Bolivar Trask Analysis

This is one of those movies I own that most desperately needed a rewatch, not because I hadn’t seen it in forever (though I hadn’t seen it since its opening weekend in theaters), not because it was a classic film that I wanted to tackle in writing, but because I simply couldn’t remember it very well. I have a fantastic memory, I love superheroes and their films and I remember very much liking this, but for whatever reason this one didn’t stick with me. I now remember why I liked it so much, though for some reason I still think it will fade in my memory.

Sometime in the not too distant future, giant robots who hunt and kill mutants have devastated the earth, with only a few genetically enhanced individuals alive In a last ditch effort to save the

Peter Dinklage as the antagonist of the film, Bolivar Trask, is good. He succeeds in making his character evil, but he also makes him a somewhat sympathetic character because his heart may be partially in the right place since he wants to protect humanity more than destroy mutants. More impressively, Evan Peters is terrific as Quicksilver. He exudes lighthearted charisma and humor seems to surround him like an aura. In part because of his performance, but also because of Singer’s directing, this movie is worth seeing just for his “Time in a Bottle” sequence.

Speaking of Singer, I have been critical of him in past installments for his tone management, but here he gets it nearly perfect. “Days of Future Past” is serious, emotional, and weighty, but it never becomes too overwrought or self-serious. This is in part because Singer does a good job of mixing in funny moments, like the aforementioned scene, that help break up but not eliminate the tension of the film. It’s also due to Singer’s color palette, as he and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel cast the film in a grey hue that lends gravitas to the film without becoming oppressively