Review of 2015 from January to August

A couple of months ago we released our top picks for the first half of the year but, with the summer season finishing, we’ll give an overview of the year’s films from a commercial and critical perspective.

Film: Taken 3
Director: Olivier Megaton
Starring: Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 9%
Budget: $48 million
Opening weekend: $39 million
Box-office: $325 million
Summary: The second highest grossing outing in the series is thankfully the last. There’s been growth since Taken ($226 million) but less than Taken 3 ($376 million).

Film: Blackhat
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Leehom Wang, Ritchie Coster, Holt McCallany, Viola Davis
IMDb/RT: 5.4/10 – 34%
Budget: $70 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $18 million
Summary: The star of Thor ($644 million) and Rush ($90 million) and the director of Heat ($187 million) and Collateral ($217 million) should have been a match-up to enjoy but somehow Blackhat flopped.

Film: The Wedding Ringer
Director: Jeremy Garelick
Starring: Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, Kaley Cuco Sweeting, Alan Richson, Jorge Garcia
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 27%
Budget: $23 million
Opening weekend: $20 million
Box-office: $79 million
Summary: A slip up in comparison to Kevin Hart’s 2014 hit Ride Along ($154 million).

Film: Mortdecai
Director: David Koepp
Starring: Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, Paul Bettany
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 12%
Budget: $60 million
Opening weekend: $4 million
Box-office: $30 million
Summary: This disastrous caper is proof of former superstar Johnny Depp’s dwindling popularity outside of Pirates.

Film: Jupiter Ascending
Directors: Andy and Lana Wachowski
Starring: Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Terry Gilliam
IMDb/RT: 5.5/10 – 25%
Budget: $176 million
Opening weekend: $18 million
Box-office: $182 million
Summary: This effort from the creators of The Matrix ($463 million) suffered from its release delays and ridiculously overpriced budget.

Film: Fifty Shades of Grey
Director: Sam Taylor Johnson
Starring: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eloise Mumford, Jennifer Ehle, Marcia Gay Harden
IMDb/RT: 4.2/10 – 25%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $85 million
Box-office: $570 million
Summary: Being critically reviled didn’t get in the way of this erotic drama.

Film: Kingsman: The Secret Service
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Sophie Cookson, Mark Strong
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 75%
Budget: $81 million
Opening weekend: $35 million
Box-office: $406 million
Summary: The spy thriller from Kick-Ass ($96 million) Vaughn turned out to be his most acclaimed and profitable yet, even out grossing the likes of The Bourne Legacy ($276 million).

Film: Focus
Director: Glenn Ficara, John Requa
Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro, Gerald McRaney, BD Wong
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 57%
Budget: $50 million
Opening weekend: $19 million
Box-office: $159 million
Summary: A strong performance from Smith renews his popularity after the mediocre After Earth ($243 million).

Film: Chappie
Director: Neill Blompkamp
Starring: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Die Antwoord
IMDb/RT: 7.0/10 – 30%
Budget: $49 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $102 million
Summary: A let down in comparison to Blomkamp’s more lucrative works – District 9 ($210 million) or Elysium ($286 million).

Film: Cinderella
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Lily James, Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard, Helena Bonham Carter
IMDb/RT: 7.1/10 – 85%
Budget: $95 million
Opening weekend: $68 million
Box-office: $542 million
Summary: Branagh’s lavish take on the period fantasy romance has successfully found a new following for the fairy tale.

Film: Insurgent
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Kate Winslet
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 30%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $53 million
Box-office: $295 million
Summary: The Divergent series has quickly turned out to be the inferior of The Hunger Games.

Film: Home
Director: Tim Johnson
Starring: Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Jennifer Lopez, Matt Jones, Steve Martin
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 45%
Budget: $135 million
Opening weekend: $52 million
Box-office: $387 million
Summary: Dreamworks are struggling to stand out with their new properties in a market dominated by the likes of Warner Bros’ The Lego Movie or Disney’s Frozen.

Film: Get Hard
Director: Etan Cohen
Starring: Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart, Alison Brie, Tip Harris, Craig T Nelson
IMDb/RT: 6.1/10 – 29%
Budget: $40 million
Opening weekend: $34 million
Box-office: $106 million
Summary: The combination of these celebrated comics ought to have been special but didn’t come close.

Film: Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham
IMDb/RT: 7.4/10 – 81%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $147 million
Box-office: $1.512 billion
Summary: The blockbuster sequel made seven times more than the original did 14 years ago ($207 million) but the series might not have much room to grow into for film eight.

Film: The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Director: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, James Spader
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 74%
Budget: $280 million
Opening weekend: $191 million
Box-office: $1.401 billion
Summary: A slight slip up from 2012’s Avengers Assemble ($1.520 billion), the sequel still delivered the goods for the fans.

Film: Pitch Perfect 2
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Starring: Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Banks
IMDb/RT: 6.7 – 67%
Budget: $29 million
Opening weekend: $69 million
Box-office: $285 million
Summary: Pitch Perfect is quickly rivaling Jump Street and Bridesmaids to be the best comedy of the decade so far, while growing from the original’s $115 million.

Film: Mad Max: Fury Road
Director: George Miller
Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Rosie Huntington Whitely, Zoe Kravitz, Nicholas Hoult
IMDb/RT: 8.3/10 – 98%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $45 million
Box-office: $374 million
Summary: A stunningly successful return from the road warrior.

Film: Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Tim McGraw, Hugh Laurie
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 50%
Budget: $190 million
Opening weekend: $33 million
Box-office: $208 million
Summary: While it polarized critics, concealing many secrets during marketing may have been the financial downfall of the underrated sci-fi adventure and another disappointment for Disney after John Carter ($284 million) and The Lone Ranger ($260 million).

Film: San Andreas
Director: Brad Peyton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Ioan Gruffudd, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 6.4/10 – 50%
Budget: $110 million
Opening weekend: $55 million
Box-office: $469 million
Summary: The disaster thriller was a success but not a 2012 ($769 million) style smash hit.

Film: Spy
Director: Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jude Law
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 94%
Budget: $65 million
Opening weekend: $29 million
Box-office: $236 million
Summary: After striking big with Bridesmaids ($288 million) and The Heat ($229 million), Paul Feig is continuing to put himself on a good track for the Ghost Busters reboot.

Film: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Vincent D’Onofrio
IMDb/RT: 7.3/10 – 71%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $208 million
Box-office: $1.642 billion
Summary: With a sequel coming in 2018, the franchise (dormant for fourteen years) is now set for big things.

Film: Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Richard Kind, Bill Hader, Kyle MacLachlan
IMDb/RT: 8.6/10 – 98%
Budget: $175 million
Opening weekend: $90 million
Box-office: $701 million
Summary: Inside Out has become Pixar’s third biggest original feature.

Film: Ted 2
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Stewart
IMDb/RT: 6.6/10 – 46%
Budget: $68 million
Opening weekend: $33.5 million
Box-office: $180 million
Summary: A very disappointing follow up to 2012’s Ted ($549 million). After the mediocre performance of MacFarlane’s western A Million Ways to Die in the West ($86 million), there’s increasing doubt in the Family Guy creator’s popularity.

Film: Terminator Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, JK Simmons
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 26%
Budget: $155 million
Opening weekend: $27 million
Box-office: $352 million
Summary: While it was a healthy opening but the franchise has long lost its previously stellar hype. Still not an improvement on 2009’s Terminator Salvation ($371 million).

Film: Magic Mike XXL
Director: Gregory Jacobs
Starring: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Amber Heard, Jada Pinkett Smith
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 65%
Budget: $14 million
Opening weekend: $123 million
Box-office: $117 million
Summary: The progressive stripper comedy sequel has decreased from Steven Soderbergh’s 2012 original ($167 million) and other raunchy blockbusters have been more profitable – for example Fifty Shades of Grey ($569 million) – but it’s still an impressive tally.

Film: Minions
Directors: Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
Starring: Sandra Bullock, Pierre Coffin, Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Geoffrey Rush
IMDb/RT: 6.7/10 – 54%
Budget: $74 million
Opening weekend: $115 million
Box-office: $1.004 billion
Summary: This triumphant spin off managed to surpass and compete with the previous instalments of the beloved Despicable Me franchise ($543 million – $970 million).

Film: Ant-Man
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Michael Pena, Michael Douglas
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 79%
Budget: $130 million
Opening weekend: $57 million
Box-office: $363 million
Summary: It’s an underperformance in comparison to Marvel’s fellow Phase 2 superhero flicks such as Iron Man 3 ($1215 million), Thor: The Dark World ($644 million), Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($714 million) or Guardians of the Galaxy ($774 million) but is a worthy reception for the kings of summer blockbusters.

Film: Trainwreck
Director: Judd Apatow
Starring: Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, John Cena, Tilda Swinton
Budget: $35 million
Opening weekend: $30 million
Box-office: $123 million
Summary: A traditional fooled-around-and-fell-in-love rom-com might have sank but the presence of rising star Amy Schumer has elevated this to the likes of Apatow’s The 40 Year Old Virgin ($177 million) or Knocked Up ($219 million).

Film: Pixels
Director: Chris Columbus
Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Josh Gad, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage
IMDb/RT: 5.6/10 – 17%
Budget: $88 million
Opening weekend: $24 million
Box-office: $174 million
Summary: This sci-fi adventure’s financial reception didn’t live up to the premise but a budget half the size of Tomorrowland’s means that it may actually breakeven at the box-office.

Film: Southpaw
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, Naomie Harris, Rachel McAdams
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 60%
Budget: $25 million
Opening weekend: $17 million
Box-office: $67 million
Summary: This sport drama failed to rekindle the mass popularity of boxing flicks such as Rocky ($225 million).

Film: Paper Towns
Director: Jake Schreir
Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair, Austin Abrams
IMDb/RT: 6.9/10 – 55%
Budget: $12 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $75 million
Summary: A decent opening for the young adult romantic drama but well off the other John Green adaptation The Fault in Our Stars ($307 million).

Film: Vacation
Directors: Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Starring: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Leslie Mann, Chris Hemsworth, Chevy Chase
IMDb/RT: 6.3/10 – 26%
Budget: $31 million
Opening weekend: $15 million
Box-office: $69 million
Summary: The comedy reboot of the adored Chevy Chase franchise didn’t inspire a great amount of nostalgia for fans of the originals.

Film: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Alec Baldwin
IMDb/RT: 7.8/10 – 93%
Budget: $150 million
Opening weekend: $56 million
Box-office: $445 million
Summary: The Cruise action vehicle builds off the wobble of Edge of Tomorrow ($369 million). The spy series returned in style and will grow throughout the summer.

Film: Fantastic Four
Director: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Toby Kebbell
IMDb/RT: 4.0/10 – 8%
Budget: $120 million
Opening weekend: $26 million
Box-office: $134 million
Summary: A superhero reboot full of hope and promise morphed into the year’s most depressing car crash. It was even a decrease from the 2005 film ($330 million) and its sequel ($289 million).

Film: Straight Outta Compton
Director: F Gary Gray
Starring: O’Shea Jackson Jr, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge, Paul Giamatti
IMDb/RT: 8.4/10 – 89%
Budget: $28 million
Opening weekend: $60 million
Box-office: $125 million
Summary: The musical biopic has become one of August’s biggest hits but did smaller numbers than 2002’s Eminem effort 8 Mile ($242 million).

Film: The Man From UNCLE
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant
IMDb/RT: 7.6/10 – 67%
Budget: $75 million
Opening weekend: $13 million
Box-office: $57 million
Summary: The star studded spy thriller from the director of the Sherlock Holmes films ($524 million – $545 million) has struggled to find a home with fans.

Jurassic World review

Director: Colin Trevorrow

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Lauren Lapkus, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer, Andy Buckley, Katie McGrath, Brian Tee

Steven Spielberg was the driving force behind 1993’s Jurassic Park, the adaptation of Michael Chrichton’s techno-thriller novel, but even his presence didn’t rescue the disappointing sequel The Lost World. The franchise went into development hell the further it strayed from the books with various story proposals including Dr Grant investigating dino-related murders. Indie director Colin Trevorrow is behind exhuming a sequel 65 million (or 22) years in the making.

Twenty years after the “InGen Incident” on Isla Nublar, the island has been successfully transformed into a functioning dinosaur theme park experience. As her nephews (Simpkins, Robinson) pay a visit, park manager Claire Dearing (Howard) is set to unveil the latest attraction – a genetically modified creature named the Indominus Rex. Meanwhile, Velociraptor trainer Owen Grady (Pratt) resists the offer from security head Vic Hoskins (D’Onofrio) to weaponise his animals. When the Indominus escapes, Owen and Claire must track it down before it makes its move on the park’s attendees.

Easily the best decision made on this sequel is to properly address what brought its predecessors to a crushing low. Both the second and third instalments purely focus on a group of humans alone in a dino-infested jungle without the wonder of the park itself. The addition of the awe of the original concept in many ways contrasts with and exaggerates the terror.

While Trevorrow’s CV only extends to the indie sci-fi drama Safety Not Guaranteed (a film that nails its depiction of the relationship of its lonely lead protagonists and remains without flashy camerawork), he brings a stunning level of spectacle and visual bombast to the picture with perfect sense of timing and suspense in one of the best indie to mainstream step ups since the Wachowskis released The Matrix.

With the exception of the original film’s Henry Wu (BD Wong), an entirely new cast has been drafted in to replace the likes of Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill. At the centre of the Jurassic mayhem is the odd-couple pairing of laddish ranger Owen Grady (Chris Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy) and manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard, The Help). The portrayal of the couple came under fire, especially from Buffy creator Joss Whedon who labelled it as “’70s level sexism.” with the free spirited man charming the uptight woman. While Trevorrow unashamedly bases the characters on the leads of 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1980’s Empire Strikes Back or 1984’s Romancing the Stone, there’s just as much of a likeness to classic romances such Whedon/Shakespeare’s verbally sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick in 2013’s Much Ado About Nothing.

Also at the heart of the action are Dearing’s estranged nephews, played by rising stars Ty Simpkins (Insidious) and Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer). Gray and Zach have a fractured relationship with each other and their aunt due to their parents’ impending divorce making them engaging if standard chase fodder.

Any and all human villains are traditionally overshadowed by their scaly counterparts in this series and Jurassic World is no exception. Here the duties of the most venerable actor on the call sheet (an honour previously awarded to acting greats such as Richard Attenborough or Pete Postlethwaite) fall to the excellent and criminally underrated Vincent D’Onofrio – last seen as the villain Kingpin in Netflix’s Daredevil. Sadly, this is one of his weaker performances as the militaristic security head Vic Hoskins who fails to conjure menace or believability.

Rounding off the supporting cast is a hilarious Jake Johnson (TV’s New Girl), finally giving a better name to Isla Nublar’s technicians while still maintaining the morbid sense of humour of Samuel L Jackson and Wayne Knight. Seeing as the talent of Omar Sy and Judy Greer are written out into smaller parts, the only other significant lead is Irrfan Khan’s billionaire investor Simon Masrani who never truly contributes a great amount to the plot.

While the dinosaur exhibits do easily outperform their human inferiors, their portrayal isn’t entirely perfect. As terrifying as newbie the Indominus Rex is (as well as being stunningly brought to life by some truly photorealistic effects), the film insists on not updating on any dinosaur knowledge garnered since 1993 – IE denying the accepted fact of feathered dinosaurs.

The film lacks an unforgettable iconic moment such as the shaking water upon the arrival of the T-Rex but Jurassic World strives when its dinosaurs are at their most awesome: the suspense of the jump scare as the Indominus Rex stalks its prey was a delight; a sequence in which Grady leads his velociraptor pack on a chase is stunning; the brutal attack of the ptersaurs on Jurassic World’s main street evokes memories of the gleeful carnage of Gremlins.

Overall tonally different to its predecessors. Much like the geneticists did with the Indominus Rex, Trevorrow and his co-writers Derek Connolly, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have engineered a new breed of Jurassic Park packed with as much excitement as there is dark humour. On occasion the scripting and characters are clunky and off key but on the whole this is a stupendous thrill ride of a summer popcorn action flick.

9/10

“Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We’re just used to being the cat.”

Kodi Smit McPhee is X-Men’s new Nightcrawler and castings for Ron Howard’s Inferno

In the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse the graduates of First Class (Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, Beast) and other mutants (Quicksilver, Gambit) are bridging the gap to the twenty first century gang (Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm). Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) has added a new casting for Nightcrawler, an acrobatic teleporter who first appeared back in 2003’s X-Men 2 in the form of Alan Cumming.

Donning the blue prosthetics is Kodi Smit McPhee (The Road, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) who was before our top pick to play Marvel’s new incarnation of Spider-Man. Apocalypse will star James McAvoy (Atonement), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year), Channing Tatum (Foxcatcher), Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids), Evan Peters (American Horror Story), Nicholas Hoult (Warm Bodies), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life), Alexandra Shipp (Ray Donovan) with Hugh Jackman (The Prestige, Prisoners) as Wolverine.

Having collaborated on Apollo 13, director Ron Howard (Rush, A Beautiful Mind, Frost/Nixon) and star Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, Big, Captain Phillips, Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story, Cast Away, Philadelphia, Road to Perdition, The Green Mile) have experienced their best commercial success on the Dan Brown adaptations The Da Vinci Code ($760 million) and Angels and Demons ($485 million).

It then makes sense for them to reunite on another “Robert Langdon thriller” by adapting 2013’s Inferno, skipping out 2009’s The Lost Symbol. Now on board of the film are Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Omar Sy (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Irrfan Kahn (The Lunchbox, Life of Pi) and Sidse Bebett Knudsen (Borgen, The Duke of Burgundy).

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 19th 2016

Inferno – October 14th 2016

The 2015 Super-Bowl Special – Jurassic World, Terminator 5, Insurgent, Furious 7 and more!

America’s biggest sporting event attracts America’s biggest crowd (around 100 million viewers). The Super-Bowl Sunday’s Phoenix setting saw a showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots but we’re a bit more focused on those movie exclusives showcased inbetween. With this audience, film studios are willing to dish out $8 million per sixty seconds of advertising. Firstly:

Film: Terminator Genisys
Director: Alan Taylor
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jai Courtney, Jason Clarke, Matt Smith, JK Simmons
Premise: He’s back. In the new timeline, Kyle Reese travel back in time to discover that Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) and T-800 (Schwarzenegger) have long been fighting the machines.
Release: July 3rd

Film: Insurgent
Director: Robert Schwentke
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Zoe Kravitz, Octavia Spencer
Premise: Divergent’s sequel gets a Matrix-style revamp sees Tris (Woodley) preventing all out chaos in her dystopian future.
Release: March 20th

Film: Furious 7
Director: James Wan
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Djimon Hounsou, Kurt Russell
Premise: Deckard Shaw (Staham) is out for revenge on the gang. Watch the trailer and you may well have found the best stunt of 2015
Release: April 3rd

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Film: Jurassic World
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Judy Greer, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Lauran Lapkus, Omar Sy
Premise: The park is finally open but an attempt to breed a new species, Indominus Rex, goes disastrously.
Release: June 12th

Film: Tomorrowland
Director: Brad Bird
Starring: George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie
Premise: Walt Disney’s vision of a secret metropolis (where science can do the work of miracles) comes to life.
Release: May 22nd

Film: Seventh Son
Director: Sergei Bodrov
Starring: Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges, Julianne Moore, Kit Harrington, Alicia Vikander, Djimon Hounsou, Olivia Williams, Antje Traue
Premise: Local hermit and magician Gregory (Bridges) recruits the young Thomas (Barnes) to battle the evil Malkin (Moore)
Release: March 27th

Film: Inside Out
Directors: Pete Docter, Ronaldo Del Carmen
Starring: Kaitlyn Dias, Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan
Premise: Pixar explores the literally conflicting emotions inside the head of a young girl as she moves across the country.
Release: July 24th

Various releases (Ant-Man, San Andreas, Chappie, Avengers 2) missed out on cashing in on this advertising goldmine but we still look forward to seeing them soon.

First Jurassic World trailer, Now You See Me sequel gets an official title and new images from Hobbit 3

Heist thriller was the surprise hit of 2013, with a decent critical reception well above expectation at $350 million made from a $75 million budget. Its sequel sees John M Chu succeeding directing duties from Louis Leterrier and his new title has been revealed. Now You See Me: The Second Act seems an appropriate title for the magic themed franchise but the potential third film would need to be titled The Third Act (establishing a Godfather Part II/III aura as oppose to the pitfalls of a gimicky Shrek the Third subtitle.

Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher, Zodiac, The Avengers), Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland, The Social Network), Woody Harrelson (No Country For Old Men, The Hunger Games), Dave Franco (21 Jump Street, Bad Neighbours) and Michael Caine (The Dark Knight, Zulu) return with the new cast members of Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, Masters of Sex) and Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter, Horns).

Empire Magazine’s 12-Part Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Special, featuring the Directors Cut (Spielberg, Boyle and more), the twenty five varieties X-Men special and the 301st Greatest Films of All Time (3: The Dark Knight; 2: The Godfather; 1: Empire Strikes Back), concludes in this next issue, a farewell to Middle-Earth guest-edited by Peter Jackson himself. The main feature is the preview of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and the covers are dedicated one to each army.

The film stars Martin Freeman (Sherlock, Fargo), Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters, X-Men: Days of Future Past), Cate Blanchett (The Aviator, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Richard Armitage (Captain America: The First Avenger), Evangeline Lilly (Lost, Ant-Man), Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Kingdom of Heaven), Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave), Lee Pace (Halt and Catch Fire, Guardians of the Galaxy), Luke Evans (The Great Train Robbery, Dracula Untold), James Nesbitt (The Missing, Bloody Sunday), Manu Bennett (Spartacus, Arrow), Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who), Christopher Lee (Dracula, Hugo) and Hugo Weaving (V For Vendetta, The Matrix, Cloud Atlas) as Elrond.

A short teaser was unveiled earlier in the week but the trailer for sci-fi adventure sequel Jurassic World has been released. This fourth instalment in the classic Spielberg series (slightly soured by the step back of respectable The Lost World and the dreadful third part) is directed by Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) and stars Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help, 50/50), Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Lego Movie), Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer), Ty Simpkins (Iron Man 3, Insidious), Omar Sy (Untouchable, X-Men: Days of Future Past), Jake Johnson (New Girl, Drinking Buddies), Judy Greer (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Carrie) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket, Men in Black). Check out the first trailer below. While being no Age of Ultron, this is pretty promising stuff – so long as they correctly mix the grander scale with the stripped back chilling thrills. Gotta love the touch with the flare (1:58).

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – December 12th

Jurassic World – June 12th 2015

Now You See Me: The Second Act – June 10th 2016

Star Wars adds two cast members, Singer confirms X-Men director’s cut, first look at McKellen’s Holmes and first trailer for Exodus

Earlier this year, Days of Future Past, the fantastic seventh instalment in the X-Men franchise, became a phenomenal success critically and commercially; it’s easily the best of the series so far and the highest grossing of the year so far but those yet to see it may want to avoid the next SPOILER HEAVY paragraph.

You may well remember that Anna Paquin’s Rogue was initially set to return in the sequel/prequel/crossover as part of the 2023 team but she was completely cut bar the lineless cameo alongside James Marsden, Famke Janssen and Kelsey Grammer in the alternate future. Since then we’ve learned that the original plan was for Rogue to have been captured by the Sentinels prompting an attempted rescue by Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) whilst Wolverine is being sent back, a scene briefly glimpsed in the trailer. We’d love to see this scene in an extended cut of the film as it’d provide more screentime to the criminally underused McKellen.

Taking to Twitter for a Q&A, director Bryan Singer (X-Men 2, Valkyrie, The Usual Suspects) responded to a fan’s plea for a director’s cut with the above scene with “Yes! Coming later this year.” Hopefully out for Christmas, the director’s cut will star Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Halle Berry and Ian McKellen.

Last year, the production of Star Wars: Episode VII took to the road across the UK holding numerous auditions with thousands turning up for the chance of a part. When the main cast was unveiled only young Brit Daisy Ridley seemed to have come from the auditions but now a pair of unknowns are confirmed as part of the new ensemble. The UK’s Pip Andersen and America’s Crystal Clarke have been selected for roles yet to be revealed by the new Star Wars brain trust, the writing/directing combination of Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back), Josh Trank (Chronicle), Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla), Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire), JJ Abrams (Star Trek Into Darkness, Lost, Super 8) and Rian Johnson (Breaking Bad, Brick, Looper).

Episode VII will star Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings), Domhnall Gleeson (About Time), Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones), Harrison Ford (Blade Runner), Mark Hamill (Arkham City), Carrie Fisher (The Blues Brothers), Adam Driver (Tracks), John Boyega (Imperial Dreams, Attack the Block), Daisy Ridley (Toast of London), Peter Mayhew (Killer Ink), Kenny Baker (Amadeus, Labyrinth), Anthony Daniels (The Lego Movie), Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Two Faces of January), Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist, Minority Report, Shutter Island).

There have been countless on screen incarnations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s legendary Victorian detective Sherlock Holmes but three are running simultaneously right now. Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law star in the blockbuster big screen adaptation, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman take the leads in BBC’s modern reinvention and Johnny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu in the indirect US remake Elementary. Our perception of the character could well be rewritten with the new portrayal coming from two time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, X-Men, Apt Pupil).

Mr Holmes, previously titled A Slight Trick of the Mind, sees an elderly version of the detective retiring to a beekeeping home in the mid-twentieth century and recalling his one unsolvable case. Bill Condon (Gods and Monsters, The Fifth Estate) also directs Laura Linney (Kinsey, The Truman Show, Mystic River. A first look at the film (above) was revealed earlier today.

The upcoming biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings is finally beginning to take shape. Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, American Gangster, Gladiator) directs the Oscar hopeful which may well be the grandest scale seen on film yet. If it’s as good as it promises there should be masses of box office interest. Get a very first glimpse at the film here and find the first poster below. Exodus will star Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley, Aaron Paul and Sigourney Weaver.

Exodus – December 26th

Mr Holmes – 2015

X-Men: Days of Future Past – The Director’s Cut – late 2014

Star Wars: Episode VII – December 18th 2015

The Best Films of 2014 – the Half-Way Point

Looking at any annual film schedule, its evident that the first half of the year can never quite live up to the second and 2014 is no exception. This year really did get off to a rotten start with 47 Ronin, The Legend of Hercules and I Frankenstein dragging their heals at the box-office but this did pave a way for others; The Wolf of Wall Street and Ride Along both enjoyed three consecutive weeks at the top of the UK and US box-office respectively. Following that came some genuine surprises. Wes Anderson’s ensemble comedy The Grand Budapest Hotel reached 1st and 3rd in the UK and US against all odds and The Lego Movie, one of the most poorly marketed films in recent years, was an unexpected treat and certainly and future cult classic.

The biblical format seemed to increase in popularity around Easter with the low-key Christian dramas Heaven is For Real, Son of God and God’s Not Dead taking nearly thirty times their micro-budgets but these religious flicks aren’t proving successful outside of America, besides Aronofsky’s star-driven epic Noah. The “Katniss-effect” of The Hunger Games has evidently given studios the faith to put stronger female characters into the fray of action and adventure with Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent and Shailene Woodley’s Divergent winning out over Johnny Depp’s Transcendence or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage financially. Edge of Tomorrow even managed it to the extent of Tom Cruise needing saving from Emily Blunt’s ultimate warrior.

In the last six months, certain individuals are lighting up the box-office left, right and centre. Former comedian Kevin Hart has lead a trio of success, Ride Along, About Last Night and Think Like a Man Too, while the Jump Street quartet (director Phil Lord and Chris Miller/stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill) have a cinematic Midas-touch. It’s evident that Lego’s Chris Pratt can do no wrong and, with Jurassic World and Guardians of the Galaxy coming soon, he’s well on his way to man-of-the-year status. The biggest winners of the year have to be Marvel. Even though their heroes are divided across Sony, Fox and Disney, Stan Lee’s creations of Spider-Man, Captain America (kind-of) and the X-Men are currently the three biggest films of the year so far and they’ll only continue to grow bigger.

Below you can find the international box-office top ten followed by our own personal picks of the year so far as well as the ten to look for in the rest of 2014:

International Box-office Top 10:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Director: Anthony and Joe Russo – Starring: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones – Box-office: $710.8 million
2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper – $703.3 million
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till – $700 million
4. Maleficent – Robert Stromberg – Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville – $531.8 million
5. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche – $478.7 million
6. Rio 2 – Carlos Saldanha – Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Bruno Mars, Jemaine Clement, Jamie Foxx, will.i.am – $469.4 million
7. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders – $467.2 million
8. Noah – Darren Aronofsky – Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, Logan Lerman, Douglas Booth, Anthony Hopkins – $356.2 million
9. 300: Rise of an Empire – Noam Murro – Eva Green, Sullivan Stapleton, Lena Headey, Jack O’Connell, Rodrigo Santoro, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham – $331.1 million
10. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong – $298.8 million

Tuorhoth’s Top 10:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – Bryan Singer – Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Josh Helman, Omar Sy, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Lucas Till
2. Godzilla – Gareth Edwards – Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe, Bryan Cranston, Sally Hawkins, Juliette Binoche
3. The Lego Movie – Phil Lord, Chris Miller – Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Ferrell, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Charlie Day, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Cobie Smulders
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – Anthony and Joe Russo – Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily Van Camp, Samuel L Jackson, Hayley Attwell, Toby Jones
5. Edge of Tomorrow – Doug Liman – Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Jonas Armstrong
6. The Two Faces of January – Hossein Amini – Viggo Mortensen, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst
7. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom – Justin Chadwick – Idris Elba, Naomi Harris
8. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit – Kenneth Branagh – Chris Pine, Keira Knightley, Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Costner, Nonso Anozie, Gemma Chan
9. RoboCop – Jose Padilha – Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Abbie Cornish, Michael Keaton, Jay Baruchel, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Aimee Garcia, Michael K Williams, Samuel L Jackson
10. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – Marc Webb – Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Dane DeHaan, Jamie Foxx, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Top 10 Anticipated:

1. Interstellar – Christopher Nolan – Matthew MacConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, David Oyelowo, John Lithgow, Matt Damon
2. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Peter Jackson – Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Aidan Turner, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Sylvester McCoy, Lee Pace, Manu Bennett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee
3. Gone Girl – David Fincher – Ben Affleck, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike
4. Kingsman: The Secret Service – Matthew Vaughn – Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Hamill, Mark Strong
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn – Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, John C Reilly
6. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes – Matt Reeves – Jason Clarke, Andy Serkis, James Franco, Judy Greer, Gary Oldman, Toby Kebbell, Kodi Smit McPhee
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 – Francis Lawrence – Jennifer Lawrence, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Jena Malone, Sam Clafin, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Toby Jones, Natalie Dormer, Philip Seymour, Hoffman
8. Fury – David Ayer – Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Jason Isaacs, Michael Pena, Shia LeBeouf
9. Exodus: Gods and Kings – Ridley Scott – Christian Bale, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver, Joel Edgerton, Ben Kingsley
10. The Judge – David Dobkin – Robert Downey Jr, Robert Duvall, Billy Bob Thornton, Vera Farmiga

Whedon discusses Dark Knight effect, Transformers and Bourne 5 slot into 2016 and first look at Jurassic World’s dinosaur

I, and countless other fans, find themselves in fits of uncontrollable excitement whenever a news story features geek god Joss Whedon, the writer of TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Agents of SHIELD, Dollhouse, Dr Horrible, Firefly and Toy Story and the director of Much Ado About Nothing, Serenity and The Avengers (the third highest grossing film of all time). Today’s news is of coarse surrounding The Avengers’ sequel titled Age of Ultron and Whedon has spoken out about the modern pressure of making a follow up an Empire Strikes Back, a Godfather Part 2 or (in particular) a Dark Knight. “Now, I watched ‘The Dark Knight’ and I thought of that as riffing on the genre. That was a superhero movie as ‘The Godfather.’ And I was like, ‘But I just still want to see a superhero movie!’ We had just gotten the technology to make it awesome, and I wasn’t ready to be post-modern about it yet.

“You’re trying to make a populist film with fascist iconography that is just bigger, and better, and longer, and trying to break that down and find a weakness and humanity.” Age of Ultron will star Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, James Spader, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Thomas Kretschmann, Hayley Attwell, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Josh Brolin, Samuel L Jackson and Robert Downey Jr.

As we all know, 2015 is the new 2012 which was the new 1999 in terms of 12 months of mega-releases one after the other. Next year it’s Avengers 2, Bond 24, Hunger Games 4, Cinderella, Ant-Man, Inside Out, The Man From UNCLE, Jurassic World, Terminator: Genesis, Fast and Furious 7, Jupiter Ascending, Mission: Impossible 5 and Star Wars 7 jamming the schedule from April through to Christmas. Despite this, 2016 is becoming a quick rival (Star Trek 3, X-Men: Apocalypse, The Amazing Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Doctor Strange, Captain America 3, Warcraft, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, Finding Nemo, Through the Looking Glass, Avatar 2) and it’s just added three more films to its roster. Michael Bay’s (Bad Boys, Armageddon, The Island) Age of Extinction follow up Transformers 5 with Mark Whalberg, Gregory Plotkin’s Paranormal Activity 5 with Katie Featherson and Justin Lin’s (Fast and Furious) untitled Bourne film with Jeremy Renner.

Certain members of sci-fi reboot Jurassic World’s human cast have been revealed already but indie director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) has got trigger-happy on Twitter and unveiled a small insight into Jurassic World’s main villains. We’re unsure but I’d bet that this is a teaser for the upcoming big reveal, similar to the Batmobile earlier this year. Jurassic World will star Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, Judy Greer, BD Wong, Katie McGrath and Vincent D’Onofrio.

Jurassic World – June 12th 2015

The Bourne Betrayal – 2016

Transformers 5 – 2016

The Avengers: Age of Ultron – May 1st 2015

Chris Pratt and Nick Robinson in new Jurassic World stills and rumoured DC movies timeline

It’s no secret that 2013’s admirable Man of Steel was the beginning of DC’s hopes to have a huge multi-series franchise in similar fashion to Marvel’s two-pictures-a-year routine (slotting in Guardians, Avengers 2, Ant-Man, Cap 3 and Doctor Strange for the near future with many other projects in development). Former Deadline editor Nikki Finke has reportedly unveiled the company’s plans in details for the future starting with Dawn of Justice in 2016.

• Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – May 2016
• Shazam! – July 2016
• Sandman – Christmas 2016
• Justice League – May 2017
• Wonder Woman – July 2017
• Flash/Green Lantern team-up – Christmas 2017
• Man of Steel 2 – May 2018

Comic book fans may be hyperventilating after this that but there are numerous indications that this is either a complete lie or DC have revealed a catalogue of flaws. Firstly, I don’t buy that seven films will be confirmed after the moderate success of one, particularly as there’ll have been a three year wait between. Next, releasing Shazam so soon after Dawn of Justice can only end in disaster; no one will go to see Shazam, even if DoJ is a guaranteed success. Next, an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s lauded Sandman comic book run could be a great success but again could be poor should it be part of a hurried franchise. Happily welcomed would be both Justice League and Wonder Woman, the latter finally being a female-geared superhero blockbuster although they have to scrap the blatant misogyny surrounding the character. Additionally, there’s no sign of solo films for Ben Affleck’s Batman nor Stephen Amell’s Arrow and I don’t see TV’s Grant Gustin making the transition into the Flash on the big screen. Also how come there’ll be a five year wait for Man of Steel 2? Lastly it just doesn’t seem feasible to produce seven films in two years, should the rumours be true. Amidst these projects are one too many surefire bombs.

The series will likely star Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ray Fisher, Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams, Callan Mulvey, Tao Okamoto, Grant Gustin, Holly Hunter, Stephen Amell, Jeremy Irons, Diane Lane and Laurence Fishburne and we’d expect director Zack Snyder (Watchmen, 300, Man of Steel) and David S Goyer (The Dark Knight trilogy).

Next up tonight we’ve got some the very first official stills from Jurassic World, a reboot of Spielberg’s beloved Park. The pics unveil a motorcycle-clad Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Parks and Recreation) being contacted by a business-type played by Bryce Dallas Howard (The Help, Spider-Man 3) while two brothers, Nick Robinson (The Kings of Summer) and Ty Simpkins (Insidious, Iron Man 3), are very very lost on Isla Nublar. There’s still no glimpse of the dinosaurs themselves but we hope to have trailers for this, and 2015’s other huge releases (Avengers, Star Wars, Terminator, Mad Max, The Minions), before the end of the year. Indie wrtier/director Colin Trevorrow (Safety Not Guaranteed) also helms the cast of Jake Johnson (New Girl), Judy Greer (Archer), Omar Sy (Untouchable, X-Men: Days of Future Past), BD Wong (Mulan), Katie McGrath (Merlin) and Vincent D’Onofrio (Full Metal Jacket).

Jurassic World – June 12th 2015

X-Men: Days of Future Past review

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Peter Dinklage, Ellen Page, Evan Peters, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Omar Sy, Josh Helman, Lucas Till, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Daniel Cudmore, Evan Jonigkeit, Mark Camacho

Across fourteen years and seven movies, the X-Men have always been far behind their other Marvel counterparts, such as the multi billion Avengers or Spider-Man, at the box office and in recent years have slipped back from their critical credibility; the series only three three instalments to really be proud of, namely 1, 2 and First Class. Fox’s masterplan to return X-Men to its status as the superhero monopoly is to bring back Bryan Singer (the man who made the mutants into a success), take one the most famous X-Men storylines (Phoenix and Hellfire Club are already taken), unite two very different casts and ramp up the budget to $200 million, risky business for a franchise yet to individually surpass the $500 million mark.

The year is 2023 and The Sentinels, adapting robots programmed to kill all mutants and humans carrying the X-Gene, have ravaged the world into an apocalyptic wasteland. The remaining X-Men, Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (McKellen), Storm (Berry), Colossus (Cudmore) and Iceman (Ashmore), opt to use the powers of Kitty Pryde (Page) to project Wolverine’s (Jackman) consciousness into his body fifty years ago in order to prevent Mystique (Lawrence) from inadvertently instigating The Sentinels’ creation. To do this, Logan must unite the younger Charles (McAvoy) and Erik (Fassbender) at a time that they couldn’t be further apart.

Days of Future Past has divided opinion but it’s indisputable that its increase in scale confirms it as the first truly epic mutant adventure. It’s immensely exciting for X-Men comic fans to, at last, see the series finally reaching The Avengers’ heights. It may well be overshadowed by the recent Godzilla but, painstakingly trying to not give too much away, Magneto’s stadium sequence is one of the great set pieces of the year.

While arguably scattershot and rough in its plot, the film’s script, constructed in chief by Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, is the first to have genuine power in its dialogue – fans may get teary. The decision to make Mystique the villain who has to be stopped philosophically rather than physically is inspired. The Dark Knight can sleep easy and its still the best superhero film of all time but DOFP is by far the most emotional.

Across the giant ensemble, the majority of that emotional power comes from a masterful performance from James McAvoy. His Xavier is a broken one since his crippling incident eleven years before, regularly taking a serum that gives his legs life but crucially takes away his telepathic powers. Logan was once a recluse reformed by Xavier and, although the Canadian is infamously intolerant, he must now return the favour. This leads to the most electrifying discussion there’s been in an action movie in a meeting of minds between McAvoy and the equally admirable Patrick Stewart.

Hugh Jackman meanwhile is channelling his usual action steeliness but thankfully this is the first time that he’s really owned the role since X2. Wolverine’s action in this instalment is excellently wince inducing, at last ridding the artificial feel of the other films’ violence. The rebar sequence is exactly how to genuinely horrify within the 12A region

She may not have a scratch on Katniss (The Hunger Games) or Tiffany (Silver Linings Playbook) but Mystique is fastly becoming an icon of Jennifer Lawrence’s career and the X-Men franchise in general. Here, she finally has a role pivotal to the plot and Lawrence portrays the shapeshifter with a perfect mix of angst and mysterious allure.

Despite the mega cast, all the buzz seems to be around Evan Peters’ scene-stealingly charismatic portrayal of Quicksilver and deservedly so. Pietro Maximoff’s super speed antics during the Pentagon raid are undoubtedly the funniest action scenes there have ever been. I’ve now got serious doubts in Aaron Taylor Johnson’s performance in the upcoming Avengers sequel Age of Ultron.

Nick Hoult’s Beast (who subscribes to the same serum as Xavier) and Ellen Page’s Kitty (who’d be killed should the dormant Logan lash out at any given moment) are as lovable as ever while I admire the extension of continuity with the inclusion of minor roles such as Toad (Jonigkeit), Styker (Helman)and Havok (Till) but many classic characters are undernourished in a Xavier-centric storyline, most obviously Magneto. The series’ most formidable actor Ian McKellen is given frustratingly little to do while it seems that his younger counterpart Michael Fassbender never quite has the full on menace that he had in First Class.

Also criminally underused is fan favourite Storm, the only mutant who actually needs an origin story. While Berry herself brilliantly kicks off the most devastating scene in the film, she hardly gets a line in within the sprawling action and the same goes for Shawn Ashmore’s (now) bearded Iceman. Less surprisingly, Colossus is again deprived of the development he gets in the comics; casting Magik for future films could bring him to the forefront of the narrative. Maybe we shoud just feel lucky that they made it; we all know what happened to Anna Paquin’s Rogue

Alongside the traditional X-Men, DOFP introduces a new roster of mutants, Bishop, Warpath, Sunspot and Blink, about 50% of which are awesome. Blink, played by China’s Fan Bingbing, can essentially play Valve’s Portal in real life (the dream of every gamer) without the device while time traveller Bishop (French star Omar Sy), as well as giving the team some much needed ethnic diversity, just has a boss blaster. They both accelerate the mayhem of the frantic but ingenious opening set piece. Sadly, the addition of Sunspot (Adan Canto) and Warpath (Booboo Stewart) may excite the fans but their lack of contribution to anything but the spectacle only increased frustration that so many got so little.

The spectacle is something that Days of Future Past gets bang on. Singer doesn’t formulaically stream the CG into our eyes but uses to terrifying effect with the mutant targeting robots known as the Sentinels, the creation of falsely martyred monster Bolivar Trask (impeccably played by Peter Dinklage). They do begin as a bit of a standard giant robot in the ’70s setting but, in the future, they become truly demonic beasts.

Singer’s return to X-Men isn’t as dark as Watchmen, as smart as The Dark Knight or as plainly fun as The Avengers yet it has read a page of all of their books and is easily the most emotional superhero film of all time. It ramps the scale up to 11 and still retains its human drama. Way too many major stars get stuck in tiny roles but arguably that allows leads McAvoy, Stewart, Lawrence, Hoult, Jackman, Page and Peters to excel and it finally has a narrative that revolutionizes what we thought we knew about X-Men.

9/10

“The past: a place of potential promise, and possibility. We are the sum of our choices, as what we do now defines what we will do. Infinite decisions mean infinite consequences, for the future is never truly set.”