In parallel worlds

 The superheroes from the original “X-Men” film trilogy return to cinemas this week, joining up with their younger counterparts to prevent the mutants from being annihilated and the world from coming to an end in “X-Men: Days of Future Past”. 

Bryan Singer is back in the director’s chair too – his first X-Men movie since 2003’s “X2” – bringing together the mutant worlds of the first three X-Men movies and 2011’s “X-Men: First Class” reboot to save the world from an apocalyptic event.

Three of the movie’s stars, Hugh Jackman, Peter Dinklage and Fan Bing Bing, stopped off in Singapore last week as part of the promotion tour, which also took in New York, London, Moscow and Beijing before continuing to Brazil and Australia. Singer, though, stayed home to fight a complaint made by an aspiring actor that he was among several Hollywood personalities who had abused him as a child, an accusation the director strongly denies.

Despite suffering from fatigue and jetlag, the three stars charmed fans waiting for them in front of the Shaw House cinema on Orchard Road and underlined their affability at the following day’s press conference and interview, where they happily interacted with the media.

Jackman, who has been playing Wolverine since the first film, 2000’s “X-Men”, describes “Future Past” as “emotional and character driven”.

“It’s a whole different side of Wolverine in this movie. He’s more of a diplomat and mentor, which are not really part of his skills. The new Wolverine is a lot of fun to play,” he says.

Alternating between the 1960s’ setting of “X-Men: First Class” and the future of the original series, the movie starts in the near future in the middle of an apocalyptic war in which killer robots known as the Sentinels have hunted mutants to extinction. The remaining X-Men led by Professor X (Patrick Stewart) send Wolverine back to 1973, 10 years after the events in “X-Men: First Class”. His goal is to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating the creator of the Sentinels, scientist Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), in the hope of halting mutant genocide in the future.

Wolverine tracks down the younger Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), former friends turned enemies. Wolverine also has to reassuring the young Xavier, who has lost faith in himself after Mystique left and he was betrayed by Magneto.

Magneto meanwhile is confined at the Pentagon in the most-secure prison in the world for his involvement in US President John F Kennedy’s assassination. Despite the leaps backward and forward in time, “Future Past” is mainly focused in 1973 with Singer deftly blending in actual historical events with the more fantastic storyline.

Dinklage, best known for his Emmy-winning role on TV’s “Game of Thrones”, portrays the primary antagonist of the story, military scientist Trask. He admits laughingly that he doesn’t really like comics but still found it thrilling to be part of the franchise.

“The great thing about this movie is the variety of heroes and the variety of villains. Some of them wear a suit to work like Trask. He is a smart and influential guy who exploits people’s fear of the unknown. He thinks it’s a heroic deed to save the humans from the mutants,” says the actor, who wore a black T-shirt sporting a rival DC Comics superhero team to the press conference.

Some of the set piece scenes are brilliantly choreographed, combining state-of-the-art technology and film techniques to add to the spectacle. Sequences featuring the new X-Man Quicksilver (Evan Peter), who has ability to travel faster than the speed of sound, as well as the Pentagon’s kitchen scene, have already become the talk of the town.

Jackman and Dinklage also name the kitchen scene – where everything slows to a crawl as Quicksilver accelerates, disarming and knocking out the guards and deflecting bullets as everyone stands still – as their personal favourite.

“It’s definitely the most original action sequence I’ve ever seen,” Jackman says, but admits that it was also one of the most difficult to film, with crew and actors spending 14 days to get it right.

Dinklage, who isn’t in the scene, says it blew him away when he watched the movie at its New York premiere week.

“I’m so envious!” he grins.

Jackman adds that the film is so fresh and new that it feels like a beginning rather than an end. “What makes ‘X-Men’ work for me is the story, the vulnerability of the characters not just their superhero abilities.

“People ask me all the time when I’m going to give it up and its very hard thing to imagine because it is very close to me and feels like part of who I am,” he says,

“Bryan makes the comic book story interesting as well as entertaining by adding elements of the superheroes’ characteristics that allow viewers to relate to the superheroes in a human way.”

Singer, he adds, is more confident in his work than 14 years ago and thus more willing to take risks and try different things.

 “I’ve always said that “X-Men 2” is my favourite but now, after watching this part, I think it’s even funnier,” he says, adding that films based on comics often run the risk of becoming a little silly and cheap in the sequels. 

“Actors and filmmakers are today more interested in working on a superhero franchise than in the past, which can only be a good thing,” he says.

He also intends sticking to the Wolverine character and is enjoying working with James Mangold on another “Wolverine” standalone film.

“It shows a side of Wolverine that has never been told before,” he grins.

 

MARK THE SPOT

 - “X-Men: Days of Future Past” opens in theatres on Thursday. It’ll be in 3D in some cinemas, including Imax.