Holy cow.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Posts: 55632
Joined:
May 2010
Spit it out, now. And don't forget to put some money in the swear jar.Bacon wrote:Holy fuck.
Posts: 197
Joined:
July 2010
Here's my full review:
First, we had the tonally confused & logic challenged "Amazing Spider Man 2". Then, we had the boring and self-serious "Godzilla". Both films had great moments, but there were never any "wow" factors outside of the computerized effects sequences.
I was consistently wowed by this movie, and not just the effects. But, the actors... And, the writing. Just because something might be a comic book movie does not mean that it does not have a responsibility to be a good movie. And, fortunately, this happens to be a very good movie, maybe teetering into "great".
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is the first good blockbuster I've seen this summer. It has the spectacle, the action, the fights that we come to expect from escapist entertainment. But, it never forgets that it has to be a good movie first. And, a good movie it is. Very good, in fact. So good, that I think a lot of the hardcore FOX/X-Men haters might have to eat their words after seeing this.
It seems as though both Bryan Singer & FOX feel more comfortable embracing the comic-book style of it all. Previously, the grounded & realistic tone of the previous films were more so a result of a studio (or more specifically, a studio exec) stubbornly unwilling to trust audiences with comic book visuals, and superhero lore. This time around, there's a sense of fun to this one that I haven't felt in ANY of the previous X-Men movies. Not even in the one that I consider to be the best one still (X2).
The character building that takes place amongst the main cast really works. Wolverine is thrown into an entirely new role, and it's fun to watch him squirm as he has to become "the leader".
Mystique has a more fully realized story arc than the one she got in "First Class". She is the anchor of the entire storyline. And, she gets a lot of emotional layers to play with, and they're played well thanks to Jennifer Lawrence's deft & full-bodied performance. But, the way her character is written works because she is a character that exists in shades of grey.
And, that theme of "shades of grey" continues with Xavier's story arc. Jennifer Lawrence anchors the film, but James McAvoy brings an inner tension that has never been associated with Professor X. His performance is absolutely incredible. He brings vulnerability and hurt to the role, and makes this particular X-Men movie more emotional than we've ever seen.
One other choice I really loved was Magneto's further descent into full-on villainy. Previously, Magneto was never a full villain who did explicitly villainous things. This time around, they tip that scale, and he goes further into the deep end. One might think this would make him a one-note villain. On the contrary, it makes him more interesting and fascinating as a character. Speaking of villains, there's a reason why Peter Dinklage has gotten the popularity he has gotten... Because, he's a damn good actor. And, that is no different here.
And, by the way, all of y'all owe a big giant apology to Even Peters aka Quicksilver. He is the major highlight of the film. His major scene is so badass, it's up there with the best moments in comic book movies. Like the semi-truck flip in TDK, the Nightcrawler scene in X2, the battle in Afghanistan in Iron Man, this is the scene that will be remembered forever. But, his whole entire character is one that I'd love to see in future movies.
The future sequences recall many things, but none of these things feel like they're being ripped off. I love the use of powers during the future scenes. I especially loved the used of Blink's powers. In fact, those moments felt most like an actual X-Men comic book than any other X-Men film. Which brings into view one of the issues... This film is almost exclusively focused on the past timeline. We barely see/hear/know anything about the characters in the future timeline. I would have loved to see more of their team dynamic.
Also, another character that doesn't really get an arc is Beast. He has this "hulk" thing where he can control his mutation as long as he doesn't get angry. This continues (on paper, at least) his story arc of appearance and fear of not being accepted. However, his character feels like he just kinda has to be there just to be there. I'd like to see him do more.
The visuals are amazingly realized, and the action scenes are unique and inventive. But, this film finds most of its shining moments in the character interactions. I've complained about ALOT of recent films and their lack of convincing core character development. ASM2 suffered from focusing too much on building future movies rather than focusing on telling one story. That isn't a problem here.
This is not a flawless film, nor is it even the best X-Men film (X2 still holds that crown to me), but it is still an absolutely excellent film. This deserves the title of a blockbuster. It's spectacle and story mixed together, rather than just spectacle. Fast paced, smartly constructed, intelligently written, cleverly funny, and surprisingly emotional, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" presents a brighter future for the X-Men. And, that's reason alone to see this on the big screen.
...Well, that and it's awesome.
SCORE: 9.0 (out of 10) = DOPENESS
First, we had the tonally confused & logic challenged "Amazing Spider Man 2". Then, we had the boring and self-serious "Godzilla". Both films had great moments, but there were never any "wow" factors outside of the computerized effects sequences.
I was consistently wowed by this movie, and not just the effects. But, the actors... And, the writing. Just because something might be a comic book movie does not mean that it does not have a responsibility to be a good movie. And, fortunately, this happens to be a very good movie, maybe teetering into "great".
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" is the first good blockbuster I've seen this summer. It has the spectacle, the action, the fights that we come to expect from escapist entertainment. But, it never forgets that it has to be a good movie first. And, a good movie it is. Very good, in fact. So good, that I think a lot of the hardcore FOX/X-Men haters might have to eat their words after seeing this.
It seems as though both Bryan Singer & FOX feel more comfortable embracing the comic-book style of it all. Previously, the grounded & realistic tone of the previous films were more so a result of a studio (or more specifically, a studio exec) stubbornly unwilling to trust audiences with comic book visuals, and superhero lore. This time around, there's a sense of fun to this one that I haven't felt in ANY of the previous X-Men movies. Not even in the one that I consider to be the best one still (X2).
The character building that takes place amongst the main cast really works. Wolverine is thrown into an entirely new role, and it's fun to watch him squirm as he has to become "the leader".
Mystique has a more fully realized story arc than the one she got in "First Class". She is the anchor of the entire storyline. And, she gets a lot of emotional layers to play with, and they're played well thanks to Jennifer Lawrence's deft & full-bodied performance. But, the way her character is written works because she is a character that exists in shades of grey.
And, that theme of "shades of grey" continues with Xavier's story arc. Jennifer Lawrence anchors the film, but James McAvoy brings an inner tension that has never been associated with Professor X. His performance is absolutely incredible. He brings vulnerability and hurt to the role, and makes this particular X-Men movie more emotional than we've ever seen.
One other choice I really loved was Magneto's further descent into full-on villainy. Previously, Magneto was never a full villain who did explicitly villainous things. This time around, they tip that scale, and he goes further into the deep end. One might think this would make him a one-note villain. On the contrary, it makes him more interesting and fascinating as a character. Speaking of villains, there's a reason why Peter Dinklage has gotten the popularity he has gotten... Because, he's a damn good actor. And, that is no different here.
And, by the way, all of y'all owe a big giant apology to Even Peters aka Quicksilver. He is the major highlight of the film. His major scene is so badass, it's up there with the best moments in comic book movies. Like the semi-truck flip in TDK, the Nightcrawler scene in X2, the battle in Afghanistan in Iron Man, this is the scene that will be remembered forever. But, his whole entire character is one that I'd love to see in future movies.
The future sequences recall many things, but none of these things feel like they're being ripped off. I love the use of powers during the future scenes. I especially loved the used of Blink's powers. In fact, those moments felt most like an actual X-Men comic book than any other X-Men film. Which brings into view one of the issues... This film is almost exclusively focused on the past timeline. We barely see/hear/know anything about the characters in the future timeline. I would have loved to see more of their team dynamic.
Also, another character that doesn't really get an arc is Beast. He has this "hulk" thing where he can control his mutation as long as he doesn't get angry. This continues (on paper, at least) his story arc of appearance and fear of not being accepted. However, his character feels like he just kinda has to be there just to be there. I'd like to see him do more.
The visuals are amazingly realized, and the action scenes are unique and inventive. But, this film finds most of its shining moments in the character interactions. I've complained about ALOT of recent films and their lack of convincing core character development. ASM2 suffered from focusing too much on building future movies rather than focusing on telling one story. That isn't a problem here.
This is not a flawless film, nor is it even the best X-Men film (X2 still holds that crown to me), but it is still an absolutely excellent film. This deserves the title of a blockbuster. It's spectacle and story mixed together, rather than just spectacle. Fast paced, smartly constructed, intelligently written, cleverly funny, and surprisingly emotional, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" presents a brighter future for the X-Men. And, that's reason alone to see this on the big screen.
...Well, that and it's awesome.
SCORE: 9.0 (out of 10) = DOPENESS
I watched it. It's the shutter-speed, not the frame rate. They create similar looks, which is likely what they meant by "leaving the option open" for an "extraction".m4st4 wrote:I have no idea... but they were definitely playing with it, and several sequences felt like 48 fps, even though they weren't - all's I'm sayin'.Crazy Eight wrote:What does that even mean? "It was shot in a way that a 48 fps version could be extracted". That literally doesn't mean anything, and they specify that HFR was only used for certain effects sequences.
That's my only problem with the film; it looked like it was shot in 48-fps in a lot of sequences, and I despise that method of film-making.
This was amazing.
god dammit, I hope you people aren't overhyping me for this
fuck
fuck
Don't listen to us. Have your own expectations just going off of what you've already seen.Cilogy wrote:god dammit, I hope you people aren't overhyping me for this
fuck
Bacon wrote:
