Aux commands of the two first opus of the saga and then the producer on the next two, Bryan Singer takes the X-Men and is the successor to Matthew Vaughn, who had marked the spirits with the excellent X-MEN – THE BEGINNING. This last was a return to the origins of the saga, placing its story in the 60s to follow the evolution of young Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto. A direct result of the previous section, although it is not necessary to have seen the movie from Vaughn to apprehend the Singer, this X-MEN – DAYS OF FUTURE PAST adapts the arc of a narrative imagined by the author of comics Chris Claremont in the 80’s.
In the future, the mutants are in danger of instinction by the Sentinels, giant robots, powerful and ruthless that the stalk on the surface of the planet. As the ultimate solution to change this apocalyptic future, Xavier and Magneto send Wolverine in 1973 to prevent the event that triggered this extermination to occur : the murder of Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels, by Mystique.
The bright idea of the last two movies X-Men – it omits the second spin-off Wolverine came in between time – is to register their stories in the Story. While the first three opus are focused on themselves, although their themes have a universal scope, the latter two components are based on a uchronie, which opens up exciting prospects, and brings a depth to the adventures of the mutants, who take part in a decisive way to the great events of recent History. In this sense, the reason for the imprisonment of Magneto, although anecdotal in the place of the story, is rather tasty.
But put immediately an end to the suspense : X-MEN – DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, he has qualities, has rather a tendency to disappoint in regard to its potential and the scope to which it could claim.
If the film manages quite effectively to the progress of its issues narrative and is followed without displeasure, he suffers all the same the heaviness of the psychological treatment of the main characters. The previous opus perfectly matched this data with the conduct of the story, elaborating on the trauma of the characters by means of action, which fluidifiait overall progress. In this sense, the treatment of Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto was exemplary. The film Singer, he passes more often in the dialogues to reflect the problems of his characters, particularly in the case of Charles Xavier. The heaviness of the process grinds to a halt regularly as the pace of the film.
“X-MEN – DAYS OF FUTURE PAST has tended to disappoint in regard to its potential and the scope to which it could claim.”
But the critical failure of X-Men, which suffers clearly on this point of comparison with the installment of Vaughn or the SPIDER-MAN 2 of Sam Raimi, if it is necessary to mention a remarkable instance, lies in its handling of action scenes : Bryan Singer never managed to sublimate by its staging. If they have the good taste to be readable, they are also terribly slow-moving but flat. Excited by the prospect of intense fighting, the viewer is frustrated by the lack of virtuosity set to work to make the whole dynamic, which determines decisively the reception of the film. In this sense, it is infuriating to note that the only action scene was brilliantly staged and is characterised by its uselessness dramatic, which reduces its effect and makes it anecdotal. This treatment, applied to scenes of large-scale (the final scene), or intensely dramatic (all sequences of actions in the future), would have given the film the scale, which misses him and that her only scenario, ambitious, can not give it to him.
In the end, far from being the great movie of super-hero hoped, or even the best opus of the saga, X-MEN – DAYS OF FUTURE PAST passes beside the work it could have been. In the state, it has the merit of being entertaining and rather fun, but Singer does transcends not the material that it has between the hands, and under-leverages tragically, the spectacular aspect of his film to give the final than yet another film of the genre.
• Original title : X-Men : Days of Future Past
• Achievement : Bryan Singer
• Screenplay : Simon Kinberg, Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, based on the arc of a narrative, Days of Future Past by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, based on the characters created by Stan Lee and Sam Kirby
• Main actors : Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence…
• Country of origin : United States, United Kingdom
• Released : MAY 21, 2014
• Duration : 2h11
• Distributor : 20th Century Fox France
• Synopsis : In the future, the mutants are in danger of instinction by the Sentinels, giant robots, powerful and ruthless that the stalk on the surface of the planet. As the ultimate solution to change this apocalyptic future, Xavier and Magneto send Wolverine in 1973 to prevent the event that triggered this extermination to occur : the murder of Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels, by Mystique.