Dazzling visuals are the cherries atop a a well made dramatic cake that successfully blends an assortment of characters while sifting in some well timed humor without overdoing it.
“X-Men: Apocalypse” begins in the past, introducing us to Apocalypse, the first mutant. It then shifts to the present, which is ten years after the previous installment.
The film has a lot of eggs, yet manages to neatly fold them all together. Many of the characters start off separated with their own lives and are then united in a way that makes sense to the story and the characters. Their introductions are unique from each other, maintaining a freshness that kept me engaged.
Professor X maintains his school with the new addition of a young Jean Grey, nicely played by Sophie Turner from Game Of Thrones. Her powers are strong and she can see the future, but has some issues with control. We soon meet Cyclops. And thankfully, he is treated with more regard than in the original trilogy. We watch him come into his powers, which forces him to move into the academy. The relationship between him and Jean is believable, using their concerns over what their powers can do to others as a connection that felt real and natural.
Magneto has been living in Poland but bad things happen, as they tend to do with this tragic character. And he ends up ethically lost.
His story was the most compelling and the film did a good job of keeping Magneto on that gray edge, which has always made him a fascinating counterpart to Professor X.
Coming into the film, I was the most interested in seeing how Quicksilver and Nightcrawler would work within the team and it didn’t disappoint!
Quicksilver had one of the best scenes.
I liken it to his scene in “X-Men: Days of Future Past”. He didn’t just bring the speed, he brought humor with him as well.
As for Nightcrawler, the effects of the remnants of smoke he left behind every time he jumped was very well handled.
The scene between Angel and Nightcrawler was handled very well and highlighted the development with which the film was willing to give to the non leading roles, particularly for Angel. It doesn’t take a tremendous amount of time to have an effective subplot as the film proved here.
There was a lot to love about this film, but it’s not perfect. One of the weak spots is Apocalypse. He’s an intimidating figure and has amazing powers that were eye popping to watch.The things he can do with sand… And I love the etchings on his face.
His interactions with other characters were intriguing particularly with Professor X. But I still felt like I didn’t really know him. X-Men always does such a tremendous job with their characters, especially the villains; but this time it felt a little flat. I knew what his goal was, but I really wasn’t as sold as to why he just couldn’t “get along” so to speak. Though with so much to cover, it’s difficult to give Apocalypse his full attention.
And I’m still not sold on Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. But I did enjoy her scenes with Nghtcrawler.
Tone
The serious tone makes the story feel real and more like a sci-fi film. The coloring was fantastic and added to the gravitas. And there were times when the scenes had a level of violence that treaded on the dark side, blood and all.
Visuals
But the story really excels in the special effects and its impact on the enormity of what was happening. I loved how things disintegrated. Watching the world wither away was spectacular. Though at times it felt redundant. Seeing it a couple of times was awesome, but after a while, I got the point. And I would have liked to have seen more from Magneto in the final act but I loved the team work. This is the kind of movie that needs a theatrical watch.
All in all, “X-Men: Apocalypse” was a treat with rich characters and stunning visuals. I really want to continue with this new group of X-Men and hope they stay together for the next installment.
Score: 8.75/10
