X-Men: Apocalypse★★★ 3/4
Lots of blue mutants
The Big Bad isn't big or bad
I want Storm's mohawk
With the emergence of the world's first mutant, Apocalypse, the X-Men must unite to defeat his extinction level plan.
I've been a fan of the X-Men for a long time, since I was little and watched the cartoon as often as it was on. So I have a soft spot in my heart for these characters, albeit one that's been bruised before (*cough*worstmovieever*cough*).
The most recent movies in the franchise—First Class, Days of Future Past, even The Wolverine—have all been really great. And they've helped that bruised spot in my heart heal, thanks the timey wimey business of reboots. TL;DR: I went into this latest movie, Apocalypse, hoping it would continue the trend.
Sadly, although it didn't cause me any heartache, it also doesn't stand up to the quality of its immediate predecessors.
In an oddly prescient joke, which I assume was a dig aimed at The Last Stand, one of the characters in the movie mentions that "the third movie is always the worst."... Apocalypse is the third movie in this reboot of the franchise. After watching the film, I find it ironic that the joke also applies to the very movie in which it was said.
It's not that the movie is bad, per se. It's just a little boring? Even with all of the action and fight scenes and explosions—seriously, this movie rivals Man of Steel in unnecessary destruction of property—there's not a whole lot of plot. Apocalypse is this supremely overpowered being that is a threat to the entire world, but he's taken down in a matter of moments after spending much of the movie outfitting (literally, he makes costumes and applies tattoos) his team. Oscar Issac's talents are wholly wasted on the role.
And then there's the rest of the cast, many of whom—and I'm particularly pointing fingers at Jennifer Lawrence's Raven/Mystique—seemed to be phoning in their roles. Apocalypse is a somewhat serious movie, I get that. But couldn't they have at least a little fun with it? The exception, not unexpectedly, lies with Evan Peters' Peter/Quicksilver. I'd watch a whole movie made of his slowed down time scenes. Also, James McAvoy looks damn good in lavender.
Even the introduction of a whole slew of "new" mutants, including Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), Angel (Ben Hardy), Psylocke (Olivia Munn) and Jubilee (Lana Condor), didn't add much to the movie. All of the roles came off as terribly young-feeling, which, of course, means there's room to grow in future movies, but didn't quite mesh well with the more familiar feel of the already established crew.
This film felt a whole lot like a transition, bridging the gap from First Class and Days of Future Past to future movies in which the young team introduced in this movie grows into their X-Men personas. Which, again, is totally OK, but just doesn't make for the most engrossing of viewing experiences.
Previously, in this franchise:
Note: Both links will take you to my old blog.
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