MOVIE REVIEW: X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Directed By: Bryan Singer

The current state of super hero movies would not be what it is without the X-Men franchise, there is no denying that. Bryan Singers first movie, released all the way back in 2000, was the first big blockbuster that showed us that Hollywood could make a really good superhero movie. Singer went on to improve on that first one with the sequel in 2003 and then would leave the franchise until 2014 when he directed Days of Future Past, arguably one of the best in the series. So his return for Apocalypse was seen as a positive. However, after seeing the film I can't help but wonder if the Bryan Singer way of making a super-hero flick has already become outdated. 

The latest installment in the franchise picks up a decade after the events of Days of Future Past, keeping with the trend of the new generation of movies and pitting this story in the heart of the 1980's. Not only does this give us a whole new opportunity for crazy new character costumes but it also brings with it a new crop of characters. For starters we have the title character, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), who some believe to be the first ever mutant. He's been asleep for a long time and he has awoken to spread his vengeance on the world.

To do so he enlists the help of some powerful mutants, including Magneto played fantastically by Fassbender once again. After the events of the previous film he has fled into the woods to try and live a quiet life, but with him being Magneto and all the story couldn't let that happen. The way they chose to pull Erik from seclusion and onto the side of Apocalypse is one of the weakest points of the film and something I wish they had done differently. They use a cheap plot device that is meant to pull some big emotional punches but without any build up or character development the scene fails to land its mark.

Once he has his four horseman they set out to take control of the world and destroy all that has stood before them. With the human race in imminent danger once again Professor X (James McAvoy) and his X-Men are the only ones who can do anything about it. With the help of some old friends like Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), and Quicksilver (Evan Peters) as well as a few new, yet familiar faces like Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) in the students they do what they can to stop Apocalypse from enacting his ancient prophecy. 

After resetting the timeline and erasing everything that came before it at the end of the DOFP Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg seemed to have gotten a little over excited with their newly acquired clean slate - Apocalypse is simply trying to do too much. They wasted no time getting Jean Grey and Scott Summers back into the picture as well as bringing in, and mostly under utilized, Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Jubilee (Lana Condor), and Angel (Ben Hardy), who they still have no idea what to do with. On top of that all the big players return and they even force in a cameo that I'm sure you have already heard about. They could cut that entire section of the movie from the film and not miss a single beat.

In spite of all these characters they were smart enough to give the most time to the ones that mattered the most. Fassbender and McAvoy nail their parts again as Magneto and Professor X. Evan Peters reprises his role and the speedster Quicksilver and once again steals the entire movie. His big action scene is the highlight of it all and is worth the price of admission on its own. Seriously, let's give this kid his own flick, Peters completely owns the part. 

Newcomers Sophie Turner and Tye Sheridan proved to be smart casting for the parts and although they didn't get as much time to develop their story here as I'd hoped, I really liked what I saw from them and can't wait to see more going forward. Unfortunately Jennifer Lawrence gives her worst performance in the series so far coming across rather wooden in most of her scenes, thankfully she has a much smaller role than the previews would lead you to believe. Oscar Isaac also isn't given much to do in the way of acting that you would hope to get from a guy of his caliber, which was a let down.

After seeing Singer crush the end of the world scenario in DOFP watching what he chose to do here is quite disappointing. Nothing about this story brings us anything new to the superhero movie we haven't seen before, it's another apocalyptic story with a lot of flashy special effects (though there are a handful of really, really bad CG effects). Still, with a few fantastic action set piece and a handful of great performances I still came away from the theater entertained enough to justify the ticket price. 

At its highest moments the movie stands up there with the best of the series, but at its lowest points this thing is on par with The Last Stand and Origins. At moments I was cringing from the bad dialogue and at others I was totally immersed in the action (the Quicksilver scene) or a well acted character moment. So, is the Singer way of making an X-Men flick dead? not quite yet, but it's on its way there. From the way he does his opening credits scene down to his standards for action I think his way of doing these films is becoming repetitive and played out. Sure they are entertaining for a watch but with so many of these types of movies in theaters these days is that still all we need?

As always, thanks for reading and I am Zach Who Watches Movies. You can find me anytime on twitter @ZachWWMovies, smell ya later!