X-Men: Apocalypse
X-Men: Apocalypse
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Lawrence
Directed by Bryan Singer
The Story:
Back in ancient days, the first mutant known as En Sabah Nur is being regenerated into another body (Oscar Isaac) to retain his immortality. However, he is betrayed by his followers and his pyramid collapses on him, encasing him in a makeshift tomb. In 1983, he is awakened by a new set of followers, and goes by the name Apocalypse, because he sees the world being run by "lesser" people, and sets out to create a new world where only the strong survives.
To achieve his goal, he sets out to find the four most powerful mutants and turn them into his Four Horsemen, endowing them with even stronger abilities. Angel (Ben Hardy), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) are chosen to be the heralds of destruction.
Meanwhile, at Xavier's School, a young Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is still coming to terms with her enormous powers, and newcomer Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) is beginning to learn about his own recently exposed mutant abilities. They're soon thrust into a battle for survival as Apocalypse begins his dream of creating a new world, by destroying the current one.
The Synopsis:
"Apocalypse" is a very huge undertaking, as the name itself signifies great destruction and death. If something is apocalyptic, by nature, it means you're pretty much screwed. So when Bryan Singer decided to take on the X-Men's greatest foe, it seemed like an undertaking too big for one man to handle.
In a sense, this is true. Apocalypse is supposed to the first mutant, having pretty much every power known to man, but here he's resigned to the "villain of the day" role, a one-and-done bad guy who has less consequence than he should (see Red Skull, Crossbones, Ultron, Abomination, etc.). One thing that Singer did brilliantly, though, is having Apocalypse's reign of terror reverberate throughout the world. It wasn't like Ultron, who only went after one random city, but instead the destruction was felt on a worldwide scale, and it was done in a way that would make Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay go green with envy.
People teased Singer for making Apocalypse look incredibly goofy, but even in the comic and cartoon series, Apocalypse doesn't look "pretty."
Apocalypse is portrayed by Oscar Isaac, who is becoming the next big thing in Hollywood (he had a small part in "Star Wars VII," but he excels in "Ex Machina" and "Inside Llewyn Davis." Even here he was lambasted as not being able to be understood through the heavy makeup, but I didn't have an issue with it. I could hear him fine, and I didn't think the costume was too over-the-top.
Another issue people had with the movie was that there wasn't enough action. There is a lot of time spent on finding the Four Horsemen...
Tangent time.
Let's talk about the Four Horsemen for a second. People didn't understand why an all-powerful mutant needed four "lesser" mutants to serve as the Four Horsemen, but it's something moreso to do with his own ego than anything. It also has something to do with the ending, which I can't get into because it would give spoilers away, but when it happens you'll understand.
As for choosing the four most powerful, Apocalypse got two out of the four right. Magneto is easily the top three most powerful mutants on earth, and Storm - even though here she's just really discovering her powers - has the ability to control weather itself. Then there's Psylocke and Angel. Psylocke is terribly underused here, as she has some amazing abilities that sit on the shelf (I relate her to Emma Frost from "First Class" and Jean Grey/Phoenix from "The Last Stand"), and whose greatest scenes are found in the trailer. Finally there's Angel. Angel is easily the weakest, most useless, most pointless Horsemen of them all. When you see the film, you'll understand why I feel this way. He should've went with Professor X, Jean, Quicksilver...there's a plethora of other, more powerful mutants Apocalypse could've chosen than the weak Angel.
End Tangent.
So there was a lot of time spent on finding the Horsemen, and introducing us to the new (yet old) X-Men. However, if you look at previous X-Men outings (particularly the last two in Singer's new trilogy), you won't find wall-to-wall action, but deep introspection, understanding, and depth of character development. Here, all of that is pretty much abandoned for a larger scale action sequence. There's still some prolonged scenes, but there's more action to be had here than in "First Class" or "DOFP."
With regards to the action, while it was riveting and exciting, it was also surprisingly not as perfect as it should've been. You can tell actors are hanging by ropes, using green screens and such, and relying a bit too much on CGI effects, but that's a small issue with an otherwise entertaining film.
The biggest problem people had with the film is the issue with the timeline. To fully grasp an X-Men timeline, you need a Master's in Quantum Physics to scratch the surface of it. Even Deadpool couldn't understand the conflicting timelines. This film takes place after the "Days of Future Past" timeline changed history, where Magneto is on the run for almost killing the President, and Mystique is hailed as a hero for mutantkind. There's no telling whether or not this resurgence in mutant love brought about Apocalypse's beginning earlier than expected, but it could've had a hand in it.
Along with the confusing timelines is the fact that the characters never seem to age. "First Class" takes place in the 60s, and "Apocalypse" is set in the early 80s, and everyone - especially Havok (Lucas Till), who should be in his 40s by now and still looks to be in his early 20s - still look as young as they did in "First Class." I can overlook this because if they used makeup to age everyone, they'd simply look ridiculous. It didn't really bother me at all.
I discussed Isaac's role earlier, now it's time to delve a bit deeper into the other actors in the film:
James McAvoy. As Professor X, he's one of the most powerful mutants on Earth, but here he's criminally underused, treated moreso as a prop or means to an end instead of using his whole power. Although we find out how he goes bald.
Michael Fassbender. Easily the biggest role in the film, we see what happened to him after "DOFP" and the life he led afterward (hint: it's not what you probably expect). After a truly traumatic event, he once again turns to the dark side, and yet there's still a glimmer of good in him. Fassbender plays him to perfection, showing a truly flawed character fueled by rage and revenge.
Jennifer Lawrence. Bryan Singer is probably thanking his lucky stars he cast her in "First Class" when she was still a relative unknown. Now she's one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, and was contractually obligated to appear here. Mystique is given a much meatier role, which wasn't entirely necessary, and surprisingly Lawrence's performance was one of the weaker parts of the film. She looks like she's sleepwalking through her role, like she had to do this film but her heart wasn't fully in it. Plus Mystique isn't the best mutant to lead a rebellion, but I guess if Katniss can do it...oh wait, they're the same person.
Tye Sheridan. Tye is another up-and-coming actor with a fairly impressive resume ("The Tree of Life," "Mud," "Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse"), and he shows his acting chops here as a young Scott Summers, a kid just coming to terms with his destructive powers, feeling grief and loss, and taking on the beginnings of being a great leader.
Sophie Turner. As Jean Grey, Turner walks a tightrope, balancing innocence and power, fear and trepidation. She has an amazing ability, but is fearful to release it. When it finally surfaces, it shows that she is clearly the most powerful mutant in the movie, and Turner's effortless charm makes her an instantly likeable character.
Evan Peters. Disney may have butchered their version of Quicksilver, but here Fox does something it rarely does - makes him even more amazing. His breakout scene in "DOFP" is pretty much repeated here, but in a grander and more humorous scale, and that's just the beginning. He gets a much meatier role here, thrusting him front-and-center in the fight, and showcases the true power Quicksilver possesses. Plus Evan Peters is an acclaimed actor with a likability that's undeniable and he steals every scene he's in.
The Rest. Everyone else does great with their roles, but they're more designed for the background. Rose Byrne returns as Xavier's love interest Moira, Nicolas Hoult does a good Beast, Lucas Till is around as Havok (and also Scott's brother), Kodi Smit-McPhee gives a good Nightcrawler performance (shout out to his costume, reminiscent of his cartoon counterpart), Ben Hardy is Angel (that's about all I can say there), Olivia Munn is criminally underused as Psylocke, Alexandra Shipp does what only Halle Berry wished she could've done as Storm, and Lana Condor is...well...kinda there as Jubilee (if anyone was excited to see her in this film, I'll just be real and say she has absolutely nothing to do with anything going on with the story, she's hardly even there).
Finally there's THAT cameo. If you saw the end of the trailer, you'll see a certain arm with certain Adamantium claws protruding from it. Yes, Hugh Jackman does a cameo as Wolverine here, and it's not like any Wolverine you've seen. Dare I say kids might even be afraid of this Wolverine. Which is totally awesome.
One final thing the film did that I really appreciated was its attempt to give some self-defecating humor. Jean, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Jubilee go to see "The Return of the Jedi," and as they come out of the theater Jean says, "Everyone knows the third movie is always the worst." Singer makes this zinger (ha, I rhymed) to "The Last Stand," which is the only X-Men film he didn't direct, and is universally panned as the worst in the series. However, this might've come to bite him in the behind as people are saying "Apocalypse" is the worst of his last trilogy. Personally, I rank it second, behind "Days of Future Past." Still, it was an amusing little aside in a surprisingly dark film.
The Summary:
So what is the verdict on "Apocalypse?" Is it an amazing story? Not really. Is it the worst X-Men movie ever? Not even close ("The Last Stand" will always hold that title). In the end, it could've been greater than it was, but it wasn't entirely unwatchable. In the overall X-Men Cinematic Universe canon, I personally rank it third after "Days of Future Past" and "X2."
The Score: A
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