Perhaps the most startling part of the new X-men movie takes place after the movie ends. With the lights still off many of us were riveted to our seats waiting for something–anything–that would promise more. That delivery came in a delightful ‘haboob’ of action that can only point to one conclusion. Everything that came before those post credit moments were a build-up–not to the post credit moments, but to the singular idea: The story of the X-men is far from over.
Days of Future past is a Retcon that marries the 1981 comic storyline of the same name to the 20th Century Fox Film franchise. In the film the mutants of the world are being hunted be powerful Sentinel robots created by Trask Industries. Wolverine must go back in time to prevent a key assassination that triggered the rise of the Sentinels before he himself is murdered in his own timeline.
Days of Future Past doesn’t lack for coolness. Between Blink’s awesome teleportation combat scenes and the Quicksilver set-piece (perfectly choreographed to Jim Croce’s ‘Time in a Bottle’), the movie was a visual tour de force. However, two hours isn’t enough time to fully explore what amounts to a complex storyline made even more so by the rich characters that dominate it.
There is plenty of room to grow here. The after-credit scenes point in two separate directions at once. There is the ability to continue the storyline with the character from X-men: First Class. The opportunity is also there (and possibly implicitly stated) that the franchise can return to the x-men 3 universe with a near complete retcon of most of what came before.
In the end, the two hour ride is worth it. There are enough thrills, surprises, action, and comedy to satisfy the ardent x-men fans. For those new to the franchise however, this is a poor entry point as it assumes knowledge of at least X-men First Class and both Wolverine films.