X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

[Mango]

Okay, so it wasn't nearly the film Days of Future Past was...

 

... But it's still alright. Definitely fairly uneven, especially the first act. Apocalypse was set up well but didn't really do much in the long run. Ditto for the horsemen. 

 

James McAvoy does some great work here. I wasn't really digging it until he showed up. The new X-Men are okay, but really not used to their potential until the end. Fassbender did well with what he had,  the scenes with his family were pretty good. Quicksilver again manages to steal every single scene he's a part of, and the audience loved him the most yet again. Honestly though it took way too long for him to show up.

 

Wolverine was shoehorned in, and normally I'd let that slide but the circumstances here meant he was there with NONE of Jackman's charisma with the character. And absolute waste of 15 minutes is what that entire scene was.

 

It also felt kind of anticlimactic, though I did love Jean's big moment at the end.

 

Again, Charles just lets Eric go super easily. I get that he doesn't like controlling minds when not necessary, I really do. But considering how the climax of their relationship and interaction in this one was basically "ha till next time man" it felt really uneven. 

 

Overall, not a great movie. Definitely not as good as DOFP, X2, or FC. But it's mostly entertaining throughout and does have some great character moments here and there and ultimately a great lead performance from McAvoy.

 

B-

[Kvikk Lunsj]

Overall I liked not as good as Days of Future Past but highly enjoyable. I would say it better than Civil War and BvS. First act has problems but moves fast. The final act seems rushed and Apocalypse seemed weak. The acting with Fassbendar and McCoy is fantastic. I love their relationship. I would say better than or equal to First Class

3.5/5.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[superweirdo87]

 I went in expecting a disaster, so I was surprised that I enjoyed it. That said, there were a lot of problems with the movie, and it lacked the narrative focus on interesting relationships and balance between action, emotion, and drama that made me dig "First Class" and DOFP.  Apocalypse was a blah villain, it was lame how he watched TV and decided to destroy the world. The lack of any plausible plan to do so was also a minus. The final battle lacked suspense and did not make me feel intense stakes. It was poorly resolved and unsatisfying.

        The kids are fine, but we don't get to spend much time to get a meaningful story out of their struggles. I think of Professor X choosing not to take the serum in DOFP and fighting hard in cerebro when it fused and him talking to his older self. Even some of the supporting character arcs in past movies were more meaningful, say the way Raven/Mystique struggled with her natural form in "First Class." Even Hank and Alex got more resonant material in "First Class" than Scott and Jean do here. There are too many characters and the result is not many 'everybody gets to shine.' Rather, there are a bunch of people who get too little for the audience to care about. Singer and Kinberg made a poor choice by not focusing more.

          There were some cool things

-Fassbender/Magneto in the woods

-Quicksilver/Rescue

-Classical music and the nuclear weapons

         I loved Fassbender and Magneto before Apocalypse came into the picture. As Vox says, Michael does more than his fair share here. The young cast members are promising. I am unsure about Sophie Turner, but I think better writing and direction might make her work well enough. Tye Sheridan doesn't get to do much, but he emotes well. Nightcrawler seems cool. But, I wanted to spend time with them and share in their struggles.

         Another thing is there is it was too much of the same. I did not see any different angles on the old stuff or much development in these relationships. Ultimately, it was like popcorn fun with a few memorable set pieces and moments and a lot of problems.

3/5.

Edited May 27, 2016 by superweirdo87

[RobinHood26]

X-men 1 - 3, Wolverine is our view point guiding us through the story. First Class its Magneto and Professor X. DOFP its Wolverine and Professor X. 

In this we follow everyone, thats the issue right there at a core level. We don't have a main character or even two to follow though. 

 

Also they needed to up the 3rd act. Like c'mon, they should "defeat" Apocalypse or at least think they did for a second or something and then he has to rise and because fucking huge in the real world like 4 times his size and scream I AM GOD to some extent then Jean Grey goes Dark Phineox on his ass. Oh well. 

 

Tons more to say but I'll talk for ever on the podcast about it.

 

OH the last 2 minutes were fucking awesome though still, bald McCavoy with the new X-men, I'm in. 

 

Classic score for me.

 

B- (81/82)

 

 

[Jim Shorts]

I love how they glossed over the fact Magneto probably killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions when he started to make all the metal in the earth rise up.  He tries to kill the President in DC and is hunted all around the world.  He destroys a couple skyscrapers and bridges in NYC among other things and he walks out at the end looking good in a suit just shooting the shit with Xavier.  

 

 

Edited May 27, 2016 by Jim Shorts

[Kevin Bacon]

I liked it, but "uneven" is definitely the right word. I think the set-up was all terrific (awkward Wolverine segment aside) and the final act was a letdown. Apocalypse was a villain who had been built up as so powerful that it was very anti-climactic when pretty much half the movie took place fighting him in the desert. There needed to be more. Maybe they successfully escape with their lives from the pyramid (with the help of Magneto), and then you add some more character development and story before circling back to the REAL final battle. One thing that I would've liked? If in that one moment halfway into the movie, Apocalypse drops the nukes and genocides much of the planet in one fell swoop. There's an actual apocalyptic event, and they have to fight to keep what's left of the world intact. 

 

One big plus: this might be the most violent PG-13 movie I've ever seen. Throats getting cut, Wolverine being a walking slasher movie, people getting crushed, limbs being snapped. As a result, the action really had teeth that you don't see in most superhero movies these days. I'm excited to see the next Wolverine with this new approach. 

[Jim Shorts]

^ yeah, it definitely pushed the line between pg-13 and R.  Magneto killing the police with the necklace was almost reminiscent of the whistle scene in GotG but with blood.  I figured the wolverine scene alone would have been enough to get an R. Hopefully they go even harder in the next movie!

[Omario]

It was a good movie. Wont go into too much detail. I enjoyed pretty much all the characters. Quicksilver stood out as usual. It seemed they cut down on Mystique being the center which was good. That opening scene was great. Just have a few big gripes about the villain-s.

 

Apocalypse seemed ok. I just didnt like his face. There were so many close ups of his face and you could see he was caked up in the make up. Like absolutely layers of that shit. It also seemed that prosthetic stuff on his forward push his brow down. Hence his face looked as though he was old and tired. There was nothing really menacing about his look. His suit looked good. But he was also too short for this role. He didnt stand out at all. Its a pity because he is my favourite Xmen villain and probably in the top 3 for Marvels villains.

 

As for the horsemen. WTF. They got their asses handed to them. The original horsemen in the beginning were amazing. You could see they had true power and loved and served their Lord. But in this one 2 of them were just kids while one was grieving and the other (Psylocke) made no sense. Why did she join the team? absolutely no back story. I also expected better from her. Abit underwhelmed. 

 

Where did Apocalypse get that technology (or magic?) from in ancient Egypt? 

 

Jeans Phoenix force was again shat on. Come on man. You could make a whole movie about what that force is. Just put the fucking Shiar aliens in there already. Could have explained Apocalypses tech that way too. 

 

Phoenix came out of nowhere too to kill Apocalypse. There only one little scene in the beginning but no real explanation of whats inside her and why. A perfect mid credit scene would be in outer space a Shiar ship picks up the Phoenix force burst and heads towards Earth. But nope.

 

Magneto killed millions no?

 

Anyways even with these complaints i thought it was a decent movie. I enjoyed it and would recommend others to watch it. There is definitely a lot of steam left in this franchise. 

 

B

 

Mid credit scene. Mr Sinister ftw. Though its a bit daunting to come up with a story after you just showed the oldest and most powerful mutant in history. 

Edited May 27, 2016 by Omario

[Webslinger]

I enjoyed it, even if it's one of the franchise's weaker installments to date. The film's biggest drawback is that it bites off more than it can chew, even with its near two-and-a-half-hour running time. The film tries to juggle Apocalypse's arrival and plan for world domination with (*deep breath*) the first appearance of several well-known mutants in this timeline, Mystique's self-directed mission to rescue mutants from captivity, Quicksilver's daddy issues, Magneto's arc, and a glimpse into what William Stryker has been up to with Wolverine. While each of these segments works to at least some degree, the attempt to cover so many bases at once leads to the feeling that several of these threads have fallen short of the impact that they could have had if they had been given more time and focus. I imagine that most viewers' appreciation of the film will come down to how invested they are in the X-Men universe. For those who are fully on board with it, the film delivers consistent entertainment throughout the entire running time, despite the crowdedness of its narrative.

 

B

 

Some stray observations:

 

- Damn, Michael Fassbender has been great as Magneto. It helps that the character has been considerably more complex in Fassbender's run of films than he was in the original outings with Ian McKellen, but I love that he has been able to craft a "villain" who is so understandable (if not sympathetic). I legitimately felt bad upon seeing the outcome of this film's forest scene.

 

- It may be lifted directly from the "Time in a Bottle" scene in Days of Future Past, but I loved the shit out of the "Sweet Dreams" scene here.

 

- You could do a pretty solid drinking game for the number of times Sophie Turner's accent slips.

[Kalo]

I'm not sure I've ever disagreed with critics more on a film I loved pretty much every second of this movie. it's incredible, flawed? sure could a few characters been more development? maybe. was some of it maybe a tiny bit cheesy? yes. but I don't care I loved it. Magneto is soo soo so amazing. and Charles mmm.. and they finally got Jean right! she was my favorite newcomer so amazing! and of course Quicksilver. this movie may have been the most fun I had at the movies all year possibly better than Civil War A+

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kalo

[filmlover]

Definitely a very sharp decline from both First Class and Days of Future Past but I enjoyed this well enough. Both the returning members (McAvoy, Fassbender, Lawrence) and the younger cast (Evan Peters' Quicksilver is just delightful) are fine, but I think the movie makes an enormous mistake giving the captivating Oscar Isaac such a generic and shoddily-written villain role. He's fine in the part, but I never found Apocalypse to be remotely threatening or interesting. B-

[lilmac]

Much better than the Rotten Tomatoes would suggest.  

 

Fave scenes:

1. Quicksilver and the X-ploding mansion

2. The Phoenix being manifested

3. Wolvie's outbreak

[Fromthegrave]

A mess of a film. Without Quicksilver this is definitely a D or even an E.

 

A C film.

 

They made Apocalypse look like a fool. The plot became an abomination because of how Apocalypse was handled, and too many irrelevant side plots. Not willing to go into detail, but X-Men fans who know Apocalypse will understand this problem.

Edited May 28, 2016 by Fromthegrave

[Frozen]

What was the point of Quicksilver not tells my Magbeto he was his son? There was no reason not to. And I guess Scarlet Witch doesn't exist in this universe? 

[Water Bottle]

Competent.

 

B

[somebody85]

On 5/27/2016 at 8:58 AM, Jim Shorts said:

I love how they glossed over the fact Magneto probably killed hundreds of thousands, if not millions when he started to make all the metal in the earth rise up.  He tries to kill the President in DC and is hunted all around the world.  He destroys a couple skyscrapers and bridges in NYC among other things and he walks out at the end looking good in a suit just shooting the shit with Xavier.  

 

 

Exactly! Like seriously WTF! He probably killed more people then Apocalypse and The X-Men at the end in the mansion were totally cool with him. It was like "Hey bro we know you probably just killed millions of people all around the world but we knew you were still a good person. Until next time buddy!"

Like why not have Apocalypse be the one to do all that at the end? Instead he's busy trying to transfer his soul into Xavier like fucking Chucky. He was the VILLAIN. One of the best X-Men have and they ruined him. It was like when Ultron used Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver to do all his evil stuff...but Apocalypse used Magneto. It was so lame man. And he looked absolutely ridiculous. Some of the CGI was so sketchy throughout this movie.

Apocalypse gets his ass kicked by Quicksilver near the end! Like this isn't fucking Loki...it's Apocalypse. He's supposed to be super menacing. Fuck man.

Apocalypse and Ultron both also tapped into technology real quick to decide the world needs cleansing.

They turned Cyclops into his James Marsden counterpart real quick. He goes from nice guy to asshole "lets ditch this place and go to the mall" in one scene at the school.
 

Quicksilvers big scene goes on way too long in this. It was fun in DOFP but it was like "get on with it" here because it just kept going.

But to top it all off, the climax in this was so freaking bad. X3 at least was emotional there. You felt Wolverines pain when he had to kill Jean. 

I didn't feel the stakes were high at all. And again this is Apocalypse! 

I liked Jean Gray and Magnetos scene with his family but can't think of a lot else. Apocalypse was constantly distracting. His super power of giving his followers a spiffy new metallic costume was unintentionally hilarious.

Ughh man

C-

Edited May 29, 2016 by somebody85

[Alpha]

Decent X-Men movie. I can see why critics might not like it, because it's all over the place and can't seem to find one specific subplot to focus on. I liked all of the new additions to the team (Cyclops, Storm, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, etc.), and I hope we get to see more of them in future movies. I wish Apocalypse had been a stronger villain considering his power, however.

 

B/B-

[Kevin Bacon]

The more I've thought about it, if any movie ever warranted being split into two parts, it's this one. Apocalypse is simply too major a threat to contain into one movie without it feeling anti-climactic and forgettable when they kill him, especially when you're cramming so many other plots in there.

 

Make this movie about his rise and assembly of his horsemen, while we get to know the new team members and students and we can also deal a bit more in depth with what's happened to Wolverine after DOFP without it feeling like an awkward extended cameo. The movie ends with either the Horsemen turning on Apocalypse to help the X-Men escape before he kills them all, or with him claiming some sort of shocking victory, killing off a main cast member or destroying much of the world with the nukes like I suggested earlier. 

 

Then, in the next movie, we deal with the fallout of the first's finale and eventually lead up to the real final battle, which will feel much more important when the story's actually had time to breath, characters have had time to grow, and we've really gotten a real look at how dangerous Apocalypse is. Because as it stands, the final battle begins after about an hour and a half of build-up, with a ton of different stuff crammed in. Apocalypse is a much better villain than, say, Ronin, but he certainly didn't feel like much more important with how little build-up there was to his death. 

Edited May 29, 2016 by Kevin Bacon

[James]

I had such a blast with this one. That is how you make a great superhero movie. It was fun and dark and filled with memorable bits. I loved Apocalypse, but more than anything else I loved Magneto. He is probably the best CBM character ever. Also, despite what everyone is saying, I really dig the new Jean. That Phoenix sequence. OMG. And the soundtrack, especially the intro one, was genius. Overall, I LOVED IT. Fox is doing such an awesome job with this franchise.

 

A+ 

[rukaio101]

1 hour ago, Kevin Bacon said:

The more I've thought about it, if any movie ever warranted being split into two parts, it's this one. Apocalypse is simply too major a threat to contain into one movie without it feeling anti-climactic and forgettable when they kill him, especially when you're cramming so many other plots in there.

 

Make this movie about his rise and assembly of his horsemen, while we get to know the new team members and students and we can also deal a bit more in depth with what's happened to Wolverine after DOFP without it feeling like an awkward extended cameo. The movie ends with either the Horsemen turning on Apocalypse to help the X-Men escape before he kills them all, or with him claiming some sort of shocking victory, killing off a main cast member or destroying much of the world with the nukes like I suggested earlier. 

 

Then, in the next movie, we deal with the fallout of the first's finale and eventually lead up to the real final battle, which will feel much more important when the story's actually had time to breath, characters have had time to grow, and we've really gotten a real look at how dangerous Apocalypse is. Because as it stands, the final battle begins after about an hour and a half of build-up, with a ton of different stuff crammed in. Apocalypse is a much better villain than, say, Ronin, but he certainly didn't feel like much more important with how little build-up there was to his death. 

It's funny because I did initially wonder that when I saw the movie for the first time, whether it actually should've been split into two parts, or at the very least whether it needed an extra hour or so to develop its plot and characters better. Ultimately, though, I don't think so. I think the movie's main problem is just a poor allocation of time to the necessary plot threads. I maintain that the Stryker/Wolverine segment, as enjoyable as it was, should've and could've been cut entirely and the screentime allocated to Apocalypse and his Horsemen so their threads don't feel so utterly threadbare and rushed.

 

I completely disagree with the idea though that 'Apocalypse is too major a threat to fit in one movie' because that's just silly. No villain is 'too big for one movie'. I know Thanos has got it into people's head that these super major villains need like 10 movies to build them up to do them justice, but they really don't. A single, contained, well-told story can do it just as well.