Logan

The final chapter, a masterpiece!

Wow! I can't believe last night I watched what would be the final Hugh Jackman Wolverine movie. What started almost 16 years ago, ended the way many other movie franchises wish they had: Brilliantly! Logan is the third solo film in the Wolverine story but, it is actually the 8th time Mr. Jackman suits up in adamantium. I'm sure no other actor has ever worked this long with the same character, and a very complex character I might add. 

Following the huge success the X-Men films had in the early 2000's, 20th Century Fox decided to expand its universe with "Origin" movies for their most popular characters. Originally, a Wolverine & a Magneto movie were set to start a long list of mutant related films. Unfortunately, the poor ratings and harsh critics X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) received shut the doors for any other origin film. However, two years later in 2011, X-Men First Class brought hope to the world of mutants, paving the way to a massive and successful return of the Marvel Mutants to the big screen. Enter The Wolverine (2013), X-Men Days of Future Past (2014) & X-Men Apocalypse (2016) However, we're not here today to give a long explanation about how Logan came to be. If still interested, you can click on the links for our reviews of the previous incarnations of Wolverine. 

Now you pissed me off real good cocksucker!

Language! fucker!

So, Logan takes place in the year 2029, a future where there are neither mutants nor superheroes left. The reason behind this has to do with some evil science related to weaponizing mutant abilities. Logan is no longer the Wolverine. His days are spent as a weary limo driver trying to make enough money to feed his friends Caliban (Stephen Merchant) & Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). The first half of the movie is spent showing us how hard it is to survive in a world without heroes. There are no funds left, no school for the gifted left and no friends to rely on. Logan is very sick due to the Adamantium causing him some kind of blood disease, but he's the only one healthy enough to take of care of the once great Professor X. 

There are a lot of interesting, and very well executed, nods to the previous X-Men films. The film is pure adrenaline from start to finish, lots of massive action sequences where we finally see full screen what a sharp pair of Adamantium claws can do to whoever is stupid enough to piss off the great Wolverine. The opening line, "What the fuck?!" already tells us this is the ultimate film. Motherfucker, fuck, fucking, shit, son of a bitch become their own character, and add a lot of flavor to the dialog of characters that are dying on the inside. Dafne Keen (who plays, Laura, AKA X-23) steals the show! she's a super talented young actress! 

So you're the legendary Wolverine.

Military scientists are the worst!

The goodness Logan has doesn't just stop there. The film comes packed with direct messages on how fucked up things are in real life: The USA experimenting illegally in Mexico, Children trying to escape to the Canadian frontier, twisted scientists, exploited Mexican labor, abused children, abandoned old men with no health care system, and gory violence that actually makes sense. Furthermore, several characters first language is Spanish! ¡Sí! ¡lo escucharon bien putos! (yes!, you heard that right manwhores!). And finally, actors/actresses use it properly! with no shitty phonetics or singular/plural/gender issues! This is one of the coolest elements that make the film work wonders! You see, in Mexico, people speak Spanish, so the illegal installations gringos have, are all forced run by Mexican doctors & Mexican nurses. Their experiments are taught to speak Spanish as a first language and they nail it! Twenty thumbs up for the young bunch of actors/actresses who speak it properly and two extra thumbs up for adding realism to the film! I mean, how many movies that take place in non English speaking countries are spoken in the correct language? two? three maybe?  

Director James Mangold wasn't fucking around when he got the job! Also, Jackman spoke several times during the last couple of years about his true commitment to the final movie of the Wolverine. You see, he had fans in his mind! Logan is the closest Marvel Comics has ever gotten to having their own The Dark Knight movie! Forget the childish phase 1,2, who fucking cares anymore Disney films! This movie has balls!

Hola, mi nombre es Laura.

I will protect you Laura.

The realism this film has is also another of its strengths. Brutal in your face violence is just around the corner, but every mutilation happens for a reason, and in a film that I for one, believe it to be the most serious Marvel Comics movie ever made, violence is clearly a desperate cry of characters that are stepping on Legos on a daily basis. In addition, the drama behind Logan & Professor X is gigantically depressing! They barely make enough to eat once or twice a day! Charles is 90 years old and in need of a special drug to stop from having seizures that can kill mankind & mutants in a minute! He is no longer in control of his powers, and so is Logan due to his blood illness. Caliban is not a warrior, he just helps with home work. On the other hand the bad guys, AKA Alkali Transigen are fully funded and armed to their teeth! So here's where hope happens: One day, Logan is hired by Gabriela (Elizabeth Rodríguez), a Mexican nurse. The big revelation behind this moment is brutal enough to convince Logan to fight one final time for what he believes is right. 

The discrimination issue is nothing new in an X-Men film, only this time things went south the hard way pretty quick, and long before Logan realizes he's the only hope of a bunch of special kids that could mean the future for the extinct mutanthood. I'm sure Donald Trump & his supporters will not like this movie at all, so if you're one of those poor souls without a brain, watch something else, you can't build walls in a movie theater. 

Yes, these claws are real baldnuts!

I'm super pissed!

Nevertheless, this film doesn't take itself too seriously, there's a fair amount of good jokes that will make you laugh just before & after you finish wiping your tears. Also, the makeup they put on Jackman to make him look older is really good. Once you find out [SPOILER] you won't believe who's wearing makeup and who isn't! 

Plotwise, Logan borrows a couple of things from the 2008 Old Man Logan story arc written and penciled respectively by Mark Millar & Steve McNiven. Basically, they took the fact that Logan was old and sick plus the road movie feeling the comic book has. In addition, it features elements from 1986's Mutant Massacre (Chris Claremont & John Romita Jr.), 2004's X-23 (Craig Kyle) and 2014's The Death of Wolverine (Charles Soule & Steve NcNiven) From then on, the story is entirely new, and in timeline terms, it takes place in the future from X-Men Days of Future Past. The X-Men are no more, they were either exterminated by Alkali Transigen or sadly by Professor X, who refers to the "Westchester incident" (Westchester, for the unaware, happens to be the exact location of Charles Xavier's school in New York). This movie would bring emo teens to mass suicide (if they had any balls to do so).   

Overall, Logan is the "adult" Marvel Comics film we've been waiting far too long for. Even hardcore comic book readers will be satisfied. Go watch it now! and be careful with Adamantium bullets! I for one, I'm seriosly planning to watch it again in 4DX.

Warning!: Not for Disney Marvel fans, they will shit in their pants, bunch of pussies!

Here's the movie trailer:

And a bonus certain video from Deadpool:

X-Men: Apocalypse

The apocalypse of the X-Men franchise is finally here.

I know I said we were kinda tired of posting about superhero films but here we are again, back at it for spammy reasons. People who bashed Terminator Genisys (one of our most popular reviews of last year) for its time travel alteration of a beloved time line will have no balls to complain about the same issue in today's entry. Superhero movies are still in the spotlight and posers love to brag about how up to date they're with the latest trends.  

Today's review, X-Men: Apocalypse has a lot in common with Terminator Genisys not just in a single way, but in many ways. The former was made to attract newer generations into the myth of a well known universe with a 30 something years old fan base. The original X-Men films date back as far as the year 2000, so updating things without messing up time lines can be a tricky task even for his original film maker.

Alright team, this time we'll get it right.

Singer trying to come up with superhero suits.

Bryan Singer is not a great film maker, he barely makes it as an average director and to put it in business terms, because superhero films are big business these days, watching a Bryan Singer film can be best described as line stretching. Line stretching (as defined by the Business Dictionary) is Increasing the number of products within an existing product range with similar products that have additional or different features. When a business already has a well established brand, it can use line stretching to expand its product line and help increase its market share without having to develop substantially new products. The final line sums up exactly what watching X-Men Apocalypse is.

 

Understanding the film industry is all about business, the line stretching concept justifies hiring people like Michael Bay and Bryan Singer as film makers. Their job is to put minimum effort into expanding a franchise without substantial matter at all. Boy aren't they lucky, are they? Getting paid for doing a terrible job!

Although the first two X-Men films did have a moderate impact in the early 2000's (spawning other superhero films like Daredevil, Hulk, The Fantastic Four & Ghost Rider) Calling these movies influential & ground breaking is a big fat lie.

The new meh villain.

Angel & Storm are bad guys now?

The X-Men universe Bryan Singer built in the early 2000's was that of a realistic take on racial discrimination against people with a unique origin, or shall I say quality? The cool looking superhero suits were all replaced by black leather, and some of the signature features of the characters were gone for the sake of a PG rating and selling a lot of ugly toys. 

Move things back to the future and by the second half of the 21st century superhero films are as big as yer momma's ass. 2014's X-Men Days of Future Past brought Singer back into action with your favorite mutants BUT as usual, his characters are his own creation, or as I'd prefer to put it, his X-Men are his own disrepectful as fuck creation. Everyone, or most of the comic book readers are clearly aware of the Days of Future Past story arc as one of the best X-Men comic books ever but, the guy who gave Superman Returns couldn't care less so he profited on the name of a serious legacy, he's the click bait bitch of Hollywood.

X-Men Apocalypse opens up with the origin story of Apocalypse and how he's been able to move from century to century until he's ready to conquer the world by finding the most powerful mutants and making them even more powerful. Once he does that, he's off to Charles  Xavier school to either convince him of joining forces or destroying him and his students. The obvious thing happens, hence the battle of good versus evil is on again. However, don't think this is a negative review, this is an honest review, we're neither official media nor have we been paid to advertise a certain point of view (it happens more frequently than you think, specially with the movie & music industry)

They completely ignored my earlier movie appearances!

Looks aren't everything Psylocke.

Anyways, X-Men Apocalypse, has its charms. Quicksilver being my favorite character from DOFP, returns with more on screen time, which is a clever move by Singer, as he delivers the most entertaining scenes with a light hearted character that enjoys his superpowers  and is always willing to help those in need with no hesitation. The other new additions are mediocre at most. Unless we're talking about the new takes on Jean Grey & Scott Summers which explain their origin story as well as finally making it up for the old Cyclops seen in the first two X-Men films. James McCvoy's Charles Xavier & Michael Fasbender's Magneto are the best written characters out of the two latest X-Men movies. These guys were made for the role, and it shows. The other strong character, although it resembles nothing the source material is Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique. She steals the show every time we see her in the emotional scenes. The rest of the characters, including the new additions and Apocalypse are simply meh! Their personalities are utterly derivative and will not stay in your mind for long. As for plot twists or original story telling, I'm afraid nope, there isn't anything surprising here. Still, there are a few references to previous X-Men films that work very well, you know, the flashback scenes, and those linking X-Men Apocalypse to characters from the original X-Men trilogy. 

Another charm the film has is references to pop culture, specially 80's pop culture. You have Quicksilver playing Ms. Pac-Man, watching Knight Rider and saving the day while the background song is the god awful 80's shit Sweet Dreams by the even shittier Eurythmics. In addition, there's a movie theater scene where Jubilee, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler (dressed with Michael Jackson's Thriller red leather jacket) & Cyclops have just finished watching Return of the Jedi. The comments about how sequels suck, specially a third sequel, are hilarious, until you're at the very end of the film and realize this scene also fits the movie you're watching. 

Thank god he's back!

Younger & better versions of beloved characters.

Now, let's get down to the real reason I compare Terminator Genesys, to the new Bryan Singer X-Men movies: Messing with timelines is always a big thing, and fan boys do not forgive (Unless, it's Back to the Future or Dr. Who, nonetheless) These new X-Men films, clearly have nothing to do with comic book X-Men, so set that aside, X-Men Apocalypse feels like a forced sequel that desperately tries to cover every plot hole and establish connections with the whole X-Men franchise (yes, even including Wolverine's solo films)  The simpler the plot, the better the experience. When things are this tangled up, the presence of Quicksilver feels like a creme brulee passing softly through your esophagus, because the main course is rusty nails! 

Out of all 2016 superhero films the ranking, if rankings are your thing, are all clear now. The first place it's taken by Captain America: Civil War, second place is Deadpool and nobody cares about third and fourth but, I'd say there's an honorable mention to Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice for trying and that's 2016 for me.  Suicide Squad? ha! you've gotta be kidding! I'm sure that one will suck greasy balls.

Finally, a decent Cyclops!

I'm a bad guy just because.

All in all, everyone knows who the X-Men are, or at least have a tad of knowledge that is enough to watch this movie, even if you don't give a shit about comic books, or never read one just because you don't like reading. Is this essential viewing? no, not at all. In fact, if you don't watch it, you're not missing much. Fox studios have tried superhero films time after time and have failed time after time with Deadpool being the only exception (although the Deadpool movie feels like a one night stand, it's better than a lot of other superhero films around)

X-Men fans well, I'm sure they already know the only adaptation they consider nearly as good as the comic books is the 90's animated X-Men series, which despite not being that true to source, didn't drastically change the psyche of its characters, reason enough to praise it as a master piece. 

Verdict? X-Men Apocalypse is a mediocre derivative film at most, but everything that has the Bryan Singer signature on it, will inevitably be mediocre.

Here's the movie trailer, and no, I don't give a fuck about spoiler/no spoiler policies, you're all smart enough to wait. You'll find out the movie sucks sooner or later anyways. 

Trailer #1:

Trailer #2:

Trailer #3:

X-Men (The cinematic universe franchise)

X-Men in action.

Hello everybody, continuing with our duty of completing our list from the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Avengers Age Of Ultron begins, we'll discuss a once thought brilliant take on your favorite mutants: X-Men.The Marvel mutants first movie was so groundbreaking, that it spawned two direct sequels, 3 spin-offs and a late sequel. 

With seven films released, the X-Men film series is the 12th highest-grossing film franchise of all-time, having grossed over US$3 billion worldwide. It is set to continue with a spin-off film, Deadpool, a sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, a spin-off film, Gambit in 2016, and a third Wolverine film in 2017. But what made these films so successful?  The SPAM Alternative team has all the answers in today's look back review. 

X-Men (2000)

 

 

The film introduces Wolverine and Rogue into the conflict between Professor Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto. Magneto intends to mutate world leaders at a United Nations summit with a machine he has built, to bring about acceptance of mutantkind, but Xavier realizes this forced mutation will only result in their deaths.

From this film the audience learned:

1. Charles Xavier is an agent of good. his goal is to make humanity coexist with the mutants. His X-Men are no vigilantes, they're here to help whoever is in need.
2. Magneto hates human beings because of their prejudices against mutants. To him a mutant is the evolution of mankind and those who did not evolve must either serve him or die.
3. Bryan Singer either does not like vivid colors since he changed the X-Men suits to plain black leather, or stupidly thinks that changing the looks of fictional characters would make them less fictional and more real.  
4. The mutants that are neither part of the X-Men nor The Brotherhood of Mutants do not like their gift, they feel it is more of a course than a blessing. 
5. The depiction of the previous point is what made this film so popular. In comic books, The X-Men also suffered from being different, so five points to Gryffindor for that.

Definitely the debut film, despite not earning as much as the sequels did, is the one that set things in motion for a universe that was widely bastardized and sold as  a "for children only" product, of course that was until X-Men the movie showed up.

Days of Future Past.

First Class.

X2: X-Men United (2003)

 

 

In the film, Colonel William Stryker brainwashes and questions the imprisoned Magneto about Professor Xavier's mutant-locating machine, Cerebro. Stryker attacks the X-Mansion, and brainwashes Xavier into locating every mutant on the planet to kill them. The X-Men must team up with the Brotherhood and prevent Stryker's worldwide genocide.

The sequel syndrome didn't affect X-2 at all, and as a matter of fact, the sequel was way better than the original film. More action sequences, greater character development and a plot that didn't stop once the credits rolled guaranteed that superhero films were here to stay for once and for all. 

Things we learned in X-2:

1. William Stryker experimented with mutants long before Charles Xavier opened his school.
2. William Stryker hates mutants, specially Xavier for being unable of curing his special son.
3.  Wolverine was a member of Stryker's secret team of killers in the past.
4. Jean Grey is so powerful that her transformation into a superior entity will become evident.
5. Rogue finds a way to have a normal relationship with Bobby Drake.
6. Magneto will always team up with whoever stands against humanity.
7. Storm & Cyclops are doomed to be wasted characters.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

In the film, a pharmaceutical company has developed a suppressor of the mutant gene, provoking controversy in the mutant community. Magneto declares war on the humans and retrieves his own weapon: Phoenix, who is the resurrected former X-Man, Jean Grey. A final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood ensues, and Wolverine must accept that in order to stop Grey, he will have to kill her.

Singer initially intended to shoot the film back-to-back with a fourth film, though he left in 2004 to direct Superman Returns(yes, he's that kind of film maker, a bad one). 

As opposed as the previous sequels, X-Men The Last Stand focused its attention core in big action scenes, rather than in character development. This was heavily criticized making it the less popular out of the original X-Men trilogy, although it earned quite a lot of benjamins. 

Things we learn from The Last Stand:

1. The suggestive film title doesn't meant there will be no more X-Men films.
2. The  Dark Phoenix comic book saga has nothing to do with this film.  
3. The new characters in the film have little to no time for character development, so they're badly wasted in this film.
4. Charles Xavier disintegration Fatality, courtesy of Phoenix, provided us with the first ever post credits scene! 
5. Out of the original trilogy, this film has the more action scenes, there's no time for jibber jabber.   

The Brotherhood of Mutants.

The mighty X-Men.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

The film is a prequel and a spin-off focusing on the character Wolverine and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed, as well as his time with Stryker's Team X, before and shortly after his skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal adamantium.

Things we learn from this film:

1. Erase it from your heads, it's so bad it hurts.
2. The Wolverine character had become a landmark by the time this film came out, so more sequels & spin offs just because we love our Canadian X-Men, eh?

X-Men: First Class (2011)

The film is a prequel set primarily in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr, and the origin of their groups — the X-Men and the Brotherhood, respectively.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner first thought of a prequel based on the young X-Men during the production of X2, and later producer Kinberg suggested to 20th Century Fox an adaptation of the comic-book series X-Men: First Class. 

Singer signed on to direct the film in December 2009, however, in March 2010 it was announced that Singer would be producing instead of directing.

Things we learned from First Class:

1. This film is an exception to the rule. Despite not being accurately based in any X-Men comic book, its script is simply brilliant. Had this film not being made the way it was, I'm sure this would have marked the end of the X-Men franchise for good.
2. Jennifer Lawrence is definitely joining the select group of actresses that build a career out of Sci-Fi/Comic Book films. Mystique steals the show in this film.
3. The new way in which Professor X loses his walking ability is dramatically beautiful, and way better than the way it originally was in Comic Books.
4. This movie portrays a very human Erik Lensherr who clearly loves his friend Xavier, besides their differences.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The Wolverine.

The Wolverine (2013)

Set after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, the film features Wolverine heading to Japan for a reunion with a soldier named Ichirō Yashida whose life he saved years before. Wolverine must defend the man's granddaughter Mariko Yashida from all manner of ninja and Yakuza assassin.

Criticism

Although the films did give way to further comic book adaptations (which is always a good thing, since Comic Book fans were always subdued to obscurity and the constant loser/nerd bullying prejudices) They are POORLY based upon the original source material. Any X-Men fan, like yours truly, knows this to be the sad true of whatever comic book cinematic universe we can discuss. Moreover, we're not talking about little differences, details or slightly changed features, we're talking bulk differences and here's our list:

1. The Wolverine you see in the films doesn't exist in the comic books. His personality has been bastardized to make it an "all ages" character. He's more Superman than Wolverine. Nevertheless, this was a successful move that to this day serves the industry well.
2. What the hell did they do to Cyclops?! He's the legendary X-Men leader! not a wanker!  This character was brutally wasted and totally underdeveloped. Unfortunately, this not only happened to Cyclops as most of the legendary characters(Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus,Havok etc) suffered from being underdeveloped.
3. The X-Men have huge potential when it comes to creating long lasting sagas but, the Hollywood idiotic mercenaries have never taken that into account. Days Of Future Past, The Sentinels Live! & The Phoenix Saga are classic best sellers and all producers seem to do is to look at the comic book covers and begin filming with their very loosely based upon source material ideas.
4. People couldn't care less about the previous point UNLESS, they're avid comic book fans. How many people have you met who love Batman just because of Christopher Nolan's films? The world is full of posers, thanks to these kind of films, but take it easy, there's room for everyone!

We neither hate these films nor we're biased by our comic book love, we're just pointing out the truth (you can look for yourself and you'll find way more info about this issue) 

The death of the Phoenix.

Silver Samurai V/S Wolverine.

X-Men Days of Future Past

Entertaining masses with heavily altered stories.

Hello, fellow connoisseurs, today's entry, as our blog follows all sorts of exploitation films everywhere,  will  be about the recently premiered X-Men Days of Future Past Which would be the immediate sequel to 2011's X-Men First Class making it the fifth installment in the mutant franchise (that is without considering the two solo movies about Wolverine) but, before we get into the film review we'll start by posting the original Days of Future Past comic book story arc. The following list of facts is essentially a list of differences the film has with the original source and its intended to be a statement against film makers who are always trying to improve what's already perfect enough the way it is so, if you have read the comic book like me, you will find that the film is both entertaining and disappointing at the same time.

What really happened in Days of Future Past (The Uncanny X-Men #141, #142)

The original story arc.

The only hero in the movie.

Changing dates.

The Uncanny X-Men #141 shows the future as 2013 and they send Kitty Pryde back to the (then) present year of 1980 which is one year before the comic book was originally published.

Kitty Pryde is the Main Character.

Kitty Pryde, AKA, Katherine “Kitty” Pryde-Rasputin is the one whose mind travels back in time and into her younger body and boy that's the big main difference between comic book and movie.

Kitty Pryde never had Time-Travel Powers!

In the comic books, Rachel Summers, is the one who sends Kitty Pryde’s mind into the past.  And if that name sounds familiar, you’re right.  She is the future daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers whose mental powers run strong in the family.

Kitty Pryde is no longer a kid, she's a married woman.

I already gave this little factoid away.  In the comic books, the future Kitty Pryde is married to Piotr "Peter" Rasputin who saves the day under the alias of Colossus. 

X-men from the past and the future united!

Character who did make it out alive in the future.

  

Kitty Pryde, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Magneto, Franklin Richards, Rachel Summers (both absent from the film)

Characters who are dead in the comic book.

Charles Xavier, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, The Thing, Jeremy Storm, Angel, Mr. Fantastic, Beast, The Scarlet Witch, Iceman, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Captain America, The Hulk, Black Panther, The Human Torch, The Invisible Woman; in other words, lots of people are dead and the film obviously decided not to kill the underlined character and not to mess with other copyrighted characters (LOL)

Characters helping Kitty in 1980's original comic book story arc.

Charles Xavier, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, Angel (Obviously, the underlined characters are not in the film to give the cinematic X-Men universe continuity)

Characters trying to get rid of Kitty in 1980's original comic book story arc.

Mystique, Pyro, Avalanche, Destiny, The Blob (not seen in the movie) In addition, the film has Magneto and the US government as the only people standing in the way of the X-Men.

X-Men, second or third class, who cares about them anyways?

Sentinels on fire in the future!

Who Killed Senator Kelly?

Kitty Pryde is sent back to prevent the assassination of Senator Kelly (not on this film but seen on X-Men & X-Men 2).  It’s also not known which of the New Brotherhood of Evil Mutants kills Senator Kelly. However, in the film Wolverine is sent back in time to prevent Mystique from killing Bolivar Trask.

There is No Bolivar Trask

The one in control of the Sentinels is an industrialist named Sebastian Shaw, a mutant, who also doesn’t make much of an appearance until the end.

Magneto is Not an Antagonist

In the comic story arc, Magneto, in a wheelchair, is only seen in 2013 assisting the X-Men.  He doesn’t play a part in the past.

70's Dress code.

The Sentinels Talk!

Anyone who's read a storyline involving these giant mayhem of anti mutant robots knows for sure that Sentinels speak! and they do it very often. However, their movie edition don't utter a single sound.

An Impending Nuclear Strike

Kitty Pryde is sent back to prevent this timeline from ever happening.  The motivation is that this timeline leads to a nuclear strike which is neither seen nor mentioned in the film adaptation.

Mutants are Put in Concentration Camps

Mutants aren’t necessarily killed right off the bat.  They are classified and placed into concentration camps.  Mutants also wear a sort of governor around their necks to prevent them from using their abilities. This also is not happening in the movie, what a let down!

The end is near.

Nude Mystique my oh my.

No Sentinels in the Past

There are no Sentinels to fight in the past.  They were yet to be created in the future, yep this is like taking a shit and wiping your ass with the bible being Christian.

The Story is on a Smaller Scale

The story arc is contained in New York and Washington D.C. for both the future and past.  The fight between the X-Men and the New Brotherhood of Evil Mutants is contained on the Great Mall while on the movie the world is somehow under a black sky and every city of the world is under the Sentinels control.

The Ending is Unsure

When Kitty Pryde’s younger mind returns, we are unsure if the timeline has actually changed. Predictably, this is not seen in the film as we're expected to crave for more X-Men movies following the already established cinematic universe for our favorite mutants.

We Meet Sebastian Shaw

At the end of the comic (You can pretty much call this the post-credits scene.) we meet Sebastian Shaw and he meets is destiny.

The Sentinels live in the 70's.

Mystique steals the show.

The X-Men cinematic universe was born in the year 2000, that is 14 years ago with a lot of water under the bridge. First of all, the movies are only based in certain story arcs from the comic books, they're in no way faithful to the original source. Secondly, Bryan Singer returned to directing an X-Men movie because he wanted to re-organize what he had originally started. X-men (2000) only told us half the story, that is why it had a sequel X-Men 2: X-Men United (2003) 

By the time Singer chose to direct Superman Returns (what the fuck was he thinking about!) instead of another X-Men film things got a little out of hand. 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, was heavily criticized despite the fact it was based on the popular Dark Phoenix Saga. Anyways, time went by and we had 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, another big let down. Finally, in 2011 an excellent sequel was made: X-Men First Class, and today's entry is the direct sequel. In addition 2013's The Wolverine, had an after credit scene which lead directly into the events of X-Men Days of Future Past... 

Quicksilver, the coolest character of the film.

Confused? Well, in that case you can watch this illustrative video that explains the history of Wolverine (the main character of the franchise, c'mon!) 

 

Now, let's get down to business and see what the movie adaptation has to offer. 

Wolverine gets sent back to the 70's to prevent Trask from being assassinated so the future won't turn out so bleak for mutants and mutant supporters alike. In the immortal words of David Tennant's Doctor: it's a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey...stuff. Original director of the first two X-movies, Bryan Singer, knows what this franchise is all about. It's not only nice to welcome back the original X-movie theme/DNA strand opening credits/Cerebro door closing bit, but also he who kick-started all this. Oh, what could have been if he had done the third movie. Speaking of, this film (to the gratefulness of many) remedies a good chunk of what transpired in The Last Stand and made so many unhappy. But don't fret, Singer has said he's not erasing the past movies and he believes in "multiverses" (let every film maker make money!)

After a beginning, where a handful of new X-Men characters who we don't give a fig about die, we learn it's a total "psyche!" moment and they're all good. This happens again near the end of the movie. It really doesn't have much effect, as all the new mutants are forgettable and the only ones we care about are from the previous films. Stewart and McKellen are what really grounds these future scenes. More of Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, complete with potty mouth, is welcome after she was underutilized in Last Stand, but she's more just a means to an end here. It's Logan who gets to do all the time travel. His visit to the 70's allows for some nice/funny moments acknowledging the era he's in (lava lamps, water beds, the music!). Things are much more interesting in the past, with McAvoy as young Charles, Fassbender as young Erik and Jennifer Lawrence as young Mystique (sadly, she only really shares one moment with Hank/Beast). These actors are what made X-Men First Class so enjoyable/successful, so it's a good thing we spend the bulk of the movie with them. 

Hello Mystique!

Friend or foe?

McAvoy brings so many depths to Charles (who has found a serum that allows him to walk, but doing so takes away his abilities). He and Jackman play well off each other, and Charles gets to repay Logan for his telling him to fuck off in the last movie. Michael Fassbender, meanwhile, plays a much more angrier Magneto here. So much so that he's willing to kill Mystique, the one whom he brought over to his side last movie. What scenes the two of them share are really good, it's just a shame they were opposing each other. No disrespect to Rebecca Romijn, who was a welcome cameo in First Class and did a decent in the previous movies, but Jennifer Lawrence imbues her character with so much more nuance. One can understand her motivations/conflict, and the big moment between her and Trask has suitable weight to it, given what's at stake. Not to mention she's picked up a slew of kick-arse moves that she uses to take down large numbers of enemies all at once. Her fight scenes are some of the stand-outs in the film - they're so imaginative/creative and never boring. Describing her as quite flexible/bendy is an understatement.

Awesomeness! the past meets the future!

Hugh Jackman, as always, is easily likable in his most recognized role. He's gotten playing Logan down to an art by now. Despite the lack of 'snikt!' (as his past self's bone claws are adamantium-less), he still kicks a fair amount of arse. He shares some good scenes with Xavier, Lehnsherr and Hank. The past cast certainly elevates the movie. New character Peter/Quicksilver is mostly played for some funny visuals, though he does come in handy with his super speed. However, the scene in X2 when Nightcrawler attacks the White House remains the better of the two. Judging by my audience's reaction, this Quicksilver may indeed prove a hit with film goers, though I personally am more looking forward to seeing what Whedon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson do with the character in Avengers 2. I imagine/am hoping he'll have more character depth. Dinklage, who we all love, naturally makes the most of his role and does not feel like some cartoonish villain or anything. 

I'm here to end fear.

Stop doing drugs Charles, for god's sake!

The most note-worthy thing, cast-wise, is all the cameos we get of characters long-thought lost. It's an emotional/highly effective moment when we see Famke Janssen's Jean Grey again (Apparently, no longer the Phoenix but wearing a red dress that reminds of her), James Marsden's Cyclops (who's still got that great dynamic with Logan) and Anna Paquin's Rogue. While the first two prove that the events which made so many mad in The Last Stand have been corrected, the last one is a bit of a shame only because of how minuscule her screen time is. Sadly, Paquin's Rogue has always been criminally underused and (especially in Last Stand) done a disservice by the writing, but at least she and Bobby/Iceman (who finally does some ice-ramp forming/surfing in this film) get a happy ending. Actually, it seems almost everyone gets one, more or less (except for the poor X-Jet, which gets destroyed every movie), while the very end promises interesting things to come. While it's a shame Matthew Vaughn, who directed First Class (which I thought rejuvenated the series after it had gone stale), declined directing this one, Singer does a good job of bringing back the positive memories of the first two films. While I do prefer First Class and feel this film had some unnecessary characters/got a bit muddled, the good mostly outweighs the bad. This is an X-Men sequel right up there with X2 on the successful scale and should make most X-fans happy enough to crave for a sequel.Nevertheless, the X-Men from movies are very different from the ones in the comic books so I strongly, encourage you to read the comic book before watching the movie to have a more educated experience when watching this adaptations. Also, I'm thinking of calling all these superhero movies a part of a new exploitation sub-genre: Comixploitation!

Here's the movie trailer: