Thursday, January 30, 2014

Why "X-Men: Days of Future Past" could REALLY hit it big

If you've ever been unlucky enough to stumble upon the random shit I post, chances are you know I'm a really big "X-Men" fan. Along with a select few other franchises, it's one of those things I just can't get enough of. So, here's a random glimpse into why I think the upcoming movie has the potential to stand with and even maybe surpass "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight."

1. A-List talent: Yeah those two movies I mentioned had some really solid performances. Hell one actually won on Oscar. Now here's the thing: "X-Men" has several Oscar-worthy actors. Not just one or two. Several. Let's see ... Hugh Jackman (nominated for Best Actor), Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart (if you're wondering why I should explain how these two qualify as "A-List" talent, please go get some culture and stop being such a dumbass), Jennifer Lawrence (actually won Best Actress), Michael Fassbender (one of Hollywood's top up and coming actors in my opinion) ... the list goes on and on. Hell, it even has Peter Dinklage from "Game of Thrones."

2. The sense of scale and ambition: I've heard rumors that DOFP is quite possibly the biggest, most expensive movie Fox has made since "Avatar." That could either make it or break it. I'm willing to put a little faith on the former based on the trailer and images I've seen.

3. The story: "Days of Future Past" is arguably the second most beloved story arc in X-Men's long and very convoluted history. As I've mentioned in previous posts, that particular arc made one of my "Best" lists on this blog. It is second only to "The Dark Phoenix" saga, but that one's screen treatment got royally fucked. Maybe now the powers involved know what's at stake.

4. Bryan Singer: The man has had hits and misses. Most directors do, believe it or not. I mean look at what happened to George Lucas, and he made possibly the most influential movie of our time. I'll admit that I slightly liked Matthew Vaugh's work on "First Class" a little more, but having Bryan Singer direct isn't a bad thing. When it was announced that he was going to direct, let's just say a lot of people did not take it well. Well sorry to take the devil's advocate side here, but let's take a brief history lesson here. Flash back to 2000. Superhero movies were still seen as fairly risky, yet Bryan Singer somehow made the original X-Men movie work. He made its sequel work even better, and until Christopher Nolan made his Batman trilogy, Bryan Singer's work on X-Men was the gold standard. What I'm basically saying is that we have movies like "The Dark Knight" and "The Avengers" because Bryan Singer somehow made "X-Men" work 14 years ago. And while he has made movies like "Valkyrie" (which I enjoyed. Yes, shut up I liked it) and "Jack the Giant Slayer," I think that can be forgiven as he returns to the franchise that put an entire genre on the map.

5. What's at stake: Like I said, this has the potential to be REALLY good or bad. It seems that Fox has really put all their cards on the table for this one. It's risky, but when you're competing with Disney and Sony, you need to be relevant somehow. Me personally, I like the ambition that the studio put in here. Also, if it wasn't a good idea that could potentially change things up in the superhero genre, I don't quite think Fox would have invested so much.

So there it is. If DOFP tanks, it tanks. These are just my reasons for why I think it has the potential to not tank.