X-Men: Apocalypse

Released: May 2016

Director: Bryan Singer

Run Time: 144 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Composer: John Ottman

Genre: Action, Science Fiction

Cast:
James McAvoy: Professor Charles Xavier
Michael Fassbender: Erik Lensherr/Magneto
Nicholas Hoult: Hank McCoy/Beast
Jennifer Lawrence: Raven/Mystique
Oscar Isaac: En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse
Rose Byrne: Moira Mactaggert
Evan Peters: Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver
Sophie Turner: Jean Grey
Tye Sheridan: Scott Summers/Cyclops
Alexandra Shipp: Ororo Munroe/Storm
Olivia Munn: Psylocke

I have now seen FOUR comic-book movies this year: Deadpool, Batman V. Superman, Captain America: Civil War, and now, X-Men: Apocalypse.  Thankfully, of those four, only one turned out be a real stinker, and I think we all know which one that was.  I’ve been following the live-action X-Men films since the first movie was released back in 2000.  It was an awesome movie back then, and it’s still good after 16 years.  Movies based on comic books have been around for decades, but they hadn’t been taken seriously until Superman: The Movie in 1978.  However, it was the first X-Men film that really gave the genre a much-needed shot in the arm.  Not only did we see an amazing sequel for X-Men in 2002, we also started seeing more movies based on Marvel’s properties like Spider-Man, The Punisher, and Daredevil(Yes, I like that movie, shut up.).  The X-Men movies not only gave us a new kind of live-action superhero film, but they also gave us Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.  While the X-Men films have suffered some setbacks with X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men: Last Stand, the majority of the films in that franchise were phenomenal, and that’s thanks to director Bryan Singer.

X-Men: Apocalypse begins in ancient Egypt as a mysterious blue figure is attempting to transfer his power and spirit to another mutant when he is betrayed by the people who worshipped him.  Buried alive, the being known as En Sabah Nur has remained buried for thousands of years until he wakes up in 1980’s Cairo.  Looking around and feeling disgusted by what he is seeing, En Sabah Nur begins his search for four particular mutants that will help him conquer the planet.  He finds Storm in the same city in which he woke up, as well as Angel and Psylocke in Germany.  In Eastern Europe, Erik Lensherr has taken a job as a steel mill worker, and has a family of his own, until one night his wife and child are killed by police officers who suspect Erik of being Magneto.  He is later approached by En Sabah Nur and given more power to help destroy the world.  There’s a lot more going on here than what I’ve just described.  X-Men: Apocalypse is probably the biggest and most ambitious X-Men film to date.  The story isn’t half-bad.  It has very strong emotional undertones that really resonate throughout the film.  BUT…..and there’s always a catch, it feels like there’s too much going on.  It’s nowhere near as bad as Batman V. Superman, but it seems like they tried to throw in too many mutants and too many subplots.  It is handled better than Last Stand and X-Men: Origins, though.

There was a lot of controversy about the film regarding it’s main villain, En Sabah Nur or Apocalypse.  One of the initial set photos of the character showed him as a purple villain reminiscent of Ivan Ooze from the Power Rangers movie.  Honestly, people were really jumping the gun with knee-jerk reactions, because there’s a technique in film-making called “color correction.”  It’s a thing that’s been used in movies since….ever.  So, yeah, the purple Apocalypse becomes the blue Apocalypse, as he normally looks.  I’m actually really okay with how the character looks.  He looks very menacing and is extraordinarily powerful.  En Sabah Nur, both in the movie and the comics is referred to as the first mutant that ever existed.  As the first mutant, his powers and abilities essentially made him a god in the eyes of normal people.  Not only was he able to use telekenesis, and change size, he could change bodies.  This effectively rendered him immortal.  Apocalypse is one of the X-Men’s greatest and most devastating villains.  The character is extremely interesting and I really like how they brought him to life on the big-screen.  Oscar Isaac was great as the character.  One of the character’s defining traits was to able to grow to behemoth proportions like this:

However, this only happens in one particular scene, and it’s not even in the real world.  I think that’s going to drive a lot of fans insane, because they were expecting him to be gigantic while fighting the X-Men, and he wasn’t.  That was very disappointing.

The acting in the film is really good, and Bryan Singer is fantastic at bringing out great performances.  Oscar Isaac, as I mentioned was awesome, even if the character was slightly underwhelming.  James McAvoy is still amazing as the younger Charles Xavier.  Jennifer Lawrence, Nick Hoult, and everyone else does a fantastic job.  The real star of the show however, is Michael Fassbender.  I love this guy’s performance as Magneto.  His character is incredibly compelling and complex.  Magneto was never a black-and-white kind of villain.  He had a reason and purpose for doing what he did.  By giving the man a family at the beginning of the film gives the character a much-needed emotional anchor.  Fassbender is one of the greatest actors of his generation, and I have yet to see him do something absolutely dreadful.  The character’s relationship to Xavier is still phenomenal and ever-changing.  The other guy of note is Evan Peters as Quicksilver.  His appearance in Days of Future Past is probably one of the most memorable scenes in any of the movies.  Peters has the charm and the wit to give Quicksilver that level of sarcasm and humor that makes him so endearing.

The action is really, really good.  It just takes a while to get there.  When the action hits, it hits hard.  In fact, some of the action towards the beginning of the film in ancient Egypt was pretty brutal.  I think the action in X-Men: Apocalypse pushes the PG-13 rating pretty hard.  The visual effects are absolutely amazing.  The last half-hour of the film is something to behold.  Never let it be said that Bryan Singer skimps on epic superhero battles, because he doesn’t.  The music is, once again, done by John Ottman and features the familiar main X-Men theme heard in the second film and Days of Future Past.  I’d say it’s pretty iconic at this point.

Sadly, the real weak link of this film is it’s namesake, Apocalypse.  The character is cool, he looks cool, and Isaac does a fantastic job, but En Sabah Nur’s presence is just…meh.  He doesn’t really do a whole lot, physically.  He just uses his powers, but doesn’t really show the audience what he is physically capable of.  This is a character that’s thousands of years old, so has had access to hundreds of different styles of fighting, and he doesn’t really employ them.  He’s kinda….boring in that regard.  Does the film really deserve all the hate that it’s getting?  No.  Not at all.  The films with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are essentially a reboot of the franchise, so this is the third film in that series.  A third film in any franchise is always going to have a hard time reaching the bar set by the previous film/s.  X-Men: Apocalypse does an admirable job, but it doesn’t reach the heights that Days of Future Past managed to nail.  It has its problems, for sure, but it’s still a damn sight better than what Zack Snyder put on the screen a couple of months ago.  My final score is: 8/10.  It’s respectable, but not mind-blowing.  It’s definitely worth checking out though.

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