X- MEN: APOCALYPSE – Review

The Uncanny X-Men – as they were once and sometimes called – have returned to show off their special abilities, remind us that being different is a gift not a curse, and of course, to save the world. However, the newest entry avoids the uncanny description even more by delivering a story that feels too normal or comfortable. Even for X-fans, this is a tedious page turner that’s rarely intriguing enough to make you want to see what happens in the next panel.

This time around the threat is one that feels all too familiar. In the opening prologue, a ritual in an Egyptian temple is performed to transform fresh-faced Oscar Isaac into the big blue baddie that the film is named after. But the transferring of powers or souls (or what have you) doesn’t go according to plan, burying the all-powerful mutant deep within the crumbling tomb and placing him in a coma-like state. In comes Moira (Rose Byre) from the previous installment X-MEN: FIRST CLASS to stumble upon the tomb centuries later in 1983. She witnesses his resurrection which in turns awakens something in our wheelchair bound professor (James McAvoy) to seek out the CIA agent to find out what she witnessed and knows. In the meantime, Xavier’s school begins to fill up with the classic characters like Cyclops (the emotionless and stilted Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner faring slightly better), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee trying his best to not look like he’s about to cry at any moment). As school gets back into session, Apocalypse goes on a quest to pick out his own army consisting of Storm (Alexandra Shipp – the only newcomer of the bunch that makes an impact), Psyclocke (Olivia Munn), Angel (Ben Hardy), and the real hero and heart of this trilogy of films, Magneto (Michael Fassbender). And guess what? He and his army want to destroy the world.

The script gets heavily bogged down by introducing so many of these new characters, and then is made worse by a by-the-book villain motivation that fuels the plot. More so than Simon Kinberg’s previous script for X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, the dialogue feels rote with the same comic book clichés we’ve heard in so many films before; rants about great power and warnings of letting go of anger. It would sound even more pedestrian if it wasn’t for the talented cast that sells it.

Fassbender and McAvoy have proven they can handle the great powers and great responsibility – Jennifer Lawrence, however, still seems like her energy and interest in the franchise changes scene to scene. Fassbender, in particular, makes his scenes in the first half of the film somewhat memorable through a side-story involving a wife and child. As is the case with the tortured character, things never end up well for Maggy and his anger is pushed to new limits, which leads him down a sullen and (dare I say) somewhat emotional path to Apocalypse. However, I guess director Bryan Singer felt the need for both him personally and the character to have a self-healing therapy session, as the destruction of a tragically historical location is completely destroyed in one of the most weirdly uncomfortable moments I’ve felt in a theater in a long, long while.

Who is new this time around and is given the most weight to bear is Oscar Isaac as the title villain. Given all the controversy over his look, voice, and size, I half-expected Singer to end up hiding him for most of the film to appease the fanboys ready with their torches and pitchforks. Nevertheless, Apocalypse is in the film quite a bit and never really shuts up. It’s the same sort of stuff we’ve heard from villains before about tearing down the old world to rebuild a new one, but Oscar Isaac at least doesn’t look or come across as silly like many have come to expect.

The main thing that holds back the film is the lack of intrigue. With X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, we were introduced to essentially new characters since they were younger versions of what we’ve seen before. And the cool swinging 60s vibe combined with the Cold War timeline added a nice dash of reality into the fantasy. With DAYS OF FUTURE PAST there is a sense of urgency with the film as it bounces back and forth between the future and the 70s. It also kept up on our toes as we watched Wolverine having to work with Magneto and others, not knowing if he can trust his accomplices. APOCALYPSE is missing a hook. Gone is the sense of intrigue. Aside from the new characters that you don’t really care as much about as the main ones, the only thing that we’re left to hang onto is the 80s setting and a villain who’s motivations we’ve seen before. Sure, hearing Eurhythmics is fun and cute, but the real life ideas and paranoia of the time are simply a quick mention on television as the story has to rush to introduce another character. “Here’s Psylocke! A character that looks really cool and speaks a total of five sentences!”

Subtlety and nuance are out the window in favor of broad strokes, all leading to a battle of the minds between the superheroes. With all the brainy talk about erasing the past for a brighter future, it feels almost ironic that so many fans (myself included) will be looking at the past films for relief as opposed to looking ahead at what the next films could offer. The new characters and costumes in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE may look as if they jumped right out of the comic panel, but new ideas are lost somewhere else in time.

OVERALL RATING: 2.5 out of 5

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE is now playing in theaters everywhere