X-Men Apocalypse Review: Solid Addition To The X-Men Series

Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, Lucas Till 
Rating: 12A
Running Time: 144 mins
Release Date: May 18th 2016

Picking up 10 years after X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, the students of Xavier’s School For The Gifted and the human race alike face their toughest antagonist yet, an enemy known as En Sabah Nur, played by Oscar Isaac, (or as his friends like to call him, Apocalypse) whom was entombed in the Nile Valley in 3600 BC, and accidentally awoken in the mid 80’s with a serious thirst to cleanse the Earth. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is rescuing vulnerable and oppressed mutants in an individual bid to save them from the cruel clutches of mankind, while Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is successfully running his school and continually taking on students with newly developing powers, such as Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) aka Cyclops and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) aka Phoenix. Magneto (Michael Fassbender) however is now living the reclusive life in rural Poland with his wife and daughter in an attempt to move on from his failed assassination of President Nixon, which doesn’t last long once the locals cotton on to his past; multiply a police confrontation with a tragic accident involving his family and you’ve got yourself one distraught and vengeful Magneto.

Having been awoken from his peaceful slumber, En Sabah Nur seeks out four of the most powerful mutants he can get his hands on, in the shape of Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Ororo Munroe), Angel (Ben Hardy) and Magneto, to act as his four horsemen and help him destroy the Earth and everyone on it. Cue one majorly epic final showdown and a small cameo from Weapon X himself, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman).

I generally thought X-MEN APOCALYPSE was a really solid addition to the X-Men prequel series. Not only did we see some of our favourite characters return, we were also introduced to a whole bunch of new ones, an exciting moment for anyone that was a fan of the originals and has been waiting to see their favourites congregate. Amongst Cyclops, Jean, and the four horsemen, the audience was finally introduced to Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) who proved to be a huge hit as a tension dissolver with his comedic timing and unwavering religious tendencies. Though it was Evan Peter‘s Quicksilver that really stole the show; if his rescue attempts to Eurythmic’s ‘Sweet Dreams’ doesn’t make you chuckle, I really don’t know what will.

Missed the X-Men: Apocalypse world premiere interviews? Take a look here.

However, as wonderful as it was to have all the characters together, there were so many of them and so many different arcs that at times it felt like a lot of characters were redundant, or at least they certainly weren’t utilised. There was a lot trying to be crammed into the not so short running time of almost two and a half hours, and even then parts felt rushed. It also spends a heavy portion of the film retelling origin stories which have undoubtably been seen time and time again which does feel like a wasted opportunity to develop some of the characters narratives. For example, apart from Magneto and a quick glimpse into the life back in Egypt with Storm, we learnt very little about the four horsemen and what drives them to follow such a destructive leader such as Apocalypse. There was very little incentive to warrant such loyalty from Apocalypse’s minions besides strengthening their pre-existing powers by a small fraction. What ever happened to mutants stick together?

In all honesty, the story like it’s predecessors is on the recycled side. In X-MEN FIRST CLASS the mutants are after the humans; in X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST the humans are after the mutants; and now in X-MEN APOCALYPSE a group of mutants are after the humans AND all the other mutants. They all seem to continually be fighting the exact same battle resulting in one final blowout at the end of the film, which in X-MEN APOCALYPSE is done in grandiose style with stunning visual effects, but yet still has an underwhelming quality about it. Perhaps it’s the predictability of it all, and if thats the case then these are unoriginal criticisms, as films within the superhero genre always have and always will face predictability critique when it comes down to pacing, structure, and outcomes. If I call out this film, then I need to call out all the others. That’s what makes Tim Miller‘s DEADPOOL so engaging, it’s a different take on the genre all together.

Despite the predictability and multitude of unanswered questions, I do think Director Bryan Singer has contributed a solid addition to the X-Men prequel series. While it’s predecessor X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is arguably the strongest of the three prequels, X-MEN APOCALYPSE cannot and should not be compared to the hot mess that was Zack Snyder‘s BATMAN VS SUPERMAN as it was superior on multiple levels.  The main characters are extremely likeable whether they’re goodies, badies, or somewhere in between. There is a great balance between drama and humour, and while it is a long film, I must admit I didn’t look down at my watch once.

Verdict

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