Post Date: 5/29/16
Apocalypse has a lot going for it and I have to say after seeing the movie a few times this weekend and thinking of it with this review in mind, I still think its a good entry in the franchise. A lot of people wanted to see this movie fail just to see if FOX would be in a situation where they’d be up for selling the X-Men franchise rights back to Marvel (Disney). I am happy to report that I do not think that will happen anytime soon. This movie is using some of the stronger antagonists in the X-Men universe, pulling on the movies namesake.
Apocalypse is the main villain and what a villain he is. Without spoiling too much, let’s say he’s a bit more than the fledgling that X-Men can handle on more than one occasion. He’s the world's first mutant and after being betrayed by his followers almost 5000 years ago, he’s awoken and he’s out to reclaim what he thinks is rightfully his. Along the way he recruits four mutants who he imbues with extra powers so they can in turn protect him - kind of like pimped out bodyguards. Now I won’t say much more on the plot due to the fact that I think you should definitely go out and see this film, but I will remark on a few things that I think FOX did very well and some things that I wish they had done differently. This way, once you (yes YOU) the one reading this, can go see the flick and then maybe you and I can bounce our ideas off each other.
Some Positives:
The Setup - As I said earlier, this movie isn’t viable without the two prior movies successfully rebooting the franchise and introducing us to these “new” X-Men.
The Setting - This movie takes place in the 80’s and everything from the picture of Ronald Reagan in the CIA offices, to the style of clothes and even the posters on the kids walls reminds you of this era and it’s glorious. One of the best scenes in the movie takes place to the Eurythmics 80’s hit “Sweet Dreams” which is just dripping of 80’s nostalgia.
Reestablishing the X-Men - You may scratch your head when I say that but this is something I think needs to be said. For too long the entire X-Men franchise has been built on the shoulders of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. While I am a huge fan of his depiction and I think he does a fantastic job as Wolverine, the X-Men are so much more than one grumpy un-killable Canadian. This movie brings a lot of the other members of the team into the limelight and as a huge fan of Cyclops, I’m happy to report he’s no longer the second class citizen as he was in the Wolverine Saga.
Some Not-so-positives:
Scale - I feel that this movie falls into the same trap as most superhero movies, they go too big. The world doesn’t HAVE to be in peril every time. It can be a more character driven intimate affair. It could be something as small as a cruise ship being held captive. As far as I’m concerned, this movie put the entire franchise back a step as far as the universe is concerned. Until now, the focus has been on the struggle between humans and mutant relations. Maybe this change was done on purpose? I thought after Days of Futures Past the issue of humans and mutants had been checked off, but I guess we will see.
Playing Catchup - Now this isn’t a X-Men only issue, you will see this same issue with DC’s movie universe - like in Batman V Superman - and we saw it with the Fantastic 4 failure of a movie as well. Every comic book movie made in the past 5 years is trying to emulate the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) but the issue is always time. This results in these movies being released with extra scenes that have no connection to the plot that is being shoe horned into the film. They're only purpose in the movie is just for universe building and it feels forced. Apocalypse too falls prey to this and while the scene I’m speaking of is cool in it’s own right, it’s completely unnecessary and it does not serve the movie well.
Final Thoughts - Okay Jay, we get it! This movie does some good and some things less so, where does that leave us with Apocalypse? I think its pretty straight forward. If you have enjoyed the two X-Men movies that Bryan Singer has made before this, you are sure to enjoy Apocalypse. This is in the same vein with the same great effects, characters, and intense awesome mutant action scenes. However, if you’ve been unhappy with these movies, I don’t think this one’s going to do much to change your mind.
Post Date: 5/29/16
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