Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Remember reading that Oscar winner and True Blood star Anna Paquin was going to reprise her role as the mutant Rogue in the most recent X-Men movie, Days of Future Past? And then the movie came out and she was in exactly two shots with nary a word of dialogue, and even that moment came a scant four-and-a-half minutes before the end? Well, there was in fact more planned for her, and the new “Rogue Cut” reinstates her scenes as part of a rethought, expanded version of the movie. To be frank, it’s largely the same story you’re probably used to. Rogue’s return has minimal impact on the plot, but there are lots of other little changes along the way too, successfully enhancing the overall drama.

In general, the 2.4:1 image here displays consistently high technical quality, with no jarring disparities even at the points of seamless branching to the theatrical cut, save for a few added shots that exhibit that mildly unpleasant, strobe-y digital video look. But I really appreciated the fine layers of the visual effects during this viewing, the faint puffs of smoke, minute water droplets hanging in the air, and so on. Text is featured prominently in many scenes, and it’s plainly legible.

New music was required to accompany the new scenes, and the recording and 7.1-channel mix are exemplary. The effects are pushed aggressively into the surrounds for an immersive experience from start to finish. This being an epic action adventure, there’s also heaps of bass, particularly for the big beats involving those oversized marauding Sentinels. A terrific soundtrack in any version.

The relative paucity of special features on the original Days of Future Past Blu-ray is absolved by this fresh two-disc set. Here finally are not one but two director commentaries: one unique to the new Rogue Cut in which helmer Bryan Singer is joined by composer/film editor John Ottman, the other with Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg, on the theatrical version. Over on Disc Two, the nine-part behind-the-scenes program is fine, I suppose, whereas the half-hour roundtable conversation with the cast wrangled by Singer and Kinberg is giddy, geeky fun. (James McAvoy’s T-shirt is priceless.) We’ll also find an extensive image gallery, and a Second Screen app plus a Digital Copy of The Rogue Cut rounds out this edition. The expanded movie is an entertaining curiosity, but the new extras make this one a complementary double-dipper.

Blu-Ray
Studio: Fox, 2014
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Length: 149 mins./131 mins.
MPAA Rating: Unrated/PG-13
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender