'X-Men' Is Far From Apocalyptic
Unlike a lot of the critics who are pouncing on this one, I thought it was better than the reviews suggested. However, I do think that after this movie, Fox needs to give it some kind of reinvention.
Story:
X-Men: Apocalypse continues the story of Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) who, along with his fellow X-Men, finds himself up against a greater enemy known as Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), the world's first mutant.
Ups:
I'll dive right in to the acting. I thought James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were terrific as always as Professor X and Magneto. I also thought the new band of actors, including Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, and Kodi Smit-McPhee as young Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler, respectively, were terrific as well. Oscar Isaac did a fine job as Apocalypse but it must've been difficult to act while buried under all those prosthetics.
Another thing I really enjoyed was Quicksilver's big action sequence with the song "Sweet Dreams" by the Eyrithmics playing in the background. I wasn’t sure they would top Quicksilver's big action sequence in Days of Future Past. But they managed to do that.
Downs:
Jennifer Lawrence returns as Mystique and I've read reviews saying how she mailed in her performance or she looks like she didn't give a damn. But that's because she wasn't given much to do. The character of Mystique in general wasn't given any justice this time around. With how Mystique is rarely in her blue form and she becomes a reluctant hero, I was given vibes of blonde Katniss from The Hunger Games. I get that Lawrence is a big star and they want to try and market her face any way they can. But as a fan, I was kind of hoping we would see Mystique more in her blue form. Mainly because if you take away her distinctive blue form, Mystique is just another shapeshifter.
Aside from Mystique, the side characters like Angel, Storm, Psylocke, and Jubilee weren't given much to do. While three of those side characters act as henchmen to Apocalypse, their inclusion still felt like fan service. That brings me to my next problem.
I think the reason this film isn't exactly lighting the box office on fire is because it feels a lot like fan service with fan favorite characters like (*possible spoiler alert*) Wolverine being shoehorned into the film. That's why Batman v. Superman was quite an underperformer. It had a bit too much fan service while films like Deadpool managed to focus on being a great film for more people to enjoy that might not be as familiar with the source material.
Consensus:
Overall, X-Men: Apocalypse is an adequately entertaining yet incredibly flawed entry in a film series I've loved along with the comics it's based on. Despite its flaws, I'm not saying don't go see it. You won't be bored by it.
Grade: C+
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