X-Men: Apocalypse Review

X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest superhero adventure in a summer full of superhero flicks, and a sort of trilogy conclusion to the X-Men: First Class trilogy of films. Can this next X-Men film stand against the various other superhero films this summer? Well, let's find out!

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Genre: Action, Comic Book, Sci-Fi,

Release Date: May 27, 2016

Running Time: 144 minutes

MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Quicksilver's scene is one of the best movie scenes all year, Magneto continues to be the emotional core. Superb performances across the board, Epic cameo, Apocalypse is a unique type of evil, Often quite funny, Impressive kills, Excellent new cast, Great soundtrack, 80s setting and references, Star Wars meta-humor, Revising history, Oscar Isaac nails it, Quicksilver is the best thing ever, Impressive special effects, Interesting world building,

The Bad: Less accessible to those not invested in the franchise, One missed opportunity, Somewhat generic finale,

Plot: 7.2/10- Opening with a scene in ancient Egypt, the film shows how Apocalypse was buried for thousands of years before being resurrected in 1982, the setting of the film. After the events of Days of Future Past, mutants are known by, and in some places, accepted among the general public. The world building is the first thing that stands out. X-Men revisionist history of the 1980s contains many of the familiar pop culture references, which makes the alternate world feel real.

One common criticism is that the first hour of the film is slow, and in some respects, that is valid. Personally, the first hour of collecting Apocalypse's Four Horsemen and the introduction of the new X-Men was entertaining throughout. However, my enjoyment of the buildup might be more so due to my love of the characters and franchise.

Apocalypse's weakest aspect is probably the finale. It's not especially unique compared to other superhero movies, at least narratively speaking. The events that take place are quite different and fun, but the central conflict is ultimately: "Bad guy wants to destroy the world. Good guys try to stop him." For me, it wasn't much of an issue.

X-Men's other weak point is that if you are not invested in the X-Men franchise and remember the previous films, much of the depth is lost. X-Men has been around for 16 years, so the lack of accessibility is certainly an issue. Actually, I have noticed that among younger and new superhero movie fans introduced to the genre during the new MCU era, those fans just do not care about the X-Men. They might go see them in theaters, but the fandom is lacking even half the enthusiasm and voice of the MCU, which is a shame. 

Characterization: 8.2/10- Magneto is a highlight in the film. His scenes have so much weight and pathos thanks to Fassbender and the previous development of the character. There is so much emotion to his scenes during the early parts of the film. Unfortunately, he does not play a major role in the middle portion of the film, and the engaging interaction between him and Professor X is minimal. However, everything about his character works so well, despite limited screen time.

Professor X does not have the powerful character arc of Days of Future Past because, at this point, his character is established and stable as he aids the younger generation. Mystique is.... fine the film. Her role serves its purpose in an interesting way for the plot. Hank McCoy, aka Beast, plays a relatively small part as the teacher guiding his students, much like the comics.

Apocalypse, the film's titular antagonist, portrays an interesting type of villainy. Some complain that he lacks menace, partially due to Oscar Isaac's relatively small stature. However, to me, this take on Apocalypse is more of a cult leader giving off an air of benevolence and almost kindness to his followers. Compared to the typical maniacal villain that's trying to takeover the world, Apocalypse's refreshingly calm presence makes for a strong villain. Unfortunately, the finale with Apocalypse is a bit of a letdown after him being such a powerful figure in the comics.

While the other characters all serve their part well, the true standouts are Quicksilver and the new cast members for Scott, Jean, and Nightcrawler. Quicksilver's role and characterization are greatly expanded upon compared to Days of Future Past. And his main scene is absolutely spectacular, easily the best part of the movie; true show stealing stuff. While you might not be able to tell from his part in the original X-Men trilogy, Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is actually a cool character, almost like the Captain America of the X-Men, so it was great to see a young version of the character being portrayed so well. Jean Grey is equally as stellar in the film, and the subtle romance between the characters is excellently executed. Nightcrawler has been sorely missed from the X-Men films, so it is also great to see his character reestablished. As an X-Men fan, seeing characters other than Wolverine being the focal point is a true pleasure. Storm is also introduced, although her role is smaller, albeit still well executed. With that said, what the heck happened to Jubilee's screen time!?

Direction: 8.5/10- Bryan Singer really knows how to make an X-Men film, despite his reluctance to commit to the classic costumes. His visual style really works, as the film looks and sounds like the 80s. The action sequences, while expectedly inferior to Captain America: Civil War, are rather impressive. The mutant powers on display are fun to watch as no other superheroes have quite the wide range of power sets that the X-Men possess.

Acting: 9.2/10- X-Men's cast is always a highlight and Apocalypse is no exception. Michael Fassbender shines bright with a performance full of gravitas and weight, even more like Sir Ian McKellen's take on the character. Despite having less to do this time around, James McAvoy continues to give a top notch performance. While "phoning-it-in" is an exaggeration, Jennifer Lawrence does not have the type of screen presence compared to her other recent roles, and Nicholas Hoult is always a joy to watch. Oscar Isaac plays the mix of evil and calm excellently as Apocalypse, even if that is not the type of villain viewers expected. Evan Peters’ charisma and charm continues to be a blast to watch as Quicksilver as he steals every scene. Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Alexandra Shipp all play the younger versions of classic characters superbly with Turner being the standout as Jean Grey. Everyone else in the cast are good as well.

Special effects: 8.8/10- Aside from the occasional bit of noticeable CGI, X-Men: Apocalypse actually manages a lot of CGI heavy scenes incredibly well with the powers providing very colorful and exciting visuals. Of course, Quicksilver's sequence is the highlight as it almost makes you wonder how the heck did they pull it off!? 

Soundtrack: 8.5/10- John Ottman returns to score X-Men: Apocalypse, and his work continues to be high quality and fitting for the film. The use of licensed songs from the 80s added a great sense of fun and familiarity to the period setting.

Humor: 8.7/10- Surprisingly, this is a very funny movie at times. Whether it's Professor X stumbling over his words with MacTaggert or Nightcrawler's clumsiness, the humor is really spot. And again, Quicksilver's scene is brilliant and absolutely hysterical!

Entertainment Value: 9.7/10- As an X-Men fan, X-Men: Apocalypse is a pleasure from beginning to end. The bits of fanservice sprinkled throughout certainly made the film even more fun, especially a certain cameo that was apparently spoiled in a trailer, which I did not see. 

Overall: 8.0/10- Making way for the new generation of characters, X-Men: Apocalypse might suffer from a few nagging narrative issues that bring it down from the instant classic territory of the previous two X-Men films, but its exciting new cast, Magneto's riveting scenes, and stunning display of mutant powers makes it a treat for X-Men fans and a fun superhero flick for everyone else. With that said, if you are not invested in, or familiar with the X-Men franchise, the film's score would probably be more of a mid-sevens, rather than a flat eight.

Closing comments: While definitely weaker than either First Class or Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse is a lot better than the Rotten Tomatoes score gives it credit. Sure, it has flaws, but not every superhero flick can be the masterpiece that is Captain America: Civil War. Below is a review by one of my favorite movie critics and top reviewers on YouTube, Chris Stuckmann, that highlights many of the film's strong points.

Recommended for: X-Men fans, Superhero fans, Action fans,

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Fantastic Four (2015) Review

Fantastic Four is the latest Marvel superhero reboot by Fox, the studio that brought us X-Men and those two corny Fantastic Four films starring Captain America, which no one cares to remember.

If you have read some of the reviews, you may know that almost everyone hates on Fantastic Four, aka "Fant4stic" if you read the poster. However, going in without any knowledge of what everyone else was saying, Fantastic Four proved to be a film with fantastic potential with a unique take on the superhero genre, even if fails in certain places.

As you may know from my post last week, the Fantastic Four are Marvel's first superhero team, which was created in response to DC's Justice League. Stan Lee considered leaving Marvel, so he created the type of team that he wanted to make, and the result was the Fantastic Four, a superhero team that was more family than team. F4's success lead Stan to continue writing comics that we all know and love today like X-Men, The Avengers, and so much more. In many ways, the comic is one of the most important to Marvel as a whole. Unfortunately, the corny 2005 film and its sequel did not do the team any favors, and neither is the response to the reboot.

Directed by: Josh Trank
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comic Book,
Release Date: August 7, 2015
Running Time: 100 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Fresh take on the origin story, Realistic science setup, Horrifying transformations, Solid performances, More science than superhero, Fantastic first hour, Slow burn pace, Doom is cool for five seconds, Several cool FX scenes, Military involvement

The Bad: Anticlimactic and disappointing finale, Missing 20 minutes, Falls apart at the end, Doom is massively misused (again), Rushed finale, Dodgy FXs, Not enough Ben Grimm, A few strange lines, Missed opportunities

Plot: 5.0/10- Josh Trank and company take a more grounded approach to the classic origin by making the film more of a science gone wrong story than a superhero origin. Taking a slow burn pacing approach, the characters are gradually established and the relationships between the characters are built. For the first hour of the film, I was completely engrossed in the science fiction tale. Sure, many viewers apparently found all the science talk and constructing the teleportation device dull, but it established the characters as college students that bond over this shared goal. Granted, it is not the typical popcorn adventure that people expect from a superhero movie, but it got me hooked. Honestly, I could watch these characters interact for much longer.

Unfortunately, the film falls flat not long after the characters receive their powers. After the initial reveal, which is superbly executed and horrifying, the plot just falls apart. Being only 100 minutes long, Act 3 felt more like Act 2.5 because the villain is introduced and in about 15 minutes, the film just rushes towards the conclusion. It has one of the worst endings I have seen in a comic book film in a very long time. Plus, as the trailers show, there is more footage that could have been used to further flesh out the characters and add more action. At one point in the movie, you see several cool action sequences on a TV screen. Why not introduce the characters' powers that way!? It could have improved the pacing drastically. Up until that point, it would have been among the better half of superhero movies for sure.

Characterization: 7.9/10- The core members of the Fantastic Four, plus Doom, are well established, except for Ben Grimm. While building the device, you can see how three of the characters in particular bond. When they make the decision that leads that ultimately leads to receiving their powers, they act like college students, so their actions make sense.

Reed Richard is the most well developed character of the cast, and Victor von Doom was well established for the first part of the movie, although his motivations are well written, yet not well executed. Everything leading up to the characters receiving their powers excellently portrays the characters as well. Having read the comics, I felt bad knowing what would ultimately happen.

Unfortunately, the rushed Third Act mostly tramples all of the strong groundwork laid out. Doom is ruined yet again! For some reason, the writers have never read a F4 comic! Actually, his powers remind me of that one move in the Marvel vs. Capcom video game called "Molecular Shield," which is where Doom throws rocks as an attack. The creators obviously saw that and decided to make the entire character like that, although he was cool for about 60 seconds.

Direction: 6.7/10- Tonally, Josh Trank certainly departs from the more lighthearted roots of the comics with a tone more in line with the X-Men films and Ultimate comics. One aspect that really worked well is how F4 demonstrates the major difference between Fox's X-Men universe and Disney's Marvel universe.

In X-Men, powers are perceived as a threat to mankind; almost a curse in some respects, while Marvel is more optimistic, which creates an interesting dichotomy. DC tried this in Man of Steel and failed. The best example of this is when the team first receives and uses their powers. The scene is filmed in a way to make it horrifying; it almost made my skin crawl! Of course, F4 fails in that awful Third Act that contains one of the worst superhero action sequences of the last few years.

Acting: 7.9/10- Miles Teller is an undeniably great actor, and while some of the material towards the end is weak, he pulls of the college genius element well. When Michael B. Jordan was cast as the Human Touch, a traditionally white character, there was a huge uproar, and while it is unnecessary to the story, he actually did a good job in the role. Kate Mara as Sue is a bland, as she is the weakest of the cast. Fan favorite, Jamie Bell, is not given nearly enough screen time, although he is good with what he is given. Lastly, Toby Kebbell as Doom is actually very good in the early parts of the film, until he receives his powers.

Special effects: 6.8/10- The special effects are hit and miss. Sometimes it looks legitimately cool, and other times it looks somewhat cheap. Overall, it is not half bad.

Soundtrack: 7.0/10- Marco Beltrami and Philip Glass' score is solid, albeit somewhat unnoticeable during the film.

Humor: N/A- Aside from a few quick gags, there is not much humor present.

Entertainment Value: 7.8/10- Until the Third Act, the movie was engrossing and entertaining for a sci-fi fan like myself. Apparently, I am just about the only person that enjoyed though.

Overall: 6.3/10- More science than superhero, Josh Trank's reboot establishes grounded characters in this drastically different take on the Fantastic Four that succeeds at making the origin fresh and new. Unfortunately, the decent groundwork in the first hour is undermined by an anticlimactic finale that is among the worst superhero conclusions of the last decade.

Closing comments: Despite my seemingly positive review of Fantastic Four, many of the criticisms about the film are entirely valid. I just value the first hour more than others, although that last part is a complete atrocity!

Recommended for: Sci-Fi fans, Fantastic Four fans, Marvel fans,

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X-Men Angel Costume and Actor Revealed

Information on the new Angel in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse has been released. Ben Hardy is set to play the characters, and apparently, his only notable acting credit for a long running BBC soap opera, EastEnders. Other than that, this is his first starring role. As expected with an Apocalypse story, Angel is going to be turned into Arcangel, one of Apocalypse's Horsemen, and the concept art below shows us what he is going to look like. On a side note, I suppose the series is disregarding the previous X-Men films' timeline entirely since the character was featured in X-Men 3: The Last Stand and he would be far too young for a mid-80s set film. It really does not matter since that movie was mediocre anyway. What do you think of Arcangel's look? Please comment below and let me know.

Archangel from the comics

Source: IGN.com

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X-Men: Days of Future Past Second Viewing

I watched X-Men: Days of Future Past, again! Believe it or not, I have never seen a movie twice in theaters, until now. One of my objectives while watching Days of Future Past again was to determine if my opinion has changed whatsoever from my perfect 10/10 original score from my original review. After my second viewing analysis, my original opinion is most definitely reaffirmed. I could not find a single aspect of the film that did not work or was flawed. The characters received ample development, the plot is incredibly tight, with the time-travel logic being near perfect, and the performances are superb, particularly James McAvoy, who should be nominated for an Oscar. It is still one of my all-time favorite films, with a time-travel element that is one of the best explained and portrayed in a movie. 

Long story short, Jacob and I promised our friend Jackson that we would go see the movie with him if it would ever come to the local theater. Since it took so long to come, Jacob and I ended up seeing it out of town, but it finally came to the local theater, so we saw it again. With the exception of two kids, who were actually quiet, we indirectly knew the people in theater, so that was interesting. Have you seen X-Men twice in theaters? Have you seen it at all? If not, what are you waiting for!? Please comment below and let me know. Also, sorry for not replying to every comment, as you might know, my arm is bothering me badly, so I can't type with it.

This is my desktop background!

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X-Men: Days of Future Past Review

X-Men: Days of Future Past takes several years after the previous X-Men films in a world where mutants and those that have the potential to produce mutant offspring are either subjugated into concentration camps or are on the run from powerful robotic Sentinels that rule the new world. To prevent this terrible future from happening, Wolverine is sent back to the 70s to stop an event that sparked the war.

With 14 years and six films, the X-Men franchise has had a somewhat confusing continuity, and Days of Future Past bridges the gap between the two timelines setup in the original X-Men trilogy and the First Class film. Even though there are still a few minor continuity errors that are not entirely explained, considering what has happened to the franchise since Bryan Singer left, he was able to fix just about everything in Days of Future Past to near perfection, while simultaneously crafting an exceptional film that is one of the best comic book films to date.

Directed by: Bryan Singer

Genre: Comic Book, Action, Sci-Fi, Time-travel,

Release Date: May 23, 2014

Running Time: 131 minutes

MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: Compelling character development and drama, Logical time-travel elements, Several shocking plot twists, Quicksilver is jaw-droppingly awesome, Rights the wrongs of the previous films, Hugh Jackman is still the man, Blink is freaking cool, All-star cast, Impressive mutant action throughout, John Ottman's classic score, Many geeky references and geek-out moments, Ties-into the other films well, Strong performances across the board, Emotional impact, Perfect adaptation of source material, Thematically strong, Genuinely suspense, Great humor, Provides an excellent new starting point, Balances enormous cast expertly, Morally ambiguous, 

The Bad:

Plot: 10/10- Time-travel stories are difficult to write even when the entire film is focused on that one element, and as a massive fan of time-travel stories, spotting dodgy and inconsistent time-travel logic is not hard, yet Days of Future Past manages to craft a time-travel story that actually makes logical sense (or at least as logical as time-travel can be)! 

In other areas of the plot, Days of Future Past excels with brisk pacing that is never too fast or slow, reinforcement of the themes the X-Men franchise is founded on, and enough geeky references to make a fan giddy with delight. However, the movie does rely on the viewer's knowledge of the previous X-Men movies to obtain the full effect, and since I have seen all of the X-Men films multiple times, I was able to catch just about everything, but the casual viewer might become lost. The movie continues to throw in several very shocking plot twists, many of which made me audibly gasp. Additionally, Bryan Singer's pitch perfect tone captures the feel of the comics much more so than his previous work on the franchise.

Characterization: 10/10- Despite the enormous cast, the film is able to manage them skillfully. As with most X-Men films, Wolverine is the central character at first; however, Xavier, Erik (Magneto), Beast, and Mystique (mostly the younger versions) all receive ample development. In fact, the broken friendship between Xavier and Erik is possibly the strongest and most compelling aspect of the entire film. After seeing what has happened to the characters in both the future and the past, the conflict between the two characters is extremely effective. Mystique's character arc often surprised me with the direction it took and the amount of depth given to it considering the screen time available. Despite everyone's initial skepticism about the character Quicksilver (myself included), let me say, without a doubt, that his scenes are worth price of admission alone. Seriously, you have to see them to believe it.

Many of the characters from the original X-Men trilogy return and with the exception of Storm, I am fairly attached to these characters from previous films, particularly my one of personal favorite characters from the comics, Iceman. *Possible Spoilers* So, if you are also a fan of the movies and are still attached to some of these characters, prepare for a few heart wrenching moments of shock. *End Spoilers* In addition to all of these characters, there are other new mutants that are introduced like Blink, whose powers are amazing, and Bishop. While the new characters are more like extras in the battle scenes, there have never been cooler extras in a film. One aspect of the film that is often criticized is the motivations of the antagonist Bolivar Trask. While his character is not given a lot of depth, why does a military contractor need more motivations than money, the pursuit of science, and possible fame? That is often what motivates real life military contractors.

Action/Direction: 9.9/10- X-Men has always been unique in the fact that there are always such a large variety of mutant powers on display in film, and with ten years since Bryan Singer's last X-Men movie, he capitalizes on the opportunity for some awesome and inventive action set pieces. While the action is not on par with that of this year's The Winter Soldier, it is certainly an impressive effort, particularly anything that involves Quicksilver. In general, Bryan Singer's direction is spot on with some unique techniques and absolutely zero shaky-cam!

Blink's powers are freaking awesome!

Acting: 10/10- Days of Future Past's cast is huge! From Jackman's iconic portrayal of Wolverine to Michael Fassbender's brilliant rage to Patrick Stewart's gravitas, everyone is flawless. 

James McAvoy's performance is even more compelling than his last outing, and Jennifer Lawrence is well, the same J-Law that we all know and love, but darker and more conflicted this time around. Evan Peters as Quicksilver is another standout among the exceptional cast. Fortunately, even the horribly miscast Halle Berry is barely given any speaking lines to distract from the film.

Special effects: 9.8/10- Days of Future Past's special effects are its only weaker element since some of the mutant powers are not on par with the Marvel Cinematic universe in the larger action scenes. However, the special effects for Quicksilver boost the score substantially thanks to the best portrayal of superspeed in any film. Also, the practical makeup effects for Mystique and especially Beast were superb and very believable.

Soundtrack: 9.5/10- John Ottman returns to score the film, and his return is more than welcome. He combines elements of the brilliant First Class score with the original theme, which reminded me how good it was in the first place.

Humor: 8.0/10- While not always humorous, Days of Future Past has the perfect amount of humor to add to the enjoyment, yet still remaining serious. *Possible Spoiler* All of Quicksilver's scenes are positively hysterical! *End Spoilers*

Entertainment Value: 10/10- When I was not on the edge-of-seat in suspense or having my jaw drop to the floor, I probably had the dumbest looking grim on my face because I was in pure nerdy bliss. The X-Men are back and better than ever, and my favorite Silver-Age comic story is perfectly adapted. I have not been happier watching a movie since Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Overall: 10/10- Overall, X-Men: Days of Future Past is an exceptional experience that has the heart, themes, action, and characters that made the franchise and comic so great in the first place. And yes, I have done it again, another 10 out of 10, and on my scale less than 13 films have received such a rating, so know that I do not throw the rating around lightly.

Closing comments: X-Men: Days of Future Past has finally given us the an X-Men film that is on-par with Marvel's Cinematic Universe, as well as providing an excellent foundation on which to build the rest of the franchise on in the future. Note however, if you are not a fan of the X-Men films in some capacity, you will likely not find the movie as enjoyable and satisfying as I have.

Recommended for: X-Men fans, Comic Book fans, Action fans, Sci-Fi fans, Time-travel fans,

Please check back tomorrow for my review of Snowpiercer.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past First Impression

After too many complications to count preventing me from seeing X-Men: Days of Future Past, I finally got to see it and oh my, it was most definitely worth the wait. If you are not aware, I am a big X-Men fan. The first X-Men movie back in 2000 was the first comic book film I watched in theaters and I have been a comic book and X-Men fan ever since. Ever since hearing that Days of Future Past was going to be adapted into a film, my expectations were high, almost on par with my expectations for The Avengers, and the old Days of Future Past story is my favorite Silver-Age comic book storyline from any franchise. In addition to all that, time-travel stories are my favorite, so it is safe to say that I was beyond excited. While my full review for the film will be coming tomorrow, let me say that you should go see it in theaters if you have the opportunity. However, be sure that you remember what haloppened in the previous X-Men films because that is important. As for my moviegoing experience, it actually was better than usual. Even though there were more people in the theater than I have seen in a long time, thankfully there were no children! And, aside from some popcorn munching, everyone was relatively quiet! I was able to lose myself in the film's captivating story; it was great! Later this week, I will also be reviewing the recently released Chris Evans film Snowpiercer, so be sure to look for that on Wednesday.

While you wait for my review of X-Men: Days of Future Past, you can check out these other great reviews, and if you decide to comment, please let them know that James sent you (that sounded kind of cheesy, haha). If you have a review, please let me know in the comments so I can check it out. Hopefully I can post comments on y'all's reviews soon.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Review by Jordan
X-Men: Days of Future Past Review by Sarah

X-Men: Days of Future Past Review (Spoilers) by Hamlette

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Review by Daniel
X-Men: Days of Future Past Review by Rick
XMEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Review by Michael
X-Men: Days of Future Past Review by Matthew
X-Men: Days of Future Past Review by Filmgurulad

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X-Men Retrospective and Guide

With the upcoming release of X-Men: Days of the Future, it seemed like a good time for an X-Men retrospective looking back at all the films in the franchise as well as looking to the future of the franchise. The X-Men side of the Marvel universe is every bit as large as the Avengers; there are literally thousands of mutant along with other non-mutant characters related to the X-Men franchise. Despite a rough patch with Origins and X-Men 3: the Last Stand, the X-Men franchise appears to have finally gotten their stuff together with both First Class and the Wolverine turning out better than expected, and with Bryan Singer back for Days of Future Past, the X-Men's future appears bright. X-Men has to be one of the currently longest running franchises not to have had major recasting, like James Bond, or a complete reboot like Spider-Man. Additionally, if you are relatively new to the franchise, and you want to be ready for the upcoming Days of Future Past, I will explain which movies you need to watch, and what order to watch them in. Without further ado, shall we begin?

X-Men

X-Men, the movie that started it all. Sure, Blade was Marvel’s film big screen movie that did not completely suck, X-Men was the first real superhero movie, and it was a strong first effort. Coming off of the Academy Award winning The Usual Suspects, Bryan Singer finally gave audiences a comic book movie that actually takes itself seriously for the most part. Also, a relatively unknown Australia musical star, Hugh Jackman, was cast in the role of the franchise’s most popular character Wolverine, and it was certainly an excellent choice. While the film certainly has flaws, it still holds up well even today.

X2: X-Men United

After a very solid effort with the first X-Men, Bryan Singer kicks it up to another level by improving every aspect of his film. While the first X-Men was a lot of fun, X2: X-Men United was deeper and more complex in terms of the story and character motivation. We finally got to see a glimpse at Wolverine’s past, and the more anti-hero nature of Magneto is present in the film as well. With the exception of Halle Berry continuing to be the worst possible casting choice for Storm, and James Marsden as Cyclops continuing to get the short end of the stick in terms of development, X2 set the new standard for all comic book movie sequels to come.

X-Men 3: The Last Stand

After the awesomeness of X2, the Last Stand was a complete let down. While I do not hate the movie as much as others do, it still completely butchered one of the most iconic comic book stories of all-time, the Phoenix Sage, and now we will likely never see a good adaptation of the story. The lack in quality is due to Bryan Singer leaving the X-Men franchise to direct the even worse Superman Returns, which left Brett Ratner to ruin the movie in Singer’s absence. Despite its major issues, X-Men 3 is still a fun action movie, and a must watch for those wanting to watch the upcoming Days of Future Past since plot points in the film will likely be mentioned in the new film.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Wolverine's origin is one of the most mysterious and best origins in comics, so what did the team over at Fox decide to do? Overload the film with unnecessary characters, more action movie clichés than you can shake a stick at, and special effects that look like they were done in a low budget fan film (as you can see by the gif). On top of that, the film butchers one of the most popular and fun comic book characters, Deadpool! Yeah, saying X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a disaster is a bit of an understatement. Hugh Jackman is the only movie positive is the only thing the film has going for it unfortunately. Fortunately, much of the film is completely retconned with the subsequent films never really referencing any part of them, therefore watching it is completely unnecessary.

X-Men: First Class 

After a long delay in production, First Class was destined to fail, however Matthew Vaughn turned First Class into the best X-Men film yet and one of the few prequels to actually not suck. With a stronger focus on the characters and the themes of acceptance in society, First Class revitalized the X-Men after several years of disappointing films. In fact, First Class is one of the few comic book films that strays from the source material and actually manages to work. However, the film did confuse some viewers by making changes to the film’s continuity that do not entirely make sense. Hopefully Days of Future Past will clear up the confusion with its time-traveling plot.

 The Wolverine

While not as strong as First Class or X2, The Wolverine finally gave fans a Wolverine movie that actually does the character justice. While smaller in scale than the other films, the Wolverine focuses on exactly who it should, Logan. Aside from Viper, there are no unnecessary and random mutants to take the focus away from Wolverine, and it works very well. Even though the third act fell into a few tropes, James Mangold did a excellent adapting Wolverine’s journey in Japan. The Wolverine is not the most necessary film to watch before Days of Future Past, but if you have the option, most definitely watch it if you can because it continues Logan’s storyline.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Based on one of the more popular X-Men comic book storylines, Days of Future Past has been met with positive reviews citing that it may be the best X-Men film to date! Without spoiling too much, the cast of both the original X-Men films and First Class will be coming together for the film.

To summarize what films you should watch before Days of Future Past, the original X-Men trilogy and X-Men: First Class are all must-watches before seeing the new film, and the Wolverine is highly recommended for both being high quality and continuing Wolverine's story. 

With an X-Force and Apocalypse film upcoming, as well as a possible television series in the works, the X-Men's future looks bright!

What are your favorite X-Men movies? Are you a fan of the franchise? Please comment below and let me know. Now, I leave you with the coolest cartoon opening of all-time that defined my childhood.

  

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Channing Tatum is Gambit?

Channing Tatum has been officially cast as the X-Men Ragin' Cajun Gambit! Gambit is a popular member of the X-Men from the comics and 90s TV series that is more of a vigilant and loner member than other X-Men. You may remember Taylor Kitsch played the character of Gambit in the terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, and while he was one of the slightly brighter aspects of the movie, he was certaining nothing memorable, and seeing Tatum take up the role is a good idea. Channing Tatum has been wanting to play Gambit for a long time, and considering his recent success in everything he has been in, the Fox executives would be crazy not to sign him up! Also, hey DC when a popular actor, like Bryan Cranston, is practically begging to play a part in your movie, sign him up you freaking idiots! Oddly enough, Gambit has been one of my favorite X-Men ever since I was a kid, and while I have not seen Tatum act particularly well in any movie, others are saying that he has improved, so I have hope that he will be great. Tatum is not Cajun, but he is from the South, and he says that he will develop the accent. Also, Tatum's Gambit will make his first appearance in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, which will be released in 2016. What do you think of this news? Are you excited for any X-Men movies? Please comment and let me know. 

Taylor Kitsch as Gambit

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New X-Men Days of Future Past Trailer

A new X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer is here and it looks X-traordinary! This trailer is a stark contrast compared to other trailers with a somber tone and a lack of humor, which is making me X-tremely X-cited. OK, I will stop with the X puns. This looks like a war movie and Bryan Singer's direction looks excellent. The costumes and characters all look great. There certainly seem to be a lot of mutant powers on display and all of them look great. Jackman, McKellen, Stewart, Fassbender, McAvoy, Lawrence, and others all look great. Blink (blue Asia girl) and the others look cool and right out of the comics. 

On the negative side, Quicksilver looks just as horrible as everyone expected him to. But what strikes me the most is the look and build of the Sentinels. In the comics, they were a lot bigger and not malleable. What else is odd is that the Sentinels' face blast rips off the look of the Destroyer armor from Thor and it is not even close to that in the comics. They should be giant imposing robots, not T-1000s from Terminator. My only other concern is that there will be too many characters for one movie. Also, anyone else hopes that Storm dies in this movie? As much as I liked Halle Berry as actress, she is a terrible Storm. 

My overall thoughts on the movie and the trailer are: Shut up and take my money! I am going to see this in theaters and it is still one of my most anticipated movies of the year for sure. What did you think of the trailer? Please comment below.

Below is the picture of, what I believe to be, an official poster. It looks kind of odd but it is at the end of the officially uploaded trailers.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past Instagram Teaser

Yet another super short teaser for X-Men: Days of Future Past has been released. While not a lot was shown again, we do get to see a better image of Michael Fassbender's new Magneto helmet, and a good shot of Jennifer Lawrence. I am not sure when the full trailer to this teaser will be released, but I am certainly excited to see more. As for the movie in general, I am incredibly excited to see it! It should be excellent, providing Singer can balance all of the characters. What did you think of the Xtermely short X-Men teaser? Please comment below.

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