X-Men: Days of Future Past Should Have Been the Finale

I could just say ‘this movie retcons X3 and Origins out of existence’, and that would be sufficient reason to call it a masterpiece. But that probably wouldn’t be enough for an article, so we’ll dive a little deeper than that.

Days of Future Past was put in a bizarre position. It had to tie together two separate timelines of the same franchise, both of which were so different that they were basically different series altogether, into one narrative. And it somehow had to tell an actually compelling story that could bring both of them to a close. All without being a confusing, unwatchable mess.

So that’s what they did. The result? A pretty damn solid comic book movie.

In the future, the unstoppable Sentinels have brought Mutants and mankind alike to the brink of extinction. In order to save the world, the X-Men and Brotherhood join forces to perform an impossible plan: send someone back in time to prevent the Sentinels from being created. And the one person capable of making that trip: Wolverine. Can Logan find a way to convince a young Charles and Erik to work together again and save the future? Or will the timelines be plunged into an even darker fate?

After re-watching the original trilogy, I found myself enjoying this movie even more than before. It’s surprisingly nice to see all the original X-Men again, even if they are as flat as cardboard. Sort of like finding all your old favorite toys at the bottom of a long abandoned crate.

That being said, the story is much more focused on the new timeline. Which I would be mad about, if it weren’t the best part of the movie bar none. As a continuation of First Class, it has some issues, like Charles being able to walk again and Hank just being a dude again. But the drama between a broken Charles, a young and determined Magneto, and an extremist Raven, with Logan caught right in the middle, is amazing!

Also, Quicksilver. You already know why that’s a positive point.

They really nailed the Sentinels in this movie. The giant murder bots have always been one of my favorite parts of X-Men stories, and they’re at their most menacing in this movie. Seeing them so easily adapt to any mutant’s abilities and turn them against them makes for some genuinely horrifying death scenes. Whenever they show up, you genuinely feel like everyone is in danger.

I could write entire articles about some of my favorite scenes. The Quicksilver scene is one of the best comic book movie scenes ever. Seeing young Charles and old Charles talk about hope is genuinely tear-jerking; McAvoy and Stewart are incredible actors, and their chemistry together was downright electric. And I love seeing an older Logan trying to mentor a younger Charles; it’s a fun little twist on their usual dynamic.

The ending is definitely a highlight. Again: for no other reason than X3 is no longer a thing. Which would be a lot more satisfying if we didn’t later get ‘X3 but boring’ as a replacement.

In terms of visuals, this movie is still surprisingly solid for a nearly decade old movie (no, it can’t be a decade, I still remember seeing it in theaters!) The CGI still holds up, especially for the sentinels. Although the cinematography and editing are just okay.

Again: save the Quicksilver scene. God damn, that shit was incredible!

Of all the X-Men movies, Days of Future Past is definitely in my top three. It’s such a solid conclusion to the X-Men series, both the old movies and the rebooted timeline. It had a lot to juggle, and somehow it managed to handle it all without fumbling any of it.

Problem is: they kept on making movies after this one. But only one of them was actually good. Take a guess which one I mean.

Here’s a hint: it sure as fuck ain’t the next one.