BRYAN SINGER: THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995) / X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST (2014)
Bryan Singer’s leaving the X-Men behind after X2 looked suspiciously like a playing out of that phrase “get out while the going’s good.” No sooner had the door closed quietly behind him, everyone cheerfully waving him off, than the entire franchise suddenly panicked and spent the next ten years making films that clearly reflected it. Then, in 2014, who should show up again but Singer, effortlessly swinging back through the door in his own superhero role, to rescue a bit of the Marvel Universe that everyone was trying to pretend wasn’t being rapidly sucked down a big black hole of desperation.
Days of Future Past is a slick return to the smart days of the X-Men (quite literally a return, since Singer clearly noticed that the only way forward from this point was to go back in time), and although it is slightly overblown in some places, with some of the characters losing screen time in favour of pace and previous plotline tie-ups (by which I mean damage control), the script and the often stunning set pieces showed that this was a director who knew what he was doing on every level. “Quicksilver in the White House Kitchen” has been talked about so much among Marvel lovers that the phrase could appear as dashes in a game of Hangman and be guessed with about two letters.
But the fact that Singer got involved with X-Men in the first place had been a surprise, given that until 2000 he was known for directing the 1995 instant cult-classic The Usual Suspects (to be completely accurate here, Public Access (1993) was actually Singer’s first feature length film, but it never had a theatrical release).
Even just acknowledging that Days of Future Past is by the same hand as that which made the ingenious The Usual Suspects is enough to evoke a smile – or at least a surprised blink. Whereas the X-Men are among the most famous characters in the Marvel Universe, Singer saw the phrase ‘The Usual Suspects’ in a magazine, thought it would make a good title for a movie and pulled the rest of the ideas out of thin air. Where Days of Future Past is ambitious on a large commercial scale, the plot and twists of The Usual Suspects could not be narrower or tighter. Where Days of Future Past’s story involves so many characters and contexts that its scenes must race to keep up, The Usual Suspects includes one shot that is a continuous 1 minute and 31 seconds long. Where Days of Future Past relies on CGI set pieces, the entire set piece of The Usual Suspects has been there, silent and invisible, all along.
There is an atmosphere at certain points in The Usual Suspects – during the finale on the harbour especially – which feels not entirely unlike the darker parts of Days of Future Past; a certain use of lighting and tones perhaps, or just a general awareness from Singer of how to create suspense. But whatever the differences or similarities between them, The Usual Suspects and X-Men: Days of Future Past have one vital thing in common: a director who recognises the potential for a film, and then brings it to life.
