Movie Review: X-men: Days of Future Past

In human conflicts, one man's hero is anther’s villain.

I could be wrong, but the sentence above, describes a point of what I've thought X-men, a 50 years old franchise, has been trying to illuminate for more than half a century. That out of fear and uncertainty, people turn to the safety offered by certainty, where certainty becomes a shield of self preservation, a hammer to bash down that which they cannot understand. In the world of X-men, the "hero" for one group, Magneto, who uses extreme methods to fight for the survival and freedom of mutants, becomes a villain in the eyes of its opposing force, represented by those humans who fear the mutants and wish to extinguish them. Great battles follow, until both groups wipe each other out.

Or, is there an alternative way according to Charles Xavier, the leader of X-men?

In X-men: Days of Future past, it explores this premise once again, with an intriguing storyline and exhilarating actions. Let's have a closer look:

Synopsis:

In the future, X-men assembles to battle the Sentinels, advanced machines designed to wipe out both mutants and humans. However, even with their extra-ordinary super powers, X-men found themselves overpowered by the Sentinels. As more and more people die in the hands of Sentinels, the X-men team came up with a final, desperate plan. They would send Wolverine back to 1973, on a mission to change history and prevent the Sentinels from ever being made.

Should Wolverine fail, the Sentinels would eventually wipe out both mutants and humans. Can Wolverine succeed?

What I think about this movie:

Since year 2000, Marvel has released 7 X-men movies. Days of Future Past is my favorite X-men movie up to date.

This movie is all round good entertainment. The story is interesting, for a time travel story, the plot in Days of Future Past is not overly complicated, but it does not mean it is without meanings. Indeed, my opinion, the premise of X-men sets itself up to reflect the truth behind great conflicts in the human history, the past, the present, or the future. In X-men, lying underneath all the spectacular fights between superhumans, is a premise that illuminates the the nature of human conflicts, it extends into politics, religion, down to every facet of the human experience. Another interesting aspect about X-men, is that it seems to be saying, at the end of the day, while there are good and bad actions, but even people who do bad things, often don't see themselves as carrying out bad actions.  In fact, they often believe they are actually doing good things! When I left the cinema, I paused, and reflected if I have ever acted like Magneto in my own life.

I wonder if sometimes, we all act like Magneto in our own lives.

On top of an interesting story, Days of Future Past drives audience to the edge of their seats, with heart pounding actions. The fight scenes are well choreographed, and enhanced by good use of CGI. I watched this movie in the normal 2D platform, because I read another review, where the reviewer suggested that the 3D post conversion of this movie is not that impressive. However, I have not seen the 3D version myself, so I can't really review this part.

Overall, X-men: Days of Future Past is a solid movie, it has an interesting story and good actions. It is good enough to warrant that a trip to the cinema will worth your time and money.

P.S. If you watch X-men: Days of Future Past, make sure you stay until the END of the credit, where a scene shows the new villain for the next X-men movie. Let me just say, long time fans of X-men have lots of reasons to be excited about the next X-men movie.