X-Men: Apocalypse

            The “X-Men” film franchise has had some really big ups and downs during its run over the years. It had some strong promise in the beginning, but as it went on, it just seemed to be stuck in a slump where it just got worse and worse. With how badly things were turning out for the franchise, along with Marvel Studios building its empire up with each passing movie, it felt like 20^th Century Fox had either of two choices: sell the rights off to Marvel, or press the reboot button and fix things up. They, of course, chose the latter, and in 2011 gave us “X-Men: First Class.”

            When I first saw “X-Men: First Class” in theaters, I found it very enjoyable, especially when compared to the previous few entries. However, much like “Captain America: The First Avenger” which came out the same year, “First Class” is one of those films that I was liking more as I thought about it. I loved the action scenes, I enjoyed the scenarios it presented, and the cast was fantastic. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the younger Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr were really damn good in their performances, and I’d say even matched Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan when they took on the roles. Originally, this film was planned to be “X-Men Origins: Magneto,” which makes sense, since most of the story does focus on Magneto’s character, but I guess they didn’t want to remind people of “Origins: Wolverine.”

            Three years later, one year after “The Wolverine” hit theaters, the original director of the first two “X-Men” films, Bryan Singer, came back to set everything right with “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” Not only did this fix all of the problems that I used to have with “First Class,” but all of the problems that I had with any of the other “X-Men” films prior. How? By simply wiping all of the previous films out of canon with a brand new timeline. And unlike “Terminator Genisys,” this film actually does it WELL! So for anyone who wants to get into this franchise late in the game, all you could do is just watch “First Class” and go right into “Days of Future Past,” and you’d be completely fine with it all.

            Due to the success of “Days of Future Past,” Bryan Singer decided to stay on board with the series a little more, and give us what was teased in the previous film, “X-Men: Apocalypse.” Now the main question is, did I like this movie? Yes, I had a blast watching it. Do I think it’s as good as “First Class” or “Days of Future Past?” Sadly, no. Why? Well, let’s dive in.

            Ten years after the events in “Days of Future Past,” Charles Xavier continues teaching the young mutants attending his school, Magneto has gone into hiding in Poland, and Mystique is out on her own once again. When a new enemy from the times of the Pharaohs, En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse, is resurrected, it’s up to the X-Men to unite together and take on this powerful threat.

Ironically, this movie has a line saying “At least we can all agree, the third one is the worst,” which I get is a jab at “X-Men 3,” but it’s also true about this film, since it is technically the third film in the reboot. And that’s where I do have some problems with the film. The writing and direction, while good, aren’t nearly as strong as the previous two films were. There are times that a certain part of the story won’t be focused on for a while, and then after about twenty or thirty minutes, will cut back to where that one left off. It tends to get a little unfocused in the beginning, which does drag the pacing down quite a bit. However, once everyone gets to the sides they need to be on, the pace eventually picks up.

Another problem I have with the film are the drastic tonal shifts. Whenever this movie wanted to add in some humor into the story, while it was funny, the way it was worked it felt really awkward and came out of nowhere. A prime example is when Charles uses Cerebro to find Moira from “First Class,” and makes a flirty remark, right after an earthquake. It doesn’t really have much effect, and a majority of those kinds of moments do take up the film a bit. The only one that actually did get a laugh out of me was when Apocalypse confronts Magneto in the warehouse factory he works at, and Magneto responds with “Who the fuck are you?” Despite this ruining a very dramatic moment, I did have a good laugh at that line.

I also didn’t really see much value in half of the Horsemen. Sure, Magneto and Storm are good, and I’ll go further into detail with them, but Angel and Psylocke were just underwhelming. Angel, this time played by Ben Hardy, was just an angsty, drunk, douchebag that doesn’t really have much character to him, other than he has a grudge against Nightcrawler. That’s it. But at least that’s more character than I can say for Psylocke, who has absolutely no character at all. Seriously, Psylocke does almost NOTHING in this movie, and Olivia Munn looks so bored to be there. You could have had a completely different “X-Men” character in the role, and it wouldn’t have made a difference. Hell, you could have made Jubilee in the position of one of the Horsemen, and I’d be totally fine with it. At least that way she’d serve more of a purpose being in the movie…seriously, why was Jubilee even in this movie?

Another big problem that people seem to address was Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Was she bad? No, she’s been consistently good with her performances in these past few films. The problem they discussed is that she doesn’t retain some of the values from “Days of Future Past” in terms of the character. Instead of embracing the blue skinned redhead look, she’s mostly looking like Jennifer Lawrence after a day of shooting “Joy.” I heard that it might have been because she has an allergic reaction to the make-up she was using, but if that’s the case, couldn’t you have used a substitute?

However, the scene that felt the most unnecessary was the subplot where Colonel Stryker shows up. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the scenes were very good, especially to the reveal of Wolverine as Weapon X, but that whole subplot could have easily been cut out of the entire film, and it wouldn’t have been any different. Sure, it was cool to see Wolverine bring out the most carnage we’ve seen him give, and I thought the scene with Jean calming him down was very touching, but it wasn’t really necessary. Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it hinted in “Days of Future Past” that MYSTIQUE saved Wolverine, while disguised as Stryker? If so, then why did he end up with Stryker afterwards? I don’t get it.

Now despite what I’ve said bad about the film, there are some major redeeming qualities. For starters, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as Professor X and Magneto are still incredible in their performances. The two’s chemistry, even when they’re not interacting in the same scene together is still fascinating to watch. I especially got attached to Magneto’s side of the story, trying to escape the life he’s known for and live happily with his new family, only to let fate take it all away from him. That scene in the forest, with how good the acting was and the direction it went, it makes my heart drop every time I think about it.

Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse did a pretty good job, taking a villain that we thought wasn’t intimidating, and making him a very harsh threat to deal with. Sure, he may be another villain like Ultron, where he wants to extinguish humanity in order to cleanse the Earth, but he still handles the role with dignity. The scenes that he shares with Charles are especially menacing, as we witness his extraordinary powers both physically AND mentally. If they had anyone else in this role, it would not be nearly as good as it was here. Also gotta give props to Alexandra Shipp, who nails her performance as Storm. While Halle Berry certainly tried, Shipp put the most effort into her work as Storm, complete with her accent and all. That, and she does showcase herself as a very powerful fighter, more so than any of the other two Horsemen.

As for the cast that plays the younger X-Men, I thought they were all pretty damn good. Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler did fantastic jobs as these characters. With them made into teenagers in the 1980’s, there was a lot more fun to be had with these characters that we never did get before in any of the previous movies. With the chemistry that they shared on screen, it kind of reminded me of “X-Men: Evolution,” which was the X-Men cartoon that I grew up on. Seeing these characters made younger, but still taking on the same tasks that the X-Men are known for, it all made me feel like a kid watching that show and see it come to life on the big screen. Much like the previous two film, this film felt like I was watching an “X-Men” movie.

The action scenes were also pretty damn impressive, easily the best ones in the entire “X-Men” franchise. The climax, especially, felt satisfying to sit through, because of how much was truly at stake and how bigger things were getting with each passing minute.

Overall, while “X-Men: Apocalypse” could have been better, I still thought the rest of the film was deeply satisfying. And I know I might get a lot of hate for saying this, but I definitely liked this better than “Captain America: Civil War.” Sure, that film may have the stronger script, but when I look at both films as a whole, “X-Men: Apocalypse” had the stronger direction, action scenes that feel more in place with the film, a climax that felt satisfying, and, of course, a much better villain (Zemo sucks).

Rating: 8/10