Oh boy. Where do we begin? I’d like to preface this by saying how much of a fan I am of both Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class and Bryan Singer’s Days Of Future Past. While I have genuinely enjoyed most of the X-Men films over the last sixteen years, I believe these two sit head and shoulders above the rest of the series - for their fine direction, complex themes and emotionally resonant stories.
It was the absence of those very qualities that left me so disappointed by X-Men: Apocalypse. It’s not a bad movie, but it fails to reach the lofty heights of its two predecessors. Truthfully, it’s a solid sequel burdened by the weight of high expectations. In a year simply brimming with big-budget superhero movies, there’s a chance it may get lost in the blockbuster crowd this summer.
Apocalypse’s biggest issue is that it tries to do so many things at once. Here’s a film that needs to close a trilogy, set up a new generation heroes, introduce and focus on the eponymous villain while attempting to fit into the franchise’s warped continuity. The final product is an ambitious, hectic and often poorly structured tale with dozens of glorious geeky goodies on the surface for comic book fans to enjoy. Whether you like that combination or not is entirely down to personal preference.
For me, it didn’t quite gel together as well as I’d hoped. Too often, supporting characters felt left by the wayside, while even the central protagonists felt underutilized at times. The film’s tendency to spread itself too thin was its ultimate undoing, compromising the character development and overarching story. It’s an ensemble piece that doesn’t quite balance its ensemble well enough.
There’s also a surprising amount of set-up here. I suppose that’s another consequence of adding so many new faces – and even the old ones need updated backstories to cover the last ten years since DOFP. Michael Fassbender's Magneto, in particular, goes through a chain of events that feel so rushed they barely carry half the emotional impact of the arc he thrived on in First Class.
Continuity will forever be this series’ greatest villain. In the past, the quality of the individual films has arguably justified the studio’s clueless approach to canon, but it's had a negative impact on this movie. The film has to work hard to keep its audience up-to-date, relying on flashbacks that ultimately derail the momentum of the plot. And while suspension of disbelief is a vital component of enjoying CBMs, it’s hard not to question how some of these characters haven’t aged at all in 20 years.
Many of the narrative issues highlighted above could have just been avoided through stronger writing & tighter direction. The emotional moments don’t quite hit, the ‘world-ending stakes’ lack grandeur or meaning, and Singer’s overindulgence of CGI renders many of the action sequences redundant.
As infuriating as the finale of Man Of Steel was to many, to its credit you felt all of that death and destruction - you cringed as the world machine threw thousands of tons of debris into the air. Here, you don’t feel a thing. I understand the OP nature of the film’s antagonist, but watching Apocalypse tear CGI cities to the ground with his vaguely defined CGI abilities means nothing if you’re not invested in those cities or victims. It all felt so cartoony and offhanded.
Many will argue that these are the kind of explosive ‘money-shots’ that attract audiences, but they’ve never done anything for me. In fact, without any emotional attachment they’re dull – and I’m tired of pretending they’re anything but. By comparison, the finale of DOFP was far more affecting. Watching mutants we know and love fight for their lives against the Sentinels sent shivers down my spine, and I genuinely welled up at the deaths of Storm & Iceman. Those are what I call stakes.
But wait - it’s not all bad! After all, this is an X-Men feature starring James McAvoy & Michael Fassbender - and it would be downright criminal not to praise their performances once again. While they lack the standard of material they’ve previously been afforded in this series, they manage to make the best of what they do have, turning in a pair of fine performances that should solidify their places alongside Sir Patrick Stewart & Sir Ian McKellen in the CBM history books.
Jennifer Lawrence is a bit of an enigma. While I’ve liked her performances as Raven, I’ve never warmed to her quite as much as I did her co-leads. It feels strange to see Mystique play such a heroic role in proceedings. However, once you get past the liberties taken with her character, Lawrence is actually a great fit here as the de-facto field team leader & older-sister figure to the newer recruits.
Speaking of those recruits, Tye Sheridan is a fine young Scott Summers, blending broody teenage angst with genuine strength of will & leadership potential. Equally strong is Sophie Turner, who makes up for her so-so American accent with a measured and likeable turn as Jean Grey. Finally, Kodi Smit-McPhee facilitates a welcome franchise return for Nightcrawler, and is often relied upon to add heart & levity to the film – a role he fulfills admirably. All three young talents offer plenty of promise for the future.
The supporting cast is as solid as they come. Highlights include Lucas Till’s Havok, who finally gets to share the screen with his younger brother, Even Peters’ excellent Quicksilver, and Alexandra Shipp’s Storm, who starts promisingly, only to be marginalized by the main villain’s appearance. She fares far better than her fellow horsemen, Psylocke & Angel, who are mostly wasted in thankless roles.
Apocalypse himself is… okay. He shows menace at times, but it’s tough to take even Oscar Isaac seriously under all that make-up. His frequent globe hopping only makes the narrative more erratic, while his role as a world-ending threat isn’t translated to the big screen with enough of an impact. It’s a question that both DC and Marvel will have to answer themselves over the next few years. How do you depict the ‘end of the world’ scenario when you don’t really have the budget or time to do so?
I’ve always found the ending of a film can have a huge impact on my overall feelings towards it. A lackluster finale can undermine an otherwise great effort, just as easily as a fantastic climax can almost redeem an inconsistent one. Apocalypse falls into the latter category, as, after roughly 130 minutes of hitting and missing, it finally finds its groove and never looks back.
Without going into too many specifics, the first part of the finale is probably the film’s weakest stretch, but to their credit, Singer & Kinberg manage to drag it out of mediocrity for an immensely entertaining final confrontation with En Sabah Nur. It’s my favorite sequence of the movie and probably the most ‘comic-booky’ moment in the entire franchise. Animated X-Men fans should get a kick out of it.
All in all, X-Men: Apocalypse is a step-down from its predecessors, but contains enough spectacle to make the theatre trip worthwhile. Fans of Fox’s work with the franchise will hopefully come away satisfied, but if you weren’t impressed by DOFP, it’s unlikely this will be the movie to win you over.
What about the future? The movie sets up further installments rather nicely (including a pretty intriguing post-credits sting), though I can’t help but feel it’s time for a change. Bryan Singer’s done a fine job spearheading this series over the past sixteen years, but for the sake of variety more than anything else, it’d be nice to see a new filmmaker take the reigns.
NB: If you were worried Lana Condor's Jubilee would serve as nothing more than a glorified cameo, I'm pleased to reveal that you were absolutely right.
NB II: The Quicksilver sequence is greatness.