SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW
X-Men: Apocalypse is the sequel to 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past and it tells the story of mega baddie En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) waking up after thousands of years into a world very different from the kingdom he used to rule.
Following up from a series high in Days of Future Past (which totally fixed the messed up X-Men film timeline due to the events of X-Men: The Last Stand), this movie sure had a lot of expectations to live up to.
Now, I am a massive fan of the X-Men film series. I've watched every film (except The Last Stand and Origins Wolverine) multiple times - enjoying the three directed by Apocalypse's director Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: Days of Future Past) the most.
This seems to be somewhat of an assurance then, that any Bryan Singer X-Men film will be fantastic.
For this film, however, I strongly suggest you don't go into the film thinking that.
For starters, X-Men: Apocalypse is a very ambitious film in terms of scale, story and complexity, not to mention that it has to juggle a huge cast as well.
However, ambition must be met with the right execution, and sadly, that was exactly where this movie fell short.
From the get-go, there was already a underlying sense that this movie was trying to be too grand than it should have been.
Sure, the sets were stunning and the swooping camera angles were all a joy to witness, but there were bits which were just too massive and huge which undermined the progress the opening bits started.
The first 30 minutes were also a little messy due to the setting up of a few character and story arcs.
I felt that there were too many subplots going on - and some that I didn't really care all too much about in the moment, although they play a big part in setting up the finale in the end.
Along with a few continuity errors and odd/jarring transitions from location to location, the opening half an hour was just very sloppy.
As a result, it takes a toll on the overall pacing of the film as it goes from slow build-up of characters and story arcs to much faster-paced scenes so jarringly.
Mercifully, everything sort of irons out after that point, and the movie begins to flow and progress much more gracefully than before, building and building as it goes along.
Let's talk about the characters in this movie - in particular, the newcomers in Jean Grey, Scott Summer/Cyclops and Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler.
The thing that Bryan Singer brings to the X-Men movies is this unrivalled understanding he has of each and every character and their individual motivations.
With the aforementioned trio, Singer applied his magic touch to them in spectacular fashion.
He's already introduced an older version of this trio in X1 and X2, and to re-introduce them as youngsters in 1983 in this one was genius.
Each of these characters were developed beautifully, with each of their backstories told with passion and detail.
Mega praise has to go to Sophie Turner who plays Jean Grey. Not only does she look the part, but she's also super convincing as a mutant who faces a constant struggle to keep her extraordinary abilities under control.
As for the already-established cast, I have nothing but praise for them.
Michael Fassbender puts in yet another terrific shift as Magneto, but this time he shows even more of his talent as an excellent actor.
His scenes for the most part are emotionally-driven and the struggles his character faces throughout make for a gripping and deep portrayal of the iconic antagonist.
James McAvoy is fantastic as usual as Professor Charles Xavier, and so is Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique (to my surprise) as I read somewhere that she reportedly was quite tired of the role due to her having to spend hours in make-up to turn into her character's natural blue form.
She shows no signs of boredom as she showed in Mockingjay Part 2, and I really hope we see more of her cos she truly slays as Mystique.
I thought Quicksilver's (Evan Peters) involvement in this one was pretty cool too.
Let's face it, it would take something special to top THAT sequence at the Pentagon in Days of Future Past.
In this one, I'm pleased to report that they managed exactly that.
Furthermore, they added more depth to the character, which is always a good thing.
The rest of the cast are all alright, with no stand-out performances.
And yes, by "rest of the cast", I do mean inclusive of mega baddie Apocalypse himself.
I felt that although he was menacing and very scary at times, Oscar Isaac just couldn't do much to make his character's motivations more plausible and sinister.
At times, Apocalypse would make sense with why he does certain things, but I found myself questioning more moments where I felt he didn't have that convincing-a-story to justify his extreme actions.
His Four Horsemen [Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Magneto, Psylocke (Olivia Munn) and Angel/Archangel (Ben Hardy)] were all set up very very well, making them seem like a bunch of total badasses.
When it came to finally showing their worth, however, all of them except Magneto were just plain useless.
Psylocke especially, cos she was just eye candy. She didn't do much and ultimately wasn't very important.
I expected them to at least be more badass and powerful, but what I got was just three random mutants trying to do damage and ending up leaving a dent in the wall instead of them rightfully tearing the whole building down.
Story-wise, it was pretty ballsy in a sense that they were dealing with some massive plot points throughout.
I have to give credit to the creative team for taking such a huge risk, and in some ways it pays off as we get to see some truly epic moments on screen.
The only bit in which it doesn't quite work is when they try and tone things down with a quieter scene or two. It just didn't fit in with all the massive elements which make up the movie.
In terms of dialogue, there are some very clever lines spread out consistently, plus some very smart easter eggs hidden here and there (do keep an eye out for those).
The story also manages to tie up some of the remaining loose ends left by the events of the messed-up X-Men: The Last Stand which weren't already fixed with Days of Future Past.
For the technical areas, the film is pretty flawless.
It's shot well, directed well, and the CGI was very realistic for the most part.
And the music, oh man the music.
John Ottman truly embodies the essence of these movies with his brilliant scores starting from X2: X-Men United.
To hear his X-Men theme blare gloriously over the opening titles was just spine-chilling.
His themes for Apocalypse were pretty epic too.
Nothing but absolute praise for Ottman's score.
Only technical flaws lay in the editing, where transitions from scene to scene were jarring and abrupt.
All in all, X-Men: Apocalypse was an interesting movie experience.
Was it good? To a certain extent, yes, absolutely.
It was also disappointing in many areas.
Solid action sequences are let down by a very convoluted first 30 minutes which do more to bore than to entertain.
Although some characters are explored brilliantly, some are also victims of the "Spider-Man 3" syndrome - where there are simply too many characters for the movie's own good.
Don't let all this put you off watching it though, for it is still a very solid entry in the X-Men film universe as well as a solid piece of entertainment.
Do stay till after the end credits for a crucial set-up for a future instalment in the series!
6.5/10.
This seems to be somewhat of an assurance then, that any Bryan Singer X-Men film will be fantastic.
For this film, however, I strongly suggest you don't go into the film thinking that.
For starters, X-Men: Apocalypse is a very ambitious film in terms of scale, story and complexity, not to mention that it has to juggle a huge cast as well.
However, ambition must be met with the right execution, and sadly, that was exactly where this movie fell short.
From the get-go, there was already a underlying sense that this movie was trying to be too grand than it should have been.
Sure, the sets were stunning and the swooping camera angles were all a joy to witness, but there were bits which were just too massive and huge which undermined the progress the opening bits started.
The first 30 minutes were also a little messy due to the setting up of a few character and story arcs.
I felt that there were too many subplots going on - and some that I didn't really care all too much about in the moment, although they play a big part in setting up the finale in the end.
Along with a few continuity errors and odd/jarring transitions from location to location, the opening half an hour was just very sloppy.
As a result, it takes a toll on the overall pacing of the film as it goes from slow build-up of characters and story arcs to much faster-paced scenes so jarringly.
Mercifully, everything sort of irons out after that point, and the movie begins to flow and progress much more gracefully than before, building and building as it goes along.
Let's talk about the characters in this movie - in particular, the newcomers in Jean Grey, Scott Summer/Cyclops and Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler.
The thing that Bryan Singer brings to the X-Men movies is this unrivalled understanding he has of each and every character and their individual motivations.
With the aforementioned trio, Singer applied his magic touch to them in spectacular fashion.
He's already introduced an older version of this trio in X1 and X2, and to re-introduce them as youngsters in 1983 in this one was genius.
Each of these characters were developed beautifully, with each of their backstories told with passion and detail.
Mega praise has to go to Sophie Turner who plays Jean Grey. Not only does she look the part, but she's also super convincing as a mutant who faces a constant struggle to keep her extraordinary abilities under control.
As for the already-established cast, I have nothing but praise for them.
Michael Fassbender puts in yet another terrific shift as Magneto, but this time he shows even more of his talent as an excellent actor.
His scenes for the most part are emotionally-driven and the struggles his character faces throughout make for a gripping and deep portrayal of the iconic antagonist.
James McAvoy is fantastic as usual as Professor Charles Xavier, and so is Jennifer Lawrence as Raven/Mystique (to my surprise) as I read somewhere that she reportedly was quite tired of the role due to her having to spend hours in make-up to turn into her character's natural blue form.
She shows no signs of boredom as she showed in Mockingjay Part 2, and I really hope we see more of her cos she truly slays as Mystique.
I thought Quicksilver's (Evan Peters) involvement in this one was pretty cool too.
Let's face it, it would take something special to top THAT sequence at the Pentagon in Days of Future Past.
In this one, I'm pleased to report that they managed exactly that.
Furthermore, they added more depth to the character, which is always a good thing.
The rest of the cast are all alright, with no stand-out performances.
And yes, by "rest of the cast", I do mean inclusive of mega baddie Apocalypse himself.
I felt that although he was menacing and very scary at times, Oscar Isaac just couldn't do much to make his character's motivations more plausible and sinister.
At times, Apocalypse would make sense with why he does certain things, but I found myself questioning more moments where I felt he didn't have that convincing-a-story to justify his extreme actions.
His Four Horsemen [Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Magneto, Psylocke (Olivia Munn) and Angel/Archangel (Ben Hardy)] were all set up very very well, making them seem like a bunch of total badasses.
When it came to finally showing their worth, however, all of them except Magneto were just plain useless.
Psylocke especially, cos she was just eye candy. She didn't do much and ultimately wasn't very important.
I expected them to at least be more badass and powerful, but what I got was just three random mutants trying to do damage and ending up leaving a dent in the wall instead of them rightfully tearing the whole building down.
Story-wise, it was pretty ballsy in a sense that they were dealing with some massive plot points throughout.
I have to give credit to the creative team for taking such a huge risk, and in some ways it pays off as we get to see some truly epic moments on screen.
The only bit in which it doesn't quite work is when they try and tone things down with a quieter scene or two. It just didn't fit in with all the massive elements which make up the movie.
In terms of dialogue, there are some very clever lines spread out consistently, plus some very smart easter eggs hidden here and there (do keep an eye out for those).
The story also manages to tie up some of the remaining loose ends left by the events of the messed-up X-Men: The Last Stand which weren't already fixed with Days of Future Past.
For the technical areas, the film is pretty flawless.
It's shot well, directed well, and the CGI was very realistic for the most part.
And the music, oh man the music.
John Ottman truly embodies the essence of these movies with his brilliant scores starting from X2: X-Men United.
To hear his X-Men theme blare gloriously over the opening titles was just spine-chilling.
His themes for Apocalypse were pretty epic too.
Nothing but absolute praise for Ottman's score.
Only technical flaws lay in the editing, where transitions from scene to scene were jarring and abrupt.
All in all, X-Men: Apocalypse was an interesting movie experience.
Was it good? To a certain extent, yes, absolutely.
It was also disappointing in many areas.
Solid action sequences are let down by a very convoluted first 30 minutes which do more to bore than to entertain.
Although some characters are explored brilliantly, some are also victims of the "Spider-Man 3" syndrome - where there are simply too many characters for the movie's own good.
Don't let all this put you off watching it though, for it is still a very solid entry in the X-Men film universe as well as a solid piece of entertainment.
Do stay till after the end credits for a crucial set-up for a future instalment in the series!
6.5/10.
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