Anghus Houvouras on X-Men: Days of Future Past…
I doubt I’m alone on this. I can’t be. This sickness, this palatable level of nausea I feel with every subsequent piece of marketing associated with the film. This sense of dread that creeps in with every photo that hits Twitter. I say to myself ‘they’re set photos’. They can’t possibly convey or capture what we were all anticipating to be one of the most awesome geek movies to storm into cinemas. But then the photos kept coming, each one more surreal than the last. Then Empire Magazine started showing us the covers to their latest issue covering this big budget summer blockbuster. And that’s when it sank in:
X-Men: Days of Future Past looks terrible.
Marketing is a funny thing. The design of pre-release hype is to build my anticipation for the project. And yet, every time a new batch of stills gets released for the Bryan Singer helmed Marvel comic adaptation, it makes me want to see it less. How is that possible? This is a $200 million film tackling one of the most revered stories in the history of comics featuring characters we’ve been clamoring to see on the big screen since the X-Men first headed to movie theaters thirteen years ago. How it can look this bad?
For a while I thought that it had to be me. I’m a jaded film writer who tends to be a hair overzealous in my criticism. I mean, I’m the guy who called Watchmen one of the most disappointing films of all time, much to the chagrin of comic fans everywhere. Perhaps this was just my well established judgmentalism creeping in. When I saw the first batch of photos on 70’s themed cast photos, I thought it looked like the film’s costume designer had dressed everyone in the leftover wardrobe of Deep Throat. It was like the film was being produced & directed by Jack Horner. Then the shots of the more familiar X-Men cast started showing up. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart clad in super futuristic leather ensembles that seemed better suited for a S&M fetish bar than a superhero movie.
After that they released a trailer that showed so little that you figured either they were playing this hand close to the vest or that they had nothing to show. Where are the Sentinels? Where was the action? Why did every shot feature a different mutant with the same hangdog look on their face? What kind of mopey, action-less spectacle was Bryan Singer putting together?
It was until last weekend when I ventured into my local comic book shop that i was even able to articulate these feelings into words and phrases. The store owner and I talked about the slate of comic book films for 2014 and he asked “So what do you think about Days of Future Past.”
And without thought or hesitation I blurted out: “I think it looks awful.”
A chain reaction started. Soon, everyone in the store began to echo the same sentiment. The terrible behind the scenes photos. The dull as dishwater teaser trailer. The embarrassing photos of a Quicksilver who looks more like a keyboard player for 30 Seconds to Mars than a badass mutant speedster.
Bryan Singer is a director who I still feel lacks a strong cinematic identity. I liked the first two X-Men films, but they are wildly overpraised. The less that’s said about Superman Returns, the better. When he was brought back in to do the latest film in the X-Men franchise, it felt less of an inspired choice and more of a return to the well. Now, they’re trying to match the size and scope of The Avengers in the hopes of reaping the financial reward of a massive, expanded universe. So I ask:
Has the marketing for this movie done anything to inspire your confidence in those choices?
When you look at these awful set photos and tepid trailers, do you feel like you’re seeing the foundation for something epic?
I don’t, and that’s disappointing.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the novel My Career Suicide Note, is available from Amazon.
Originally published February 4, 2014. Updated December 13, 2019.
