X-MEN: APOCALYPSE REVIEW (NO SPOILERS)

The end is nigh....

The X-Men face their biggest threat yet in their latest blockbuster, X-Men: Apocalypse!

I managed to watch the film on premier night and I can't wait to tell you what I think!  Don't worry, it's spoiler free!


Synopsis:

Charles Xavier and his young group of mutants are in for the fight of their lives when an ancient mutant is awakened and begins a quest for world domination.


The Rundown:

Professor X (James McAvoy)

He's back in all his Professor X-ness.  Reading minds and saving the world.  No biggie.  As always, he tries to convince his friend, Magneto, that humans and mutants can coexist if the effort is put in.

In all honesty, I'm not a fan of Professor X in any of the movies, so I may be a little biased in saying that he could have done better.  His role just seemed redundant to me.  It felt like I was watching "First Class" or "Future Past" again; and while I like those movies, I am growing tired of Xavier's whining.

Magneto (Michael Fassbender)

The prime example of a character who gets better with every showing.  He just never gets enough screen time.  We need a Magneto solo movie before Fassbender gets tired of playing him!  There is so much time that passes in between his appearances in movies that we can get a nice movie out of one of his adventures while off the X-Men cameras.  Please jump on this Hollywood!  His star is shining bright and he won't want to play this role forever.

In this movie, Fassbender shines as usual and delivers a performance that makes you believe in his cause and also gives him legitimate credibility in his hatred for mankind.  I actually cheered him on in this.

And I'll also say this: Magneto was already dangerous, but Magneto with his powers fully recognized is very scary.

Mystique/Raven (Jennifer Lawrence)

The not so blue Mystique is back with her complicated love/hate relationships with Xavier and Magneto.

Jennifer Lawrence walks around looking very Jennifer Lawrence-ish due to barely ever being blue despite her love for natural appearance.  She tries to elevate her status by being very Katniss-like with her grand speeches and leadership into insane battles.

Unfortunately, it feels as if Lawrence is phoning her performance in.  She appeared to be more Katniss than Raven.

Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac)

Let's make this very clear: Oscar Isaac is one of the top actors today.  He is just so amazing and convincing in his roles.

That being said, I have a slightly complex opinion on the Apocalypse character.  I really enjoyed the acting element that was put into the role, but his physical stature really bothered me.  For my taste, he was too short and not physically imposing at all.  Even when he grew to an enormous size, as seen in the trailer, it was still not intimidating.

He has immense power but, as with almost all overpowered villains, his plans for world domination were more complex than they needed to be.

Cyclops (Tye Sheridan)

Sheridan does a wonderful job embodying the young Cyclops who is afraid of his own power with trouble controlling it.

It is made clear from the first time we are introduced to Cyclops that he's got more than just Superman's heat vision.  No, Summers' laser eye power is incredibly strong and not to be taken lightly.  Not only is it strong, but it is a burden to him and he makes you feel the weight of it.

Jean Grey (Sophie Turner)

Speaking of burdened by powers, Grey is depicted as being tortured by hers.  Not only does she feel the effects of having probably the greatest level of psychic powers in existence, but the other super powered mutants in Xavier's school make sure to steer clear of her because of it.

Sophie Turner really shines in portraying Grey.  Her performance was excellent and the movie does a great job in revealing the limits of her power.

Beast (Nicholas Hoult)

Beast takes a page out of Mystique's book in choosing to stay away from the blue look....which is a little annoying.  Yes he transforms (like a werewolf) when it's time for action, but I'd rather see the hairy smurf.

Beast's role was underwhelming.  He was there but he really did not have to be. However, he remains one of my favorite X-Men characters in the movies (yes, even when his role was played by Kelsey Grammer in "Last Stand"). 

Quicksilver (Evan Peters)

When asked how he felt about the death of "that other" Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Peters stated that he was actually sad.  He had hoped they could have a friendly competition in trying to top each other in every subsequent movie they portrayed the white haired speedster.

While I agree that this would have been great, I must admit that I loved Peters' portrayal much more even though his screen time was significantly less than that of his rival.  In Apocalypse, he does not disappoint!  I wondered if, and how, Quicksilver's role would be on par with his appearance in "Future Past".....turns out it was done even better!

Angel (Ben Hardy)

Not much to say here.  The character is not used much and although he is considered to be 'special' by Apocalypse, his only asset is his power of flight and scratching things with the claw on his wings.

Storm (Alexandra Shipp)

While she gets some time on the screen, Storm's impact is not felt as greatly as the other mutants.  Shipp is great as Storm and her portrayal definitely has me anticipating her being Storm in future movies.  She's a worthy successor to Halle Berry and actually fits the role better.

Psylocke (Olivia Munn)

It seems that Magneto is the only one of Apocalypse's horsemen who really gets to shine.  Even with Psylocke being a very big part of the X-Men universe, her role is very limited and unclear.  Olivia Munn looks the part and she's great in the action sequences, but there isn't enough of her to truly judge.  I hope this is just the beginning of us seeing her and Storm.

Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee)

Yes, yes, yes!!  We have been waiting for Nightcrawler to return since seeing his greatness in "X-Men 2"!  We were teased with Azazel in "First Class", but he did not have the personality and likability that Nightcrawler does.

McPhee does an impressive job of bringing a young Nightcrawler to life in a performance similar to that of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Captain America Civil War.  He stole every scene he was in and brought life to the character.  OG Nightcrawler Alan Cumming should be applauding Kodi after seeing this!

Havok (Lucas Till)

Till does a good job reprising his role and getting more face time to showcase his powers.  Unfortunately, his brother Cyclops is there to steal the spotlight.


Honorable Mention:

Jubilee (Lana Condor)

The trailers go out of their way to show you that an Asian Jubilee will be in the movie.  Well, this is not exactly a spoiler, but more a warning:  she does nothing. I was disappointed that we got no light show from her at all.  Hopefully we see her in action in the next installment.


The Verdict:

On a scale of Batman v Superman to Captain America: Civil War, with Batman v Superman being the worst and Civil War being the best, X-Men: Apocalypse falls dead center.

The movie has awkward pacing, rushed introductions and too much CGI destruction.  Much in the vein of Batman v Superman.  However, there are a bunch of mutants flying around the screen fighting, Magneto is awesome, Nightcrawler and Quicksilver are too epic to not watch and Oscar Isaac acting alongside Michael Fassbender is just amazing despite them only having a couple of scenes together.

The climactic fight scene did not impress me much because Civil War has spoiled me.  It has set the bar insanely high for big superhero battles and the big battle in X-Men: Apocalypse did not meet that expectation.

It's a fun movie at times, other times I felt like I was watching the same old thing again.  Seeing the same characters having the same conversations for the third time in a row just had me wishing Apocalypse would end everyone already.

All in all, I think it would be best to wait for it to be released to DVD before watching it.


My Rating:

2.8 out of 5 stars

I came to this movie with low expectations.  Usually when I do that, I am pleasantly surprised.  This time I was not.  The movie was exactly what I expected it to be: the worst of the new X-Men movies, but still better than the older ones except X-Men 2.

Stick around after the credits for a neat little scene that corresponds to a cool scene in the movie.

Thank you for reading and making this the success it is!  If there are any movies you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to email me at jayreviewsfilms@gmail.com.  

You can also come and like our page on Facebook where some shorter reviews that aren't posted on this blog go up along with information and trailers for upcoming movies.