X-Men: Days of Future Past was amazing; I want to start with that. But before we go any further, let’s put all our cards on the table here, folks: HERE BE SPOILERS. That being said, everything that is remotely spoiler-y will be under the cut, so read this part just fine. We are now two weekends removed from the premiere of X-Men: Days of Future Past, and I’ve seen it twice. That has given me what I hope is a little better insight on the new entry to the X-Men franchise, and possibly a way to share that with you, the reading audience.
So, now that all of that fun stuff is out of the way, let’s get to the really good part: the movie. I’m going to level with all of you (okay, the one of you that might read this). I wanted to try and come down off the movie, but it’s like a drug. My levels of obsession with it are bordering on the unhealthy, which I suppose is problematic, but nothing I can’t handle, yet…can’t handle so far… Look, I’m not going to lie. It’s a downward spiral, alright?
X-Men: Days of Future Past (from now on referred to as DoFP) was a great superhero movie. One that, for me, has entered into my own personal top five, joining the ranks of The Dark Knight, Avengers, Captain America 2, and Hellboy. It made it up there with a combination of the maturation of the directing style of Bryan Singer, the surprisingly deft script work of Simon Kinberg, and the superb acting of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Ian Mckellen, and Patrick Stewart. I want to particularly single out McAvoy and Fassbender, for reasons that will be apparent once you are able to watch the film. DoFP, while ostensibly about Wolverine travelling in a very willy-nilly, timey-wimey fashion (again, these movies might as well be called “Wolverine and the X-Men”), is more about the relationship between Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique. McAvoy and Fassbender lend a sense of seriousness, and weight to each scene they occupy, especially when they are in it together.
There are so many solid characterizations in this movie that I don’t want to forget to mention the character of Peter Maximoff, I’m not sure anyone, but Evan Peters, could have pulled it off. Possibly one of the worst character reveals in the history of film promotion, Peter, or Pietro, was played with a sense of sly conviction and sarcasm. It was a breath of fresh air for a character I am excited to see more of him, if the X-Men: Apocalypse casting rumors are true. Since there is a spoiler warning at the beginning, did you guys see the slow mo scene in the Pentagon? Because holy **** guys, that was some of the best use of slow mo in recent memory.
I bet at this point you are asking yourself, why after all this praise, doesn’t the film reach higher levels in my top five? That is a valid question, dear reader, because here is where my issues with the film arise. You might have noticed that I mentioned a third name there when I was talking about Magneto and Professor X, Mystique. Jennifer Lawrence is spectacular as Raven/Mystique, but she along with Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask, and Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, were all underused so much it was criminal. For a film where Mystique was set up as the linchpin in history, the proverbial turning point, she was given surprisingly little to actually do in a movie that seemed to focus more on the redemption of Xavier, which may or may not have been a good thing. I’m still not quite sure.
Another major issue I had with DoFP is half nerd quibble, and half the removal of importance on a certain character. The original DoFP storyline is anchored by Kitty Pryde, one of my favorite comic book characters, and arguably strong enough to carry a movie all on her own. Especially when portrayed by Ellen Page. So why was it necessary to change it to Wolverine then?
In an interview with Empire magazine, Singer addressed the exact question I am asking.
“It was logic for the story, ” the director said. “It felt logical that he’s a character that we’re very grounded with, that we like to see in these movies. And his younger self would have the same appearance as his older self, so the same actor can play the role. Most importantly, the idea is that when we go back in time and discover Magneto and Xavier as young men, they’re at great odds and very wrecked and unmanageable, and I liked the idea of an older character having to manage these two reckless young men. If it had been a character jumping into their younger self, then it would have been a young character doing that and with Kitty Pryde it would have been a very young character. Well, in our world she wouldn’t have been born at all. And lastly Wolverine, from a technical standpoint, is the only one who can traverse that distance. The notion is that she can send people back in time for a week or two which they use in the future as a defense mechanism, but to physically send someone back that far is too damaging for the mind and the body. But Wolverine’s body heals, so as long as he remains focused and calm, he can remain until she can no longer control it.”
Ok, so that’s an answer I suppose. But here is my problem, in context of the films that have come out, that makes sense. The last time we saw Kitty, she was in Brett Ratner’s horrifying addition to X-3. The whole point of this new movie is to remove films like tha,t and X-Men Origins: Wolverine from the Fox/Marvel films story canon, which is great, I guess. But the mishandling of solid female characters like Kitty led us to this place where one of the coolest characters in the X-Men wheelhouse is relegated to a supporting role for Wolverine. It’s disappointing, and now that the universe is rewritten at the end of the film, I worry that we won’t ever get to see Ellen Page really get a chance to make Kitty shine. For a humorous take on this, you should check out another Sub-Cultured article. Leia did a solid job presenting the problem in a humorous light.
Is that all I have to say? Not by a long shot, but I think I’m going to need to watch the movie a few more times before I can genuinely talk about some of the issues I had. But for a franchise that’s been floundering recently, X-Men: Days of Future Past is much more than passable. Entering the realm of some of the best Comic Book Films ever made, Bryan Singer and company gave us a X-Men film that wipes away most of the bad past, and gives us the chance for a shiny new future.
Film Review: ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’
MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 131 MIN.
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Six of us set out to see The Hunger Games with very different backgrounds. Some of us read the books, some of us don’t read at all, and some of us cosplayed. We aren’t saying who is who, but we will tell you that this is a movie that can appeal to anyone, no matter what knowledge they come into it with! Keep reading to find out our who’s who in reviews!
killerrqueen
So. The Hunger Games. Coming from a fan of this franchise and a fresh 2 hour power reread the night before, I went in with low expectations as I do with everything that I enjoy making that terrible trek to film, but was pleasantly surprised. First person perspective limits books entirely too much and I was glad for the breaks from the intensity to visit the real world outside of the Arena on occasion. The characters were spot on, especially the “kids,” but at times the secondary cast seemed one dimensional. I feel like there were places that Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks and (most especially) Woody Harrelson really wanted to visit with their roles and wanted to see their interactions more, but they were limited by being simply background. Jennifer Lawrence completely immersed herself in her role and really shines as Katniss and it is very refreshing to see the girl has acting chops, since this franchise will inevitably be compared with Twilight. As is the case with books to film, things were left out. However, rather than the understandable filler chapters of larger books, this time around it was small details that got the axe. After discussing the movie with my roommate who had never read the books, things that we take for granted as readers weren’t as clear to movie-goers, most notably the whats, whys and more details were wanted about the rebellion of the Districts. Also, I feel that the loss of the Muttations at the end of the movie really took away a lot of horror at how much control the Captiol does have over everything, and could’ve quickly been explained by a short spurt of dialogue in the Gamemakers HQ and a slight revision of the mutt models. Overall, I felt that the movie was both very true to the book and a good stand alone at the same time. And totally worth cosplaying. I mean, watching.
Ladyvader99
I went into The Hunger Games hoping for the best. So many book adaptations suck ass but I’m glad to say this was faithful and all around great. Jennifer Lawrence shone throughout the film and her potrayal of Katniss was spot on. Josh Hutcherson was perfection as Peeta and easily was one my two favorite things in the entire movie. The other? Woody Harrelson’s hilarious take on past District 12 victor, Haymitch. The only thing that kept this from being an A++ film for me was the ending. I wanted Katniss to shatter Peeta’s heart but alas, my inner glee at other’s misery was not to be felt that night. Soundtrack was nothing that made me want to run out and buy it (sorry, Taylor Swift), however I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of gore allowed for a PG-13 movie.
NestoRox
I have not read the books and felt lost when watching the movie. Overall, it was alright. I think the movie was geared more to the fans of the book. The movie could of used some clarification on the whole “girl scout” hand gesture. Also, what was up with the Close Encounters of the Third Kind whistle? That is what it sounded like to me. In the end, I would prefer to see Battle Royale.
Deadrabbit92
The Hunger Games is one of the most solid book adaptations that I’ve had the pleasure to not be disappointed by. Even when it inexplicably deviated from the books, the film’s casting made up for a great deal of these little changes. I’d have to say that my favorite part of the movie was either any one Capitol scenes (which were visually disturbing as well as being spot on from the books) or Jennifer Lawrence’s performance as Katniss. Unfortunately, the movie was a little too true to the books in the annoyingly long and boring “love scenes” that seemed thrown in just to appeal to the young adult audience. Peeta’s seemingly limitless cuteness made up for a lot but I think the Peeta/Katniss exchanges could have been done with a lot less drag. Though if the book couldn’t accomplish that, perhaps it’s not fair to expect it of the film. In addition, the film’s soundtrack bordered on disappointing. Looking to follow the trend of best selling Twilight soundtracks, the music failed to live up with the vampire series’ tracks and was largely forgettable. I’d like to close with a little attention paid to the cornucopia. In my theater atleast, there was a collective noise of relief and clarity when the structure was revealed. Apparently everyone else had as much trouble picturing it as I did. It does seem I can balance out any flaw that I found with the film with a positive :) Go see this movie!
Crabacca
I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, which is a bit rare these days when novels are interpreted on the big screen. Often there is too much in the book to convey in the allotted time on screen; however, The Hunger Games managed to cover most points relatively easy. Still, there were some things left out that I think hurt the story. Personally, I felt the relationship between Rue and Katniss could have been fleshed out more. One thing the movie did do that the book couldn’t, was show Haymitch working to get Katniss what she needed during the Games. I really wanted to see this part of the story in the book, as well as the reactions around the Districts to the Games themselves! The book, however, is written in first perspective. So although it wasn’t the “perfect” reflection of the book, it was still an amazing film!
I love the books. I really love the books. And I love the movie. Even if there were talkative 12 year old in front of me. I can completely understand why the purists are flipping out over some things being changed. But that being said, had the changes not been made, the movie would have taken forever. Most likely, the violence and scary factors (Muttations and the like) would have raised the rating level, thereby eliminating the largest movie going factor for the film. Also, I loved dressing up as the bad guy. Yes, there were a billion tweens in line. But only one overdressed villain. (P.S. – Jennifer Lawrence could ave used a more sunken cheek look to be from such a food deprived area.)
One thing we are a big fan of here at ihogeek is Netflix. In fact, don’t bother recommending a movie to me unless it’s on instant, because if it’s not, I’m going to pretend it doesn’t exist. So, as a service to our Flix users and readers we present a new series of articles that will give a second chance to movies we skipped seeing in theaters. Because one of the few things we love more than instant streaming with no commercials is The Hunger Games, Check out my review of Winter’s Bone starting the future Miss Katniss Everdeen after the jump.