X-Men: Apocalypse (B or 3/4 stars)
Director Bryan Singer once again guides Marvel's mutants through yet another high-stakes adventure in 'X-Men: Apocalypse'. This film is set 10 yrs. after events of 2014's Days of Future Past, but it begins quite enticingly in Egypt circa 3600 BC. There, we meet the seemingly invincible & immortal ruler of Egypt, En Sabah Nur, also known as super-mutant, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac). Entombed in an enormous pyramid back in 3600 BC, he awakens in 1983 (for this plot) at the height of the Cold War. Having woken up from his deep 5,600 tr. slumber, the disgruntled Pharaoh is angered that "the weak have taken over" {meaning foolish mortals, perhaps, like Reagan}. Swearing to "wipe clean this world", he seeks disillusioned Erik Lensherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) & his colleagues Archangel (Ben Hardy), Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke (Olivia Munn), & Ororo Munroe/Storm (Alexandra Shipp) into becoming his legendary '4 horsemen'.
Meanwhile, after Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) gathers up Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) & CIA agent Moira McTaggert (Rose Byrne), she enlists a revitalized Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy), who is currently welcoming younger versions of psychic Jean Grey (Sophie Turner, aka. Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones) & laser-eyed Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan, SO good in 2013's Mud) from his School for Gifted Children, along with Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), & Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Erik Lehnsherr had been living a quiet life in Poland as a factory worker with a wife & daughter, but tragedy strikes. So now that he is deeply troubled, this makes it easier for Apocalypse - who's been rounding up the world's best mutants - to lure Erik/Magneto to the dark side for his 'end civilization' campaign. Action ensues as the X-Men try to win-back Magneto & stop Apocalypse.
This adventure contains all the traits of a Marvel superhero movie that's meant to enthrall fans. There's also some needed depth. The 1st 2/3 includes the tragic backstory of Magneto, which adds a layer of poignancy to overall proceedings. Magneto has always been a complex/conflicted megalomaniacal-type character, and matters don't get any better for him. Teetering on the line btwn. good & evil, Fassbender plays the character as a sort of Shakespearean tragic hero and, he does a great job. Bryan Singer & his 3 screenwriters work hard to include the aforementioned poignant moment(s), while balancing multiple time-shifting elements, a plentitude of new characters, allowing time for the older ones, juggling a mess of subplots, as well as some stunning visual effects {Quicksilver again - wow!}.
I enjoyed watching this movie. It should go over well with audiences, but I can't help but think that there's a sense of superhero fatigue going on this year (and it's only the end of May). I mean, while they get a rise out of me, how many times one can watch huge battle scenes with cool CGI effects without experiencing hints of boredom? Lately, all these Marvel-type films include a team of good-guy superheroes in costumes trying to defeat some isolated-for-one-movie villain, and include many nifty effect-driven action scenes. That's all great for spectacle, but it leads to narrative dead-ends -- there's something contrived about these god-like super-villains going down every single time.
But I digress. Issues/concerns aside, 'X-Men: Apocalypse' achieves what it sets-out to do. The performances are all solid. Fassbender & James McAvoy do the heavy-lifting (as usual) & are the true anchors. Despite his height, I still found Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse intimidating. I liked the addition of Tye Sheridan as a more relatable, less egotistical Cyclops. Evan Peters enthralls as Quicksilver, once again {the sequence where he races through Xavier's school. rescuing dozens of people from the burning, crumbling mansion ... is INCREDIBLE}. Sophie Turner's portrayal of young Jean Grey is soft, sympathetic, yet steely & strong when needed. There are a plethora of other mutant protagonists & antagonists I can mention, but I won't. There is, perhaps, an overload of characters in this movie, and no one gets the just time they deserve {an issue of the script}.
Something I was missing this time around was the depiction of friction btwn. the mutant superheroes & the co-existing human beings. This is addressed in other films in this franchise; with the government looking to restrict/persecute mutants -- an allegory for matters in real-life politics. But this film pushes that aspect aside, here. I think there was honestly too much else going on throughout the 140 min. running time to properly address that again; sad to say. It is fortunate that the cast brings their A-game here to aid the exceptional visuals & to overcome script issues. This film felt overcrowded (too many new characters with new powers to grasp, less time for proper character investment/development, some needless scenes). Few characters get moments to truly shine; including a neat cameo by Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. And so, while 'X-Men: Apocalypse' is not a genre game-changer, it entertains, pleases 'in the moment,' & delivers what we viewers would reasonably expect from it.
Meanwhile, after Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) gathers up Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) & CIA agent Moira McTaggert (Rose Byrne), she enlists a revitalized Charles Xavier/Professor X (James McAvoy), who is currently welcoming younger versions of psychic Jean Grey (Sophie Turner, aka. Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones) & laser-eyed Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan, SO good in 2013's Mud) from his School for Gifted Children, along with Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), & Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Erik Lehnsherr had been living a quiet life in Poland as a factory worker with a wife & daughter, but tragedy strikes. So now that he is deeply troubled, this makes it easier for Apocalypse - who's been rounding up the world's best mutants - to lure Erik/Magneto to the dark side for his 'end civilization' campaign. Action ensues as the X-Men try to win-back Magneto & stop Apocalypse.
This adventure contains all the traits of a Marvel superhero movie that's meant to enthrall fans. There's also some needed depth. The 1st 2/3 includes the tragic backstory of Magneto, which adds a layer of poignancy to overall proceedings. Magneto has always been a complex/conflicted megalomaniacal-type character, and matters don't get any better for him. Teetering on the line btwn. good & evil, Fassbender plays the character as a sort of Shakespearean tragic hero and, he does a great job. Bryan Singer & his 3 screenwriters work hard to include the aforementioned poignant moment(s), while balancing multiple time-shifting elements, a plentitude of new characters, allowing time for the older ones, juggling a mess of subplots, as well as some stunning visual effects {Quicksilver again - wow!}.
I enjoyed watching this movie. It should go over well with audiences, but I can't help but think that there's a sense of superhero fatigue going on this year (and it's only the end of May). I mean, while they get a rise out of me, how many times one can watch huge battle scenes with cool CGI effects without experiencing hints of boredom? Lately, all these Marvel-type films include a team of good-guy superheroes in costumes trying to defeat some isolated-for-one-movie villain, and include many nifty effect-driven action scenes. That's all great for spectacle, but it leads to narrative dead-ends -- there's something contrived about these god-like super-villains going down every single time.
But I digress. Issues/concerns aside, 'X-Men: Apocalypse' achieves what it sets-out to do. The performances are all solid. Fassbender & James McAvoy do the heavy-lifting (as usual) & are the true anchors. Despite his height, I still found Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse intimidating. I liked the addition of Tye Sheridan as a more relatable, less egotistical Cyclops. Evan Peters enthralls as Quicksilver, once again {the sequence where he races through Xavier's school. rescuing dozens of people from the burning, crumbling mansion ... is INCREDIBLE}. Sophie Turner's portrayal of young Jean Grey is soft, sympathetic, yet steely & strong when needed. There are a plethora of other mutant protagonists & antagonists I can mention, but I won't. There is, perhaps, an overload of characters in this movie, and no one gets the just time they deserve {an issue of the script}.
Something I was missing this time around was the depiction of friction btwn. the mutant superheroes & the co-existing human beings. This is addressed in other films in this franchise; with the government looking to restrict/persecute mutants -- an allegory for matters in real-life politics. But this film pushes that aspect aside, here. I think there was honestly too much else going on throughout the 140 min. running time to properly address that again; sad to say. It is fortunate that the cast brings their A-game here to aid the exceptional visuals & to overcome script issues. This film felt overcrowded (too many new characters with new powers to grasp, less time for proper character investment/development, some needless scenes). Few characters get moments to truly shine; including a neat cameo by Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. And so, while 'X-Men: Apocalypse' is not a genre game-changer, it entertains, pleases 'in the moment,' & delivers what we viewers would reasonably expect from it.