The best X-Men movie yet.
Director Bryan Singer and producer/screenwriter Simon Kinberg have done it again! X-MEN: APOCALYPSE is the best X-Men movie yet. The stakes are higher, the tragedy cuts deeper, the film is both emotionally profound and thrilling, the VFX once again blows your mind, it looks even better in 3D. This is the ultimate mutant fight galore.
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE brings you the first mutant ever who for centuries had been worshipped as a god. He awakens after thousands of years and feels that the world today seriously needs genocide cleansing. Part of the four horsemen of the apocalypse accompanying him is none other than Erik Lensherr whom Raven/Mystique feels is in a dark place emotionally which clouds his judgment. Meanwhile, a team of young mutants have to step up and embrace their powers as X-Men to stop the latest greatest threat to mankind. That’s the plot in a nutshell, but what’s fun is seeing younger Jean Grey and younger Jubilee and younger Cyclops and younger Nightcrawler and younger Storm, and all these talented actors like Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, and Alexandra Shipp, they know they’re filling in some big shoes, they step into roles that were previously played by such folks as Famke Janssen, James Marsden and Halle Berry. But these young talents prove themselves worthy, they’re cool, they’re new, they’re fresh, their acting is mature far beyond their age, and you’ll welcome them with open arms.
Now some might say, that’s X-MEN: APOCALYPSE doesn’t offer anything other than a new big bad villain in town; and he appears to be one-dimensional, after all, ruling the world is basically on every villain’s manual book. But there’s more to him than just that. It is however still the same old same old mutant’s resentment towards humans, vice versa. And you’d be right, because tackling other themes might negatively affect what this franchise is all about. So yes, it’s another round of Magneto hating humans again, but what’s interesting is that his motivation this time around is different from what compelled him in “X-Men: First Class,” and “X-Men: Days Of Future Past,” respectively. In this case, Erik/Magneto actually tries to be good but a tragedy happens, and comes along the most powerful mutant to take advantage of that situation. Charles Xavier is still his old ‘can we all just get along’ self, I think by this point, we wonder if he’s being naive, or perhaps he just doesn’t care if his faith in humanity or his hope for the good in people ever gets him betrayed. The dynamics between these two characters is still the driving force in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE and it’s so powerful, you can’t get enough of it.
X-MEN: APOCALYPSE is set in the ‘80s, so it’s imperative to point out how well the film incorporates the costumes and the music from that era as part of the story and the characters. It’s not front and center and it doesn't overwhelm but it compliments them. And to many of us, it’s nostalgic.
Evan Peters’ Quicksilver jailbreak scene was the most talked about in “X-Men: Days Of Future Past,” and now he has an extraordinary rescue scene in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE that will continue to excite the fans long after the film is done, because it’s so brilliantly choreographed. The real scene-stealer in this film is Wolverine as teased in the trailer, but I won’t talk further about that, you’re going to have to let him rock your world when you see this film in theaters. Because this franchise has so many mutants or characters with amazing abilities, so part of the appeal is seeing these powers at work, and I think X-MEN: APOCALYPSE has found new, surprising and refreshing ways to display or showcase such powers, so even if you the fans may know what these characters can do, you really don’t.
I think Oscar Isaac did an astounding job as the big bad villain Apocalypse, and much of it is because of his character’s invincibility, and not in a way that makes him less interesting. He can feel the room, he can tap into one’s sadness and rage, he makes them feel like he’s the only answer to all their problems. His prowess gets you to wonder whether or not he has a weak spot, which makes it all the more difficult and more of an uphill battle for our heroes to climb. Another thing to point out is this film’s subtle but excellent way of arguing the ideas of deity or divine nature. Apocalypse hates machine, he wants his children or followers to rely on him, and those who don’t, he seems them as lacking faith. I may be reading too much into this, but underneath it all, I’d like to believe that in addition to your usual X-Men’s embracing your powers expectations, this particular story also presents a clash between faith/religion vs. making your own destiny and it’s all done in a way that doesn’t turn off certain audiences, all in all, at the end of the day, X-MEN: APOCALYPSE remains a grand and entertaining spectacle. Lastly, I’m aware that earlier this year, there may not have been as much excitement for this film as what you probably had for “Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice” or “Captain America: Civil War” for example, but if you decide to skip this film based on that, you’d be missing out one of this year’s greatest superhero movies.
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