Having directed the first two (and the best two) X-Men films, Bryan Singer now returns to the franchise in the interesting and complex X-Men: Days of Future Past. Combining many of the cast members from the original films with the younger versions of the characters who were found in the excellent X-Men: First Class, Singer and company have turned out a first-rate comic book adventure tale featuring a time travel story that doesn’t make one’s eyes roll and riddled with exciting ways to reunite so many beloved characters from this most emotional and humanistic of the Marvel franchises.
Studio: Fox
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio: English 7.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 2 Hr. 11 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray, Digital Copy, UltraViolet
keep case in a slipcoverDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 10/14/2014
MSRP: $39.99
The Production Rating: 4/5
Under threat of complete annihilation from a squadron of highly advanced robotic warrior sentinels who can mutate as well as any living mutant, Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) has Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) put Logan (Hugh Jackman) into a state where he can go back through time to 1973 in order to prevent Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing the inventor (Peter Dinklage) of the Sentinels during which operation her DNA is harnessed allowing the future sentinels to be able to mutate into any mutant just as she can. In order to pull off this risky changing of history, Logan must enlist the combined efforts of Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who not only are in 1973 bitter enemies but also struggling with their own difficulties: Xavier with a loss of power by using drugs which will allow him to walk again and Magneto who’s ten stories underground at the Pentagon, captured and imprisoned for his involvement in the JFK assassination ten years earlier.
Simon Kinberg’s marvelous script allows him to have not only our most familiar mutant warriors on hand but also work in others even if they’re only around for a few scenes. One of the film’s most accomplished sequences, for example, involves Peter/Quicksilver (Evan Peters), a necessary ingredient in order to get Logan underground to release Magneto. A bravura kitchen sequence where he outraces a hail of gunfire to save his friends while all the time having his own bit of fun in the process comes early in the movie, and his character pretty much disappears after that, but it’s so delightful a scene, so magnificent in the acting, directing, and special effects work that it’s just a pleasure to gape in awe of what can be accomplished today in movies. The film is filled with such awe-inspiring moments: Magneto’s ripping apart an entire stadium and using it for his own purposes, Xavier’s first moments returning to his beloved lair with its eye-popping pyrotechnic display. And when the time comes for emotions to come to the fore, the script never makes a wrong move with earnest pleas between characters to think before they act, when characters struggle to figure out their next moves, and in the film’s most nakedly affecting climactic moment when Logan gets his reward for a job well done, the movie shows it can combine the comic book fantasy with real world emotions and be all the better for it.
Though it’s terrific seeing Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, and others of the old guard again, the film still belongs firmly to the new (old) generation: Michael Fassbender’s dynamic, driven Magneto, James McAvoy’s pained and poignant Xavier (though he and Patrick Stewart share a scene that’s immensely powerful), Jennifer Lawrence’s single-minded Raven, and Nicholas Hoult’s entertaining Hank. Of course, Hugh Jackman’s quintessential Logan/Wolverine is the focus of the film (he gets top billing among the stars), and he has admirably made strides in making this version of his iconic character a bit advanced from his last foray in The Wolverine showing growth and progress with handling his emotions. Peter Dinklage is as sure-footed and solid as always as Dr. Bolivar Trask, and Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, Daniel Cudmore as Colossus, and Bingbing Fan as Blink (who opens portals to different times) all make firm impressions.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
The film is presented in its theatrical 2.40:1 aspect ratio and is offered in 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. The future sequences are bathed in blackness emphasizing the bleak, stormy future that the mutants are facing, and the black levels are indeed outstanding with superb shadow detail. The 1973-set majority of the film offers outstanding sharpness and solid color rendition with believable and appealing flesh tones. Contrast is perfectly modulated throughout the movie. The film has been divided into 40 chapters.
Of course, the film was released to theaters in 3D, and there is a commercial 3D version available, but only the 2D version was sent for review.
Audio Rating: 5/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound mix offers just the kind of immersion one requires of these comic book adventure films. The entire soundstage is utilized to the max in terms of split surround effects with frequent pans across and through the soundfield, and John Ottman’s music likewise receives a full spread through the fronts and rears. LFE channel activity stays busy throughout the enterprise with wonderful bass effects that you’ll feel at certain key moments.
Special Features Rating: 3.5/5
Deleted Scenes (5:36, HD): five deleted scenes may be watched together or separately and have the option of director Bryan Singer’s commentary track for them.
Gag Reel (5:40, HD)
Kitchen Sequence (6:28, HD): an outtake that shows the difficulty of filming it with the director unable to communicate with his actors without breaking them up. It’s explained in the featurette.
Classification: M (11:54, HD): director Bryan Singer, producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Hutch Parker, and other members of the cast and crew talk about the new mutants engaged for this chapter of the saga: their powers and how they were achieved on-screen.
X-Men: Reunited (9:47, HD): along with director Singer and producer Lauren Shuler Donner, members of the “old guard” including Hugh Jackman, Shawn Ashmore, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Ellen Page discuss the thrill of coming back to an X-Men film.
Double Take: Xavier & Magneto (11:51, HD): the two actors who each play Magneto and Xavier along with director Singer and producer Donner talk about their characters’ states of mind during the story. We learn that the future scenes were filmed first and that McAvoy and Stewart spent one day filming their scene together: Stewart’s last day on set and McAvoy’s first day of shooting.
Sentinels: For a Secure Future (9:19, HD): actor Peter Dinklage along with director Singer, producer Donner, writer Simon Kinberg, production designer John Myhre, along with sound designer Craig Berkey and special effects supervisor Derek Spears talk about the transformations of the robots from their 1973 incarnations to the future models and how effects and sound were combined to make them truly frightening creatures.
Gallery: Trask Industries (HD): three art galleries with sketches and models may be stepped through by the viewer offering dozens of drawings and photos: Mutant Experiments, Blueprints, and Set Constructions.
Theatrical Trailers (7:09, HD): three theatrical trailers may be viewed individually or together in montage.
Second Screen App: supplementary device application for use while viewing.
Fan Art Booklet: enclosed in the case
Digital Copy: code sheet for iTunes and Ultraviolet inside case.
Promo Trailer (HD): Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Overall Rating: 4/5
X-Men: Days of Future Past in another excellent entry in the X-Men franchise: exciting, unpredictable, touching; all of the things one expects from this terrific Marvel franchise along with reference quality picture and sound. Recommended!
Reviewed By: Matt Hough
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