The latest film in the X‐Men franchise continues the path of its predecessor X‐MEN: FIRST CLASS, but this time with the help of the „old“ guard. Set both in an undefined grim future, where all mutants face obliteration by the Sentinels (Gort is sending its regards!) ‐ and in a nicely and believably done 70ies setting, Wolverine and his friends try to avoid that extinction by manipulating the time line.
This time Bryan Singer ‐ who signed responsible for X‐MEN and X2 ‐ is back in the director’s chair and he delivers what fans may have missed with THE WOLVERINE which was a (cool) Martial‐Arts‐Thriller rather than a superhero movie. He offers impressively shot mutant action combined with an enthralling and touching story with some funny historical tongue in cheek remarks. Moreover Bryan Singer never forgets that X‐men is all about discrimination, being deviant, the fear of the unknown and the evil side of human kind. He focuses (with one exception) on the main mutants without getting lost in introducing too many supporting mutants (and their talents) and prefers to explore the emotional development of the characters and their shifting loyalties.
Even though Wolverine and the „First Class“ are the leading cast for two thirds of the movie, their older selves aren’t just decorative elements and their appearance is plausible. The film was shot in 3D and ‐ unlike many other films ‐ not converted during postproduction. This may have resulted in higher productions costs, but the outcome is worth it, because here 3D really adds depth without looking artificial and enhances the overall result without using annoying pop‐out effects. The only thing on the negative list is insufficient information about the future. We only learn that it looks a bit like in the Terminator series and that humans finally want to kill all mutants, but we never know what happened to human kind itself. Where do all the people live, what are they doing, what does this future look like, away from dark and sinister mountains?
Fans will probably discuss endlessly which one of the films is their all‐time‐favorite, but this new X‐Men clearly belongs to the best one in the franchise. Considering this and having X‐MEN: FIRST CLASS as solid basis with now established characters and no serious competition on the opening weekend X‐MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST will enter #1 on the box‐office charts in Austria and Germany. Moreover it will surely surpass its predecessor which had the lowest opening of the whole franchise in both countries, but that may also have been due to extremely strong competition by HANGOVER 2 in its 2nd week and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN which was still very successful in its 4th week.
But the X‐Men’s biggest (Box‐Office) threat might not be the Sentinels, but in fact the sun, because after two weeks of cold, stormy and rainy weather, people are craving for warmth and sunshine and unlike Americans, Central Europeans prefer sitting in an outdoor garden with F&B rather than going to a movie theater.
Max Krausmann
