X-Men: Apocalypse is the sequel to the amazing 'Days of Future Past' that once again stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence. We also have new to the cast Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In), and Olivia Munn (Magic Mike).
Set in 1983, many years after the last film, an ancient evil known as the world's first mutant awakens in Egypt and begins to convert various mutants in order to 'cleanse' the world of what he feels is inferior rulers and 'false gods'. Professor Xavier (McAvoy) and his school for the gifted must try to stop him before the apocalypse takes the world.
I really enjoyed 'Days of Future Past' and like many had many hopes for its inevitable sequel and also like many I had hoped for the very best. Being the same director and essentially the same crew and cast, that is to be expected. So, does 'Apocalypse' hold up to the last one? Yes and No.
The film's epic scale is felt the moment it starts with an epic prologue set in ancient Egypt. It's a really great setup for the film to follow, however the unexpected happens and it almost slows to a crawl for at least a half-hour. This is the biggest gripe I really have with 'Apocalypse': its pacing.
While it does get going after this slowdown and ends with a great end fight scene, I can understand people checking out for a lot of the film and that's one thing as a filmmaker you never want your audience to do.
However, in all honesty that slogging thirty minutes still has one amazing scene involving Fassbender's Magneto character that really delves into his soul (I know its schmaltzy sounding). This scene reminded me of the opening to 'First Class' and it really gives Magneto so much development and good motivations for the decisions and actions he commits (evil or good ones). Also these thirty minutes give way to one of the most exciting and entertaining comic book films I have seen in a while (forgive me for not seeing 'Civil War' as of this writing yet.).
The action scenes are well done, the CGI is well done and used well and its awesome to see many mutant characters use their powers to their fullest (Jean Grey standing out here). One of my favorite scenes is also one that gives me mixed emotions on whether I should criticize the film for it or not. I will try not to give too much away, but the scene brings in a great cameo however it seems like the set up to the scene is to bring this cameo about and just conveniently to delay our heroes from the real battle with Apocalypse. Still though, the scene is fun to watch and fans will love it for sure.
Other negatives I may have would be directed at the wasting of some great 'X-Men' characters either due to time or just the script itself needing little use of them. I really wished we could have seen more of Storm, Psylocke, and Nightcrawler. They're on all the damned advertising for God's sakes, why do they have so little dialogue and scenes. Yes, Nightcrawler helps a lot throughout the film however you do not get to know him all that well and he is almost a physical 'Deus Ex Machina' to the climax. I think this is an issue in many hero films with many characters, but it still pains me to see my favorites barely used.
Still though, this does not deter me from completely recommending the film. It's a great addition to the franchise, one with more problems than the previous film yes, but still a great entertaining ride. The negative criticism surrounding the film is strange to me personally. It's not meant to teach the meaning of life, its to be a well made and entertaining action film with some good performances and fight sequences. Its pacing and character juggling need to be more fine tuned, but overall a great superhero flick.
I'm gonna give 'X-Men: Apocalypse' an (A)
Release: May 27th, 2016
Rating: PG-13 (Strong Violence)
Company: 20th Century Fox/Marvel Entertainment
Director: Bryan Singer
(all images are property of Marvel Entertainment & 20th Century Fox Corporation)
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