X-Men Apocalypse (2016) (Movie Review)

   Just because an instalment in a long running franchise doesn't accomplish anything extraordinary, it doesn't mean I can't still enjoy it for what it is. The 2016 movie “X-Men Apocalypse” is one such film that came out in the wake of two near perfect movies from the "X-Men" franchise, those two being “X-Men First Class” and "X-Men Days of Future Past". While "Apocalypse" doesn't reach the same level of quality of its predecessors, I felt it worked as a fun, high stakes, superhero blockbuster ... unremarkable in ambition, but enjoyable and inoffensive. 

Its biggest hurdle was being released in a time when we were oversaturated with comic-book, superhero movies, and if a film was going to stand out it needed to do something that's either unique in presentation or profound in execution. "X-Men Apocalypse" accomplished neither and was easily written off as just another comic-book blockbuster. It doesn't surprise me that it slipped through the cracks and has a more dismissive reputation. That being said, I'm flexible, I had two solid entries, and I don't mind having one that's simpler and fun in nature. Maybe I’m just a sucker for this series, or maybe the critics were too quick to right this off as just another middling installment, but either way, here’s “X-Men Apocalypse” and these are my honest thoughts on it.

  The movie begins in ancient Egypt, where we see the origin of our main villain Apocalypse. Basically, he was the world’s first mutant and is the reason mutants came to be in the future. In the past, he would harness the powers of various other mutants by transferring his mind to their bodies, but during a ritual, he was betrayed by his followers and placed in a state of hibernation. I’m not going to lie ... this is one of my favorite pre-title openings of the series. It was brutal, tense, beautifully shot, the music was great, and everything leading up to the main title card gave me chills from head to toe. 

On that note, I also love the opening credit sequence, as it artistically goes through the ages, leading up to the 1980’s in which the movie is set. At this point, it’s been 10 years sense the events of “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, and all our main players are established. We see that Professor X has finally established his mutant school as a home for the gifted, Mystique is secretly aiding other lost mutants on the side lines, and even Magneto has settled down with a wife and is raising a child. However, one of the X-Men, a young Jean grey has a vision of a future in which the whole world is reduced to rubble. This gets Professor X nervous of something malevolent on the horizon. Sure enough, the dreaded Apocalypse awakens from his slumber, and is furious of the world he’s awoken to, believing that the weak have inherited the earth. Now we come to the dramatic highlight of the movie in which Magneto tragically loses his wife and child due to human intervention. Magneto’s grief and renewed hatred of humanity get the attention of Apocalypse, who both join forces to reshape the world as they see fit, with only our heroic X-Men there to stand in the way.

 Right off the bat, let’s talk about our main villain ... as he's the base point for the films mixed reception. As you'd expect from a character called Apocalypse, he's a straightforward threat, with no real layers or subtext too him, and a simple goal to reshape the globe in his own image. There wasn't much difference to him in either the comics or TV shows, he was mainly the big threat that needed to be stopped. 

However, in the absence of nuance, the character at least needed to be intimidating, and that's where the movie struggles. While I found his costume design to be unique and different, he admittedly looked more like a toy action figure then a genuine threat. As for Oscar Isaac in the role, I felt he delivered an appropriately restrained, yet menacing performance. I like that he was very soft spoken, and quiet, as he didn't yell that often, and it gave him a presence. His one genuinely intimidating scene is when he unleashes every nuclear bomb on the planet. I’ve always been scared of nuclear war, so this scene coupled with his speech did leave an impression. That being said, he was less of a great villain and more of an exciting novelty to see an Iconic X-Men foe finally on screen. 

  Now weather Apocalypse comes off as a clichéd villain or not, Magneto played masterfully again by Michael Fassbender is anything but cliched, and he helps balance things out as the more complex, tragic villain. I honestly felt that Magneto’s story arc was just as compelling in this film as any of the previous X-Men movies. In the beginning of the film, we see Magneto’s sudden instincts to do good, and make good with his life, right down to using his powers to save a human. Tragically, life just can’t deal him a winning hand, as one act of kindness leads into the death of his family at the hands of frightened police officers. Even though the scenes with Magneto's family in the opening were brief and admittedly predictable, their demise still left a big impact, mostly thanks to a solid direction and powerful performance from Fassbender. When Magneto joins Apocalypse, we see a different side to him that we've never explored from his villain persona, and it made his reformation at the end all the more satisfying. This movie introduces more colorful villains in the form of Apocalypse's four horsemen. The character Psylocke has always been a favorite of mine, so it was a real treat to finally see her make a live-action appearance in an X-Men movie. She looked amazing, it was great to see her signature pink sword powers, and kudos to actress Olivia Munn for doing all her own stunts. 

 The characters Storm and Angle are commonly seen as X-Men, so it was curious to see them in the roles of villains for this film. Also, I would have liked more from Storm, as she really needs more love in these films, and her reformation at the end could have been handled a little better. One great highlight is the return of classic X-Men characters like Cyclops, Jean Grey and Nightcrawler, now played by a new young cast. These are characters I’ve been waiting to see in the “X-Men First Class” series for some time now, and their presence just made the movie feel fresh. I really loved this new cast, especially Kodi Smitt-McPhee who was extremely charismatic and hilarious in the role of young Nightcrawler. Of course, we need to spin that rolodex of “Game of Thrones” actors to see who makes an appearance next, and this time it’s Sophie Turner, who's gone from Sansa Stark to Jean Grey. I like that she’s considered an outcast by the other classmates, who are scared to get close to her. This makes Jeans relation with Cyclops work because he too is scared to get close to anyone due to his powers that he can’t control. This is the first time I ever felt real chemistry between these two in the movies, and it was sweet to see the origins of how they both became X-Men.

 One thing I can’t emphasis enough is that the performances are very solid, not just from the new cast, but from the returning cast as well. James McAvoy delivers another compelling performance in his signature role of Professor X, and it’s always great to see Nicholas Hoult as Beast. The greatest returning character by far is Evan Peters as Quicksilver who once again steals the show and is more prominent in this film then he was in “X-Men: Days of Future Past”. The scene in which he rescues the team from an exploding mansion is wonderful, and definitely a memorable highlight. Rose Byrne reprises her role as Professor X’s love interest Moira MacTaggert from “X-Men: First Class”, and it’s nice to see her come back into play. This is also Jennifer Lawrence’s third time in the role of the shape-shifter Mystique, and while Jennifer is clearly done with this series, I like how the characters arc concludes in this film. 

  Personally, my favorite thing about “X-Men Apocalypse” is that it looks and feels more like an X-Men comic book brought to life on screen then any of the previous movies. The costumes for example have never looked better then in this film. Some of the characters like Psylocke, Magneto and Nightcrawler look just like their TV show counterparts. Obviously, the special effects are also impressive, but this movie utilized some signature X-Men visuals, which absolutely thrilled me. We see Jean Grey in her fiery Phoenix form, we see Professor X in a mental battle with Apocalypse on an astro-plain, Cyclops eye piece glows red, and when Nightcrawler teleports, we see him traveling through dimensions. My favorite moment of all is when Magneto separates Apocalypse from the X-Men by combining two large poles together, and making them resemble a large X. These are the kind of visuals, events and set pieces that characterized the X-Men in both the comics and the TV show. In truth, it just made me feel like a kid again seeing this all come to life on the big screen. 

 

 There’s one little detour in the narrative structure of the movie that will either be a positive or negative for some. Said detour revolves around Wolverines arch human nemeses Colonel Striker, who captures the older leaders of the X-Men, while the younger members go on a mission to rescue them. I’ll admit, this portion of the movie has no real barring on the plot, but personally, it’s another one of my favorite scenes. I think it’s great to see the younger X-Men on a mission to rescue the grownups, and it really played to my nostalgia of the TV show “X-Men: Evolution”. Most obvious, this scene features Hugh Jackman reprising his signature role as Wolverine, in a short but fun slice of action. Understandably, this sub plot has been criticized for being tacked on, which is true, but I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy it either.

  Yet another criticism levied against the film is the action and effects sequences being too overblown. 

Truthfully, I didn't find it that jarring ... at least when compared to all the "Avengers" and "Justice League" movies we get ... but I can also respect audiences just feeling numb to all this spectacle and imagery at this point. For me, this is the X-Men’s epic showdown with Apocalypse and his four hours man ... of course it’s going to be a big spectacle! Sense Apocalypse is the most powerful mutant of all, our heroes have to team up and combine their powers together in order to stop him, and it’s just plain awesome! This climax takes that impressive final battle from “X-Men 3: The Last Stand” and makes it look like a snowball fight. There’s a great little moment when Apocalypse takes note of Jean Grey’s destructive Phoenix powers, and when he dies, he gives his satisfying look that the world will be destroyed by something even more powerful than him, which gave me chills. 

  In the end, I found this to be a very fun X-Men movie, and it’s honestly one I can just watch and enjoy for what it is. It also did some things differently from past installments, it looked amazing, it had great energy, the new young cast was an excellent addition, the villain had some flair, the classic music cues are still great, and it just took me back to when I was a kid that grew up loving both the comics and the TV shows. I’ll admit, the subtext and themes in this film aren't nearly as strong or meaningful as in the previous films, and that will keep "Apocalypse" at mid-level on the X-Men totem pole. Still, I don't think this film did anything offensively bad, and can be enjoy for the simple, yet fun ride it aims to be.  

Thanks for reading my review of the 2016 Superhero movie “X-Men: Apocalypse” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!