X-Men: Apocalypse Movie Review

Released: May 9th 2016 (London Premiere)

Length: 144 Minutes

Certificate: 12A

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Oscar Isaac

X-Men: Apocalypse is the ninth entry in the long running series following 2014’s outstanding Days of Future Past. With a completely revamped timeline, the series turns to the past again with a capable, yet imperfect offering.

Taking place in the 1980s, Apocalypse is all about… well Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac); the very first mutant and the most powerful adversary the X-Men have ever faced. The titular villain with four horsemen at his back desires to remake the world in his own image and it’s up to the likes of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Hank McCoy (aka Beast played by Nicholas Hoult) and a set of brand new students to stop him. The central plotline and motivations are well focused, but the way it’s layered will raise some eyebrows. The opening act is quite cluttered, forced to both pick up where DOFP left off while also bringing in new faces. The pacing also feels quite irregular, almost dragging the film out; it’s a two hour film but it often feels much longer than it should be because of the slower pacing. The lead in to the fight with Apocalypse ends up being played half and half; on the one hand we see the villain’s power grow and get some solid build-up, but on the other, the heroes are mostly talking and discussing the explosive events as opposed to participating in them. DOFP layered action sequences better, producing a forward momentum that was easy to get swept up in. Things really pick up towards the end though as the action launches into its most extravagant zenith yet. Heroes and villains with many different powers clash in a flurry of special effects that are most definitely worth sticking around for.

The major characters returning from previous films are still great in X-Men Apocalypse; Mystique has really matured since the last film, taking on more of a leading role this time, while Xavier finds himself almost completely outclassed by Apocalypse on a mental level. Michael Fassbender’s Magneto marks the emotional high point of the film with some really heart-wrenching scenes peppered throughout his character’s journey; he remains the best rendition of the popular character in the series. Quicksilver (Evan Peters) is again fantastically entertaining, with a particularly brilliant sequence that’s even better than the one in DOFP. Finally, Oscar Isaac makes for a great Apocalypse, his sinister voice and imposing image taking centre stage throughout the film. The new characters however, aren’t as well defined; with six or seven different newcomers to introduce, it all becomes a bit too much for the film to juggle and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) all feel quite basic as a result. They all do a good job from an acting standpoint, but simultaneously they aren’t given enough material to work with, lessening the impact they could have had in the film’s closing act.

Where Apocalypse truly ups the ante from its predecessor is in its special effects; with a villain of immense power comes the most gargantuan action set pieces in the franchise. You really do feel the overwhelming strength behind the villain’s grand scheme with entire settlements shifting and crumbling before our very eyes. The superpowers on display are all equally dazzling, maintaining the standard set by previous films. The more emotive soundtrack from the previous film has been toned down in favour of a more bombastic soundtrack that links in with the upped stakes very well. By upping the scale of the action, X-Men Apocalypse is still a treat for the eyes, refusing to falter in the face of a crowded genre.

It isn’t nearly as good as Days of Future Past, but X-Men: Apocalypse is still a worthwhile follow-up with the same brilliant characters and emotional moments. Its major shortcoming is trying to do too much where new characters are concerned which creates an unbalance in the proceedings as a whole.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars