 10 out 10

imdb.com: 8.7 out 10
rottentomatoes.com: 90% out 100%
metascore:  74/100