[For reference, I wrote this post in May…and forgot to post it. Oops!!]

I took my two favorite young men on a date Saturday night – to see the newest X-Men. They really are the best guys to see movies with – I get to control the popcorn, they laugh in the right places, they had intensity to the drama by sitting on the edge of their seats or gasping in surprise, and they always talk to me for hours after the movie.

My Personal Take

This was another Marvel movie that gave me what I exactly wanted – superheroes, action, good story line, and lots to talk about with the boys. It wasn’t overly complicated to follow, but it did include some time travel which is always fun…if you get it. My kids seem to inherently understand the “change the past, the future is different” concept and that you wouldn’t be the same person in the future if you change the past – and in fact you might not even exist in the future! The paradoxes inherent in that concept alone allows us to have conversations for days.

Of course there were some new characters, like Warpath, Blink and Quicksilver as well as new information about characters we all know and love – most specifically Logan/Wolverine, Professor Xavier, Eric/Magneto, and Raven/Mystique. It’s great to find out how these characters were in the past as well as see how some of their powers have grown in the future – in particular, Kitty/Shadow Cat.

Here there be spoilers…read on at your own risk…

I was a little frustrated/annoyed to find out that Wolverine was to be a central figure…again. Don’t get me wrong – I totally love the character and Hugh Jackman is downright yummy. I mean…yummy!

Women even get a nice look at ALL of Mr. Jackman…at least all that’s appropriate for PG-13. To be frank, the man has a great ass to go with all those muscles! There were enough catcalls and whistles in the audience (yes, including from me) that one man shouted out, “Okay, enough!” and all the women laughed. Pretty sure he was just jealous, because…DAYUM!

I digress…

There was a little bit of confusion throughout the movie about what was what and who was who but we muddled through it okay. It really was good to get more of Xavier’s story and see how he coped with losing the use of his legs. It was also really interesting to see how Raven became Mystique – and then…how she didn’t. With the change of the past, it’ll be interesting to see if they do future movies almost as a reboot, since there are now the possibility of different life paths with the change in the past. Sort of like the one thing changing in the new Star Trek series and now they can do things the same, or different, depending on how the writer & director feels. However, I know these movies have a more set direction due to the comics, so maybe I just need to go re-read a few graphic novels (oh…darn!)

Overall, the boys and I loved this movie and I really wish I’d forked over the extra money for 3D. There were some spectacular fight scenes, particularly in the “future” that would have been amazing to see in 3D. But, even if you see it in a regular theater, you won’t be disappointed!

Not Necessarily for Kids!

I said it before in my Captain America review: Hollywood does get it pretty right with their ratings. This one is NOT PG – it’s PG-13. That “teen” differentiator is there for a reason. There is some major violence in this movie, but not a lot of blood & guts. There’s some language and social issues and sexuality that might not be appropriate for the younger viewer (see comment re: Hugh Jackman’s ass above and, of course, Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique costume is just as revealing as Rebecca Romijn’s). At 12+, I was pretty okay with what my boys saw here. But, we also have an open question policy in our house – if they don’t understand something, we discuss it until they get it, good or bad. My main point here: the violence and intensity in this movie is far above what anyone under 13 should probably witness.

This movie received a 3.7.5 rating on www.kids-in-mind.com – this was higher than Captain America in all areas! Read the full X-Men review/overview here: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/x/xmendaysoffuturepast.htm.

Recommendation

It give this 4 out of 4 hippos. So…totally go see this if you haven’t yet!! (I know this review is really late but I’m sure it’ll help someone, somewhere). But…if you’re thinking of taking the kiddos, go look at that link above first. You might want to wait for the video and fast-forward through some of the more intense sequences.

XO – T.