X-Men Apocalypse is a failed attempt at trying to bring this powerful villain to the big screen
I have mixed feelings about the X-Men movies. I really liked the first film that came out in 2000 and X2 a few years later was awesome yet X-Men 3 was a thoroughly disappointing movie. When X-Men First Class came out in 2010 it breathed new life into the characters and was one of the best movies in the series at that time. When news came of the sequel X-Men Days of Future Past there was apprehension by fans. It is such a huge story and everyone wondered if they would be able to bring it to the big screen and do the tale justice yet somehow they did. Now this trilogy is coming to a close with X-Men Apocalypse. I was able to see it this week and here is what I have to say about it.
You can read the plot for X-Men Apocalypse here:
“Worshiped as a god since the dawn of civilization, the immortal Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) becomes the first and most powerful mutant. Awakening after thousands of years, he recruits the disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and other mutants to create a new world order. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Professor X (James McAvoy) and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) lead a team of young X-Men to stop their seemingly invincible nemesis from destroying mankind.”
Man was I disappointed in X-Men Apocalypse. But before I get into the many reasons why let’s look at some of the good things about it. There is a really awesome sequence with a mutant fans will recognize right away that is just amazing. It is full of action, will have you on the edge of your seat and bummed when it is finished. It was cool to see a new scene with Quicksilver although it is sillier than the one in Days of Future Past which I thought was a shame, but it is well shot and some fans will love every minute of it. The last good thing about this film was seeing Sophie Turner as Jean Gray. It was the first time this character was brought on screen at this age and she does a splendid job playing the role and she has some of the best mutant scenes in the whole movie. Sadly that is all I really liked about this picture.
There are a lot of reasons why X-Men Apocalypse is a terrible film. First I hated how they did the voice for Apocalypse. It is normal sometimes but for no apparent reason his voice would change all robotic and man did it get annoying. It was a poor attempt at trying to add for dramatic effect and came off as ridiculous instead. I was also really bummed at how some of the mutants had so little screen time. You rarely get to see Storm, Jubilee, Angel or Psylocke and when you do there is little depth there and little to no back story is given for any of them. I wanted to see so much more of them and yet they are disposable the way they are used here. The film could get along without almost any of them except Magneto, and even the way he is portrayed in this film is his worst yet. All four of them are supposed to be powerful mutants who are a force to be reckoned with yet somehow this gets lost somewhere in the narrative. Yet the worst part is the ending. I won’t give away what happens but the way this movie is finished is off base and too simple for such a powerful foe. Overall it is sure to disappoint a ton of fans of many ages and is best to miss in the theater altogether. You can learn more about X Men Apocalypse on its website.
X-Men Apocalypse has earned 3/10. It is certainly not the worst superhero film I have seen in recent years but it is missing too much to be that good. There was a ton of potential for this movie to be amazing, especially since this is the same team that found a way to make two really good films yet somehow they screwed this story up. It is not the fault of the cast, they do the best they can with what they are given and most of them are just wonderful. Obviously some bad decisions were made along the way and that is what hurts this film the most. After seeing this film I really don’t want to see anymore new X-Men movies. After Wolverine 3 comes out I suggest they start fresh or go back to the drawing board and find someway to make these films great again.
If you are a fan of the X-Men comics don’t see this movie, all it will do is anger and disappoint you. For those wanting to see another great X-Men film this is not the one you want to watch. Yet if you are in the mood for a film with good special effects then you may enjoy this one. X-Men Apocalypse comes out Friday. Be sure to follow X-Men Apocalypse on Facebook and Twitter.
Check out the misleading trailer below: