X-men: Apocalypse is the newest installment of the X-men movie franchise (now up to 9 I believe, if you include spinoffs). It is also the third entry in the First Class trilogy.
If you've read of the reviews, you'll know that they're mixed at best. Some reviewers say only fans will like it, some say no one will, and a small amount say it's pretty good. Lots of them complained about an overstuffed story, too skin-deep development, and a nonsensical villain.
I thought it was pretty good, although there were definitely a few missteps.
Ryan's Rycommendation: If you're a fan, it's a must. Lots of fan service and X-men funitude (it's a word, dammit). If you're a casual movie goer, exercise caution but I think it would be a fun popcorn flick for all of you.
There were certainly some scenes where pacing was a bit awkward. Some reaction shots seems shoehorned in, and the acting was definitely a bit off more than a few times with the new cast members. But in general, it was a fairly well put together movie.
I heard quite a bit of criticism over Oscar Issac's acting in his Apocalypse makeup, but I didn't find it particularly worthy of negativity. He portrayed the villain fairly accurately. Apocalypse is an overpowered, campy enemy who wants to take over the world because it's exciting for the plot. Just like his mutant powers, which generally fall into the category of "deus ex machina". He can do what he needs to for the story. And in the movie, pretty much all of that remained true. Part of his character, particularly concerning his longevity, is a little different, but it worked for the story and definitely didn't really bother me.
I was mostly upset he didn't have the kickass blue lip/muttonchop combo [2]
The returning cast is all pretty solid. I love Xavier and Magneto, just like always. The rest hold their own but no one really stood out in my memory as doing a fantastic job. The new young mutants were passable, and I definitely liked Cyclops and Nightcrawler quite a bit, but Jean Grey needed some serious help. Some of her scenes were really lacking...expression. But that being said, I've definitely seen worse acting in movie lately.
Honestly, my biggest complaint about the movie is that Apocalypse was a fairly minor character. He was the major plot device, so it still definitely makes sense for him to have title credit, but the movie was much more focused on developing young mutant relationships. Magneto got a good arc, Xavier had a good subplot, Cyclops was treated very well in the script, and Jean Grey was developed fairly well, despite her lackluster acting. I definitely agree with the comments that this movie is overstuffed with mutants, but that was really quite charming for the X-men. For the Horsemen, not so much. They were under utilized, except for Magneto. They got very little screen time for how important they should have been, and got even less development. I look forward to seeing more Storm, but she had such a minor role I wasn't really able to form a full proper opinion.
It was nice to see the mohawk come back [3]
Quicksilver (and his devoted scenes) was as much of a joy this time around as the last. I had heard complaints that his focus in this movie was too similar to his scene in DOFP, but I thought this actually outshined his first appearance. It was a fun scene that kicked the movie into gear, I definitely enjoyed it.
If you're a fan, it's a must. Lots of fan service and X-men funitude (it's a word, dammit). If you're a casual movie goer, exercise caution but I think it would be a fun popcorn flick for all of you.
Until next time,
Ryan
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