X-Men: Apocalypse - Reviewed 

Amongst superheroes kicking each other's a**es, this year we have a contender whom we have seen in the motion picture industry for 16 years, giving us movies which mostly left you feeling ‘meh’. 

The third movie in the most recent trilogy in the X-Men franchise, it’s pretty audacious to have a joke in X-Men: Apocalypse that mentions the third film in a trilogy is usually the worst. The line is meant to take a shot at the almost universally hated X-Men: The Last Stand, and while X-Men: Apocalypse is nowhere near as bad as Brett Ratner’s film from 2006. Here's everything you need to know to get up to speed on the return of Marvel's merry mutants. 

Overview: 

For the seventh in the X-Men movie series, and fourth he has directed, guru of all things mutant Bryan Singer has thrown everything into the pot and hopes there’s something for everyone. 

The core cast of characters from X-Men: Days of Future Past are coming back - that's Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, James McAvoy as Charles Xavier (with a newly shaven head) and Nicholas Hoult as Beast - but we'll also be seeing a number of new faces stepping into familiar roles. 

While a bunch of classic X-Men from the original three films are coming back, they have been recast with much younger actors. These include Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner as Jean Grey (saving Fox big bucks on red wigs), Tye Sheridan as long-time team leader Cyclops, Alexandra Shipp as the weather-controlling Storm in her mohawk/punk era (a thing that actually happened), EastEnders' Ben Hardy as Archangel and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the teleporter Nightcrawler. 

Newcomers include Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse, The Newsroom's Olivia Munn as psychic ninja Psylocke, Icelandic actor Tómas Lemarquis as Apocalypse's bloodhound Caliban and newcomer Lana Condor as Jubilee, best remembered as the annoying kid from the '90s cartoon who shoots fireworks. 

Other returning faces include American Horror Story's Evans Peters, back to steal the show again as Quicksilver, Spy's Rose Byrne bringing the exposition in her role as Moira MacTaggert following her X-Men: First Class mindwipe, and Lucas Till as Havok aka the guy with the blasty chest that you definitely remember. 

Storyline & Action: 

Set in 1983 - ten years after the events of "X-Men: Days of Future Past", the immortal Apocalypse otherwise known as En Sabah Nur, 'The First One' (Oscar Isaac), worshipped as a god since the dawn of civilization, 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. 

Acting: 

Michael Fassbender carries much of the story’s emotion. Fassbender has never been more compelling as Magneto. His story arc showed not only a gentler side of Magneto but also an emotional intensity not seen in the character since First Class. 

Evan Peters makes yet another electrifying return to the X-Men universe, but Peters has much more to do this time around than show himself in a simple – but awesome – cameo. Not only does he provide the comic relief but he also goes on a bit of an emotional journey as well. Oh, and yes, he does have a sequence that tops the jailbreak scene in Days of Future Past. 

James McAvoy goes full Professor X in Apocalypse and I’m not talking about the fact that he’s bald. McAvoy is able to channel the loving and caring mentor side of Charles that we’ve seen in both the comics and Patrick Stewart. It’s just too bad that his character doesn’t develop much in the film. Although Mystique is considered a hero to all mutants in the film, Jennifer Lawrence’s impact doesn’t register the same way. She has relatively little to do in the film except give one lackluster speech after another. 

Tye Sheridan is also great as the young and inexperienced Cyclops. Given the emotional journey that he goes through, Sheridan is able to show a range of emotions from cockiness to frustration to sadness. Sophie Turner and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as Jean Grey and Nightcrawler respectively, are the other fresh additions to the cast. Turner channels her inner Sansa Stark by imbuing Jean Grey with vulnerability and confidence. Unfortunately, the chemistry isn’t there yet between her and Sheridan. Smit-McPhee embodies the childlike attributes of Nightcrawler perfectly. 

The film’s focus on Apocalypse, Magneto, Professor X, Quicksilver, Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler leaves very little room for the rest of the ensemble, both new and old. Nicholas Hoult is fine again as Beast, even though he doesn’t have much to do in the film. Newcomers Alexandra Shipp, Olivia Munn, Ben Hardy, and Lana Condor are fine additions despite barely having a lasting presence in the film. 

Direction & Cinematography: 

After wiping the slate clean with Days of Future Past, Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg have learned what makes the Marvel Studios films so successful: A general understanding and respect towards the source material. Although this doesn’t really matter to regular moviegoers, there are millions of X-Men fans around the world that will appreciate all the attention to details and references to the comics. Singer also pushes the boundaries of the violence in Apocalypse too. The action sequences are hard-hitting and eye-popping to the point where you question how they got through that PG-13 rating. 

With as many characters that Singer focuses on in Apocalypse, the plot is understandably very simple. There aren’t many moving pieces to the plot, which allows all of the characters to breathe when the film focuses on them. Unlike Days of Future Past, the film tries to give the entire ensemble their just due screen time. 

Editing & Special Effects: 

This movie handles phasing from scenes very well, as smooth as cake walk as I would say but when it comes to the CGI, I wasn’t visually impressed. I’m not saying the CGI was bad, It was all you could want from an X-Men Movie, it’s just that some scenes were compromised with CGI, where as they could have done a better job. When it comes to costuming, I was awfully dissapointed.

Apocalypse and the Horseman’s costumes lacked practicality and looked very cheap despite the fact that they didn’t look out of this world nor did it have an ancient hint. It may be because we’ve seen a lot of authentic costume choices in other comic book adaptations, making this seem dull. On the other hand, the X-Men costumes were on point, and true to the comics. We don’t get to see these costumes in action but they sure did score there. 

Rating & Guidance: 

Overall, X-Men: Apocalypse is an absolute blast thanks to the witty, inventive, and perfectly paced direction by Bryan Singer. X-Men: Apocalypse does have its flaws, but the film does enough to overcome its imperfections and keep the fans satisfied. With this being the 8th film We’re at a point that audiences know the characters well enough they can start diving in to the deeper, more uncharted areas of the X-Men universe, and having a director who can deliver more than just colourful, flashy action would be nice as the series continues. Apocalypse still shows that there’s a lot of treads on these tires. 

Comments 

“One of the best Bryan Singer movies to date.” - Kasun Hettige 

“Relived a few of the cartoon moments.” - Basith Haroon 

“Disappointed” - Nigel Anthony 

“Enough to surprise, amaze, upset and delight you." - Shamindri De Sayrah 

“Needed a better looking and sounding Apocalypse.” - Hussam Farook 

“The movie served its purpose. Didn't do too well like Days of Future Past did and it didn't do too low either.” - Sachith Perera 

“Not as good as the last 2 X Men movies and a severely under utilised villain.” - Dinuka Fernando 

“Best parts of X Men Apocalypse? Quick Silver and the opening sequence where the names are displayed at the beginning.” - Don Vishal Colombege 

By Zeeshan Akram Jabeer