1) It Revokes Some Of The Poor Choices Made In X-Men: The Last Stand
The third instalment of the franchise, brought to the screen by first-time X-director Brett Ratner, caused a lot of furor amidst fans. Luckily, X-Men: Days Of Future Past contorts its key narrative device, time travel, to great effect. The ripples from which echo out far past the Sentinel-stopping events of 1973 and into the later X-Men canon.
As Wolverine opens his eyes for the final segment of DoFP, he awakens to a future that’s no longer a monochromic nightmare – he’s back in his sun-dappled quarters at Professor X’s school. Trotting down the corridor…
But wait a second. Let’s back up and remind you of the terrible story developments that the X-Men are subjected to during The Last Stand.
Its opening refrain, serving as a catalyst for the film’s story, sees Jean Grey rise from the mire of Alkali Lake, very much a Phoenix rising from the soggy ash. Chaos ensues, as if oft the case with folks returning from beyond the grave. The big kicker for fans here was Jean’s segue into her dark side, actually called The Phoenix. Admittedly, it’s fun witnessing a timid character expel their niceties in favour of a villainous nature. But the collateral damage caused by the Phoenix turned The Last Stand into an impromptu funeral for a large chunk of the main cast. Before the first ten minutes were over, Scott had perished. But that wasn’t all; in a whirlwind of evil, Phoenix disposed of Professor X as if he were a soiled bedsheet. The biggest let down came when Grey was skewered like a kebab by her long-time secret admirer, Logan. Dead.
All in all, pretty grim.
Thankfully, Days Of Future Past put right all those wrongs. In what could be deemed Bryan Singer’s apology to fans for abandoning the franchise in its time of need, the final denouement erased those tragedies. With Wolverine returning from his jaunt in the seventies to an alive-and-kicking School For Gifted Youngsters, Days Of Future Past reinvigorates the series.
A quick hello from Rogue as she leaves her dorm with Bobby suggests – did Hank McCoy’s serum from The Last Stand not hold fast on her devastating ability? Surely not, as she still lingers the halls of the school. The biggest hurrah though comes as Logan rounds a corner to see a vibrant Jean, alive and well… standing beside Scott. The playful nudge he gives to Logan about keeping his mitts off his girl is proof that Wolverine’s torturous trip into the past was well worth it.
