When evil comes in small packages

DINKLAGE. Unsuccessful experiment.

Filmmaker Bryan Singer went out on an experimental limb when he directed the recent film, “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” He opted to assign “villain” responsibilities to a midget actor, Peter Dinklage, whom he cast in the pivotal role of Bolivar Trask, the brilliant savant who sets out to exterminate all mutant X-Men, because he believes that they are a scourge to society! In this “experimental” instance, evil comes in an unusually small package!

The unusual point is made not just to be edgily different, but also to add an ironic twist to the film’s thematic equation: A midget is a mutant, too, after all—so, why should the pint-size savant hate his ilk’s super-heroic versions so much?!

Alas, the visionary scientist isn’t wise enough to intuit the irony, and all X-Men suffer as a result of his lack of ironic perception.

Unfortunately, despite the actor’s best efforts to imbue his villainous character with gravitas and the requisite sense of coruscating danger, the daring experimental touch fails to fulfill the story’s essential villainous requirements. As a result, the doom and danger in the film feels theoretical and unfocused. So, despite the cast’s thespic twists and struggles to aim for the heights of drama and tragedy, the production doesn’t end up as a truly moving empathetic experience.

Contrastingly, in some other films, the use of “small” actors for hugely evil objectives has been more successful. In the James Bond film, “The Man with the Golden Gun,” the pint-sized villain wields a lethal metal hat like a flying garrote to chop off his victims’ heads. —Now, that’s truly scary!

In addition, pint-sized character actress Martita Hunt was known for her knack for making otherwise obscure and meek characters suddenly strike fear in viewers’ hearts with their unexpectedly evil intent!