X-Men: Apocalypse - Review Thread

Most people will disagree. The hatred for this movie is strong. Not at Batman vs Superman level, but close. In my opinion, Apocalypse proves how factory-like the Marvel movies are. The script, by Simon Kinberg, is as generic as they come. But you have Bryan Singer at the helm, who actually has a point-of-view as a filmmaker. And then you have James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Oscar Issac who aren't there for the paycheck. Even Jennifer Lawrence, arguably, isn't as bad as people will claim. Between Hunger Games and David O. Russell, there was obviously scheduling conflicts and her performance isn't as focused as it was in First Class when she was a relative newcomer. But she isn't exactly sleepwalking either. My point is - if you compare this to Civil War, even if you hate the movie, you can tell there is actual vision here. You can actually get invested cause it isn't cookie cutter. Plus, the marketing for these X-Men movies are terrible. I don't know why, but the costumes and make-up always look terrible in promotional photos. In the actual movie, they look good and Singer HAS moved away from the generic black suits. The last scene in the movie, Wyldstaar will be proud to know, is very comic book-y.

My feelings always been that X-Men even X-Men 3 were the better comic book adaptations. Marvel MCU has hits and its misses and are driven by big characters.
The whole Mutant thing is whats appealing and you can keep making movies an change actors into the characters. Only Wolverine will be hard too recast. Im glad X-Men is a fox property. I just which Fantastic Four would have had a better treatment.

I really enjoyed this movie as well. I don't understand the hate, sure it has it's problems but it's by no means a bad film. In fact I will say it's a lot better then Civil War in some ways.

I loved the introduction of Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm all seem to got a chance to shine as far as I can tell. Jean Grey's powers in the end were really well balanced and brought to the surface in the right context. All it takes it seems is good writers and a decent director and you get a movie that isn't a cluster****

Also Storm with an African accent? Heck yea! Again Quicksilver steals the show, I loved how they probably came together after the last movie and said

"That was a really great scene, how can we top it in this movie."

Honestly the whole movie rests in McAvoy's hand as Xavier, since he is emotional strength of this entire series, He really is one charming mother-F*****! He does such a good job of sticking to his guns and what he believes, it's really not hard to root for him, which in term wants to make you root for the rest of team.

Also after the internet exploded over Apocalypse and his design, I have to say once you put him in context with the film. It really works! I loved watching this guy grow, seeing him as a man out of time who needs to learn today's world with of course also trying to rule it in the end was I'm sure was a tough task. But as far as I can tell they pulled it off marvelously. (no pun intended)

There are a few flaws but nothing that's bothersome. I think we could have gotten a little bit more of the 4 horse man. When he was recruiting I really liked what they were doing, but once Magneto came into the picture, I feel the other 3 took a step back and they weren't all that useful. 

Jennifer Lawerence isn't all that interesting and I really don't like her portrayal as much. I'm fine if she leaves after this movie. They don't really do as much as they could with that character. 

Overall. I think the movie is fine, it's not as good as "Days of the Future Past" but no one was honestly expecting it to top that movie.

X-Men Apocolypse Movie Review

I still consider X-Men 1 and 2 and X-Men First Class The best x-men films. I liked this better then Days Of The Future Past. But I did like Fox Marvels Quicksilver. As always the flaw in the films is that Jlaw is the movies weakness and also she just looks nothing like the younger Mystique. She looks somewhat Poofy and to be frank even with Rebecca in blue you still wanted too risk a tumble. Jlaw younger mystique  is well too much Jlaw. Id be ok if fox let her go. I garantee you that little so called deal that if any of those three. Fassbender, Charles and lawrence that If offered enough money Magneto and Charles would return. No matter what dream deal lawrence thinks she has.

Anyways. I was kinda impressed that I think Issac who goes from Poe too Apoclypse was truely and amazing transformation. Apocolypse might be the best villain done in X-Men. I Liked the younger actors for the x-men characters. Sofia Turners stands out but the girl who plays Storm is good too. I so hope Munn is offered work in deadpool again cause she was by far the best looking female mutant on screen

I didnt really like Magneto methods in this movie. I think we need a X-Men Wanda in this franchise because would be nice too see Scarlett Witch and This Quicksilver have moments.
Not sure why the critics hate the movie. There is nothing too terrible wrong with this movie. Only flaw was this movie opened in a crowded weekend where all other comic movies had nothing films or 2 week movie gaps. I say this movie is better then B V S. But not as fun as Civil War but also I think X-Men feels like the best comic book movie so far but just not as good as deadpool.

8.5/10

thought the first half dragged quite a bit, the parts with

were excellent, but every thing else was dis interesting with the same Xavier and Mystique storyline. Apocalypse could have been played by anybody really. He was the least interesting character. James McAvoy is charming and good as usual, but this movie belongs to Fassbender's Magneto. The younger guys hold their own very well. Quicksilver once again has a couple of awesome scenes. The last half picks up quite a bit and the action draws you in. This was definitely the "worst" out of the last 3 Xmen movies. But its definitely not bad by any means

Short pre-review: Pretty solid, nothing groundbreaking but it mostly delivers what the fans are going to want. Definitely don't get why this is sitting at 49% on RT... well maybe I do, this is definately a movie that was not made for people who aren't already pretty big fans of the series, people who barely remember the last couple of movies will probably be lost, also there's less of that allegory for intolerance that made the previous movies easier to defend. Still, definitely a solid superhero flick, probably liked it close to as much as Civil War.

Also, if you do the math with these characters' ages it does not pan out Magneto does not look like someone who would have been in his late 20s during the Cuban Missile Crisis, not does he look like he's seventeen years away from looking like Ian McKellan circa 2000... well I guess that first X-Men did take place in a "not too distant future" but then how do you explain Cyclops and Jean Grey looking like a 27 year old Jame Marsden  in that movie when he was something like 15 in 1983.

Matthew Vaughn wanted to keep these movies in the 60's. The sequel was supposed to revolve the JFK assassination. They only referenced that in Days of Future Past. But you're right. Michael Fassbender still looks the same. As does Tom Cruise Junior. But James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence no longer have the baby faces from First Class. Thanks to them, you can KINDA accept these sequels taking place in the 70's and 80's. I read that they want the next movie to take place in the 90's, but honestly, it's kind of stupid. The original X-Men was released in 2000. That's the same shit as the 90's. So they should just keep these movies in the 80's until the actors age a bit more.

My friend and I were having a discussion the other day which basically boiled down to asking why it is the X-Men film franchise doesn’t get the respect it deserves. The first film of the series helped launch the modern wave of comic book films and its first sequel still stands as one of the genre’s best. Yet the actual first film is rarely discussed in and of itself and X2 tends to be overlooked by the other critically acclaimed superhero movies of the time; Spider-Man 2 and Batman Begins. From there the series went through some rough patches in the form of X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but the series did get back in its feet thanks to the prequel film X-Men: First Class and the film that bridged the young and old X-Men: Days of Future Past. While these films didn’t quite have the pop-cultural impact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has had, they were known the less very well-received films which continued the quality output of the franchise. However that enthusiasm seems to have crashed and burned with X-Men: Apocalypse, which has received some of the worst reviews of the series and genuine hatred from fans. Well, the film certainly has its problems, but it does not deserve such levels of scorn.

The film is set in 1983, ten years after the Paris Peace Accords and the attempted assassination of Bolivar Trask. Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) has formally opened his school for young mutants attempting to control their powers. Among these mutants are a crop of new students like Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), and Kurt Wagner (Kodi Smitt-McPhee). Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) has gone underground, disillusioned that Mutants are still treated as second class citizens. Finally, Magneto (Michael Fassbender) has retreated to a low-key life in Poland with a wife and daughter. However all of these characters are about to be brought back together with the emergence of Apocalypse (Oscar Isaacs), an ancient Mutant with god-like powers who has returned to conquer civilization through mass destruction.

The superhero movies this year have broadly been overstuffed and busy movies with lots of characters and a jumbled plot line. This is also true of X-Men: Apocalypse, which is attempting to continue the story of the three leads of the First Class era (Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique), introduce younger versions of the classic X-Men (Cyclops, Jean, Storm, etc.), bring back fan favourite characters (Quicksilver, Wolverine), and introduce a new, all powerful villain in the titular Apocalypse. While the best X-Men films have been able to navigate through the large casts and still tell a complete story, Apocalypse has more trouble. Much of the film feels as if it’s just build-up to the big action climax while the story itself feels empty. The sheer plethora of content also leads to many aspects being underdeveloped and as a result certain character actions are not fully felt or understood. Additionally, the script is so concerned with the big picture that a lot of the smaller details feel underdeveloped or not fully thought out. There’s a moment near the end between Xavier and Magneto that makes sense emotionally but doesn’t really make sense given what has transpired. Apocalypse also furthers the confounding nature of the series timeline. While Days of Future Past seemed to suggest a course reset, Apocalypse further complicates things by contradicting elements from Days.

I think what is most disappointing about the script though is that beneath the convolution or script weaknesses is a fairly uninspired and almost bland superhero story. While the bulk of the X-Men movies have centered on a sort of civil rights struggle and ethical debate between characters with different viewpoints, X-Men: Apocalypse is a much more simplistic story about an all-powerful villain who wants to destroy/conquer the world. This is a lot closer to the boring plotlines I’ve complained about in films like Thor: The Dark World and that’s all the more disappointing coming from a series which has largely avoided villain of the week stories for more than a decade. Granted, I don’t want to give the impression that the film is totally devoid of the social relevance and bigger questions that have typically defined the series because they are there in parts. Xavier and Mystique have an interesting debate regarding whether or not things have actually improved for Mutants, or if there is just a greater political correctness and a hollow presentation of equality in certain circles. Magneto’s internal struggle between wanting to live in peace while constantly being pulled toward violent solutions. Finally, the fact that Apocalypse is a mutant who seeks to control others into following his will juxtaposes nicely with Xavier, a character who could conceivably use his powers to dominate others but chooses not to is significant. So those deeper elements are still there, they just feel secondary and are not integrated as seamlessly.

I’ve talked a lot about the ways in which this movie doesn’t work, but I also opened this review by saying that I think this movie is getting more hate than it deserves. For all its flaws, X-Men: Apocalypse still mostly works. There are a few reason for this but at the center of it all is Bryan Singer, whose direction really elevates the script. Simply on visual terms, the film is shot with an ambitious and cinematic eye. Singer’s use of blocking, camera placement and movement, and lighting goes beyond merely filming scenes as efficiently as possible. There is a richness to the visual style employed and added layer of care which creates greater emotional investment. Singer also makes smaller creative choices which gives scenes a greater edge. One of the clearest examples is a scene where Apocalypse recruits the Mutant Angel to his cause. Rather than simply show Apocalypse and Angel talking, the scene is filmed primarily in darkness and set (and edited) to Metallica’s “The Four Horsemen”. The lack of colour shows the dark metaphorical place Angel is in and the aggression of the music matches his own seething anger. Additionally, both elements are pleasing in and of themselves, giving the scene greater resonance and energy. As a result, the scene is way more interesting and creative that it might have been otherwise. These are the types of small but crucial choices that Singer makes which elevate X-Men: Apocalypse.

Another crucial skill Singer brings to these films is his ability to work with actors. At its core the X-Men films are all about Xavier and Magneto and the performances continue to be high quality. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender both perfectly embody their roles and more importantly they each dig deep to bring the right emotions to the screen. The drama does not feel like the tangential aspect to a superhero film, but a crucial point, and that is largely a result of the fine performances. Another first rate actor more known for intimate drama than big budget blockbusters found here is Oscar Isaacs, and despite being stuck playing a somewhat bland villain, he still really makes it work. Isaacs carries himself with a certain sophistication and really does feel like a deified bidding. He also speaks in a calm and subdued manner rather than in aggressive and more typically evil bark. The new cast members also do good work and generally fit into the X-Men world very well.

I don’t want to overpraise Singer because he does make some missteps too. There are some scenes here, action and otherwise, which feel like repeats of elements from the previous films and there’s also some tonal issues here. To circle back to my initial pondering of those films negative reception, I suppose I do get it. While I don’t think the film descends into Batman v Superman levels of convolution, X-Men: Apocalypse is undeniably something of a mess. And yet the film is also made with such confidence, skill, and ambition that it’s still highly effective as drama and as a modern blockbuster. The worst aspects of the film are made better than they should be and the best moments here are pretty damn strong. The film is not among the best of the X-Men series and is in fact the weakest of this prequel trilogy, but all the same this is still a worthwhile film well above your average superhero fare in terms of ideas and execution.

B

This movie was so unbelievably bad, I would rather watch the Witch and the Do-Over a second time each, back-to-back.

A bunch of characters I enjoy were put on the screen and given fuck-all to do. There was no conflict, no climax, no action, just ... stupid, inane shit occurring. When Magneto made the giant metal X, I was honestly expecting him to cry out with a WWF "SUCK IT!"

You saw all the "good" stuff in the trailer. And can Jennifer Lawrence just fuck off since she isn't interested in actually being Mystique?

-3/10.

And that's a negative 3, not a 3.

Still not Batman vs. Superman bad. If you want an idea of how bad BvS was, go watch the no-lube dildo anal rape scene in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. This movie would be more like a "Ok, I'll use lube" dildo anal rape scene.