X-Men: Apocalypse - May 27, 2016

[pturtle]

SPOILERS BELOW

Just got back from this one, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I might like it more than Civil War (if only Spidey was in this one, it would be no contest!). I would rank the first 2/3rds up there with any X-Men movie to date. I found myself smiling and just reflecting about how well everything was working together. In particular, I was glad to see Cyclops get more attention than in any other X-Men movie to date, and for him to be likable, and to demonstrate some flashes of what he became in the comic under Claremont. But there was very little in that section of the movie that I disliked. I thought Isaac was intimidating and cool. I liked the guy cast as Angel a lot (though not much to connect him to the comic version). The casting in general I really liked, in fact. Reflecting on things as I left, I was thinking back to the closest, recent parallel to this in my mind--Age of Ultron--and I found this better across the board. More coherent story, better acting, more interesting characters, better pacing, fewer WTF moments. I'm very excited about seeing the team moving forward. . .so long as Cyke is being prepped to lead the team, and Mystique gets the hell out of there.

Other things I enjoyed was Caliban and what seemed to be Morlocks, '80s stuff was great, though I'm not sure that we needed Mags to get traumatized terribly again, that was all well done, I thought the special effects were on par with anything else out there, and the Quicksilver scene, once again, was great. Jean turning into Phoenix was funny, because it is like a fantasy for Game of Thrones fans who would love to see Sansa pull something like this on Ramsay and Petyr Baelish. Not sure if we needed to have the Phoenix card pulled this soon, but in movies they do move the timeframe up moreso than you would see in other media. I would love to see them tackle Dark Phoenix saga in the near future, and to do it in a space opera with the Shi'ar, Imperial Guard, Cyclops's dad, etc.

But the one big issue I had was with the ending, just in the sense that it felt like it went on too long, and was just overkill. At a certain point, when the world's blowing up all over the place, you get a bit desensitized, and it would have been better to scale back or. . .do something else with it. And on this point, I think it compares to Age of Ultron, which suffered from the same affliction. But maybe this is mandated by the consumer focus groups who expect ridiculously over the top action scenes to cap off comic book movies. So, it did feel a bit "overstuffed," though that's par for the course with comic movies nowadays. Every one I've seen this year had that problem on one level or another.

Quibbles: Psylocke was wasted, and seemed inserted just purely as fan service. And she and Angel both felt like afterthoughts in the big showdown, though there was a lot that had to be fit in there, again. The post-credits scene might be the worst I've seen in memory. And that's saying something with all the lame "here's Thanos again!" teases in the MCU. But I don't recall this Essex organization at all from the comics, and it just felt so generic. Bummed we probably won't see Angel again, though who knows (we already saw another incarnation of him in another movie. . .maybe this wasn't Warren Worthington?). The Wolverine tease seemed a bit unnecessary, but it didn't really bother me. Again, seems generic to have him rampaging in a Weapon X facility. Seems like we've already seen this numerous times. Not thrilled with Mystique taking up this much screen time, though I think she was fine.

This pretty much sums up how I felt the first time I saw the movie. I watched a leaked copy online though. I thought the first 2/3 of the movie was on par with everything else from the franchise, but today I went to see this in glorious AMC prime and man, the higher quality really put things into perspective for me, this movie was pretty damn bad. I don't think it was X3 bad, but it was close. QS was consistently the only good thing about the movie until his entire arc is ruined by not telling Magneto that he's his son, and that would have been a much better way of getting Magneto to turn against Apocalypse as opposed to Mystiques bland speech about family.

The worst part about this, is that there are some truly brilliant scenes in the movie, the nuclear disarmament scene was amazing and one of the best scenes I've ever seen in a superhero movie, QS scenes is my favorite action scene of the year by far, but there are so many parts where it's not even the writing that hurts the movie, but actually the directing. Awkward camera shots, poorly choreographed fight scenes, generic battles etc.... It's almost shocking that this movie was made by the same guy who made X2 and DOFP because it's his actual directing that hurts the film just as much if not more than the muddy script.

Most of the actors weren't even that great this time. I loved Mcavoy in FC and DOFP, but every word he utters in this sounds overly dramatic, Fassbender had maybe two really solid scenes and the rest were subpar delivered lines, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult are completely miscast in their roles, the younger X-Men were fine but lacked any real development for me to care about them and accept them in the role, the Horsemen were absolute wastes and I agree with you, I liked the actor playing Angel, and it's a shame we'll probably never see him again because it looked like he died in that crash. Jackman's cameo was also not that great, the X2 mansion scene was better choreographed, shot, and even acted far better compared to the Weapon X scene.
The DOFP cliffhanger with Mystique is totally ignored in this movie by the way which is just insane. I could probably go on and on about how disappointing this movie was.

Still though, one bad X-Men movie from Singer isn't going to make me turn on the guy. If he still has interest, I'd be more than happy to see him redeem himself with another X-Men film, but I also wouldn't mind if a new directer came on board likeVaughn did, or just bring Vaughn back if that's possible. As of now though, I think I'm suffering badly from superhero movie fatigue, 4/4 superhero flicks did absolutely nothing for me, but I am excited for Suicide Squad, that looks different and fresh.

All in all, I'm content that Singer came back and gave us DOFP, I can accept that as the ending of the FoX-Man films since it has scenes that take place even after Apocalypse. Unless Vaughn comes back, I just can't see me being excited for another FoX-Men film like I was X2, FC, and DOFP.

Oh and it's time for Simon Kinberg to go. His track record is horrible.


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[SNIKT1950]

Is it really that bad? You're like the third or fourth person to rag on Jackman running. It's almost making me want to see the movie just so I can laugh at that scene.

Its not bad at all.

Its wonderfully bloody and exactly what Weapon X shoulda have been in '09.

Some of the posters on this thread who found it "laughable" (ridiculous) also think Civil War deserves a Best Picture Oscar and thought Deadpool was a stupid and unnecessarily violent movie.

Go see the film and make up your own mind please.

 

[karamazov80]

I thought that scene was fine. The helmet looked kind of lame, but so what? Costume design has never been a strength of this franchise. My only issue was that it seems we have to see an almost naked Wolvie in a Weapon X type scenario in every other X-Men movie. If it had been Maverick or Sabretooth I would have been more interested.

And pturtle, I didn't see anything here as a huge departure from Singer's previous works. Again, I really enjoyed it, and think it holds up more or less to the other films in the X-portfolio. Better than Age of Ultron, somewhat on par with Civil War for me. Seems like it's hitting expectations with the ticket sales thus far, which is a good sign to my eyes, and I hope we see Singer doing more.

 

[SNIKT1950]

I thought that scene was fine. The helmet looked kind of lame, but so what? Costume design has never been a strength of this franchise. My only issue was that it seems we have to see an almost naked Wolvie in a Weapon X type scenario in every other X-Men movie. If it had been Maverick or Sabretooth I would have been more interested.

X2 gave us a few discolored frames of a bloodied Wolvie escaping. No kills.

Origins neutered the whole thing by having Wolvie stab ONE person after leaving the tank. Epic fail.

Apocalypse finally gives us a full-on berserker rage as he massacres the soldiers at the facility. Tons of blood and over 20 kills.

This was clearly Singer and Jackman's way of redeeming Wolverine's iconic origin in which the newly acquired adamantium was baptized with blood.

 

[pturtle]

I thought that scene was fine. The helmet looked kind of lame, but so what? Costume design has never been a strength of this franchise. My only issue was that it seems we have to see an almost naked Wolvie in a Weapon X type scenario in every other X-Men movie. If it had been Maverick or Sabretooth I would have been more interested.

And pturtle, I didn't see anything here as a huge departure from Singer's previous works. Again, I really enjoyed it, and think it holds up more or less to the other films in the X-portfolio. Better than Age of Ultron, somewhat on par with Civil War for me. Seems like it's hitting expectations with the ticket sales thus far, which is a good sign to my eyes, and I hope we see Singer doing more.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and this is definitely one of those kind of movies where I totally understand why some people liked it and why some people hated it. I also agree it's better than Ultron, but to me, this was the Age of Ultron of the FoX-Men universe.

I'm all for Singer returning just as long as it's not only for a paycheck.




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[karamazov80]

It crossed my mind that the film was going out of its way to show that he was clearly killing people, given where they were being stabbed, the blood flying around, and the body bags at the end. But to me it didn't feel too necessary. I felt the franchise established that he was a killer when he needed to be, even though there were obviously scenes in the prior films where they held that back. If they really wanted to hit that message home, he should have lopped off some appendages, but maybe that would be too much for the MPAA.

But the bigger takeaway for me, that they didn't really explore at all, was that the X-kids were responsible for all that death! If Jean never let Wolverine out, they may not have been able to rescue their buds. But then those soldiers wouldn't have died, either. Seems like they would have felt some guilt.

 

[Khev]

Just got back from this one, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I'm surprised. I really thought this would be for you what TDKR was for Difabio. I'm glad you liked it though as I want every fan to have their "Civil War," whether that be something in the MCU, Singerverse, DCEU, etc. jye4ever and I joke about things that I think were handled poorly in this film but at the end of the day the movie had real heart (as I mentioned in my first review I found the First Class callbacks to be really touching) and that goes a long way.

 

[SNIKT1950]

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and this is definitely one of those kind of movies where I totally understand why some people liked it and why some people hated it. I also agree it's better than Ultron, but to me, this was the Age of Ultron of the FoX-Men universe.

I'm all for Singer returning just as long as it's not only for a paycheck.




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I think Singer got cocky with this one. It wasn't a case of him doing it just for the money. The Script needed more time and the film honestly needed more money. This would have been a much better movie had Singer been given the budget he had for DOFP ($250 Million). $180 was too low for an Apocalypse-driven disaster movie.

Kinberg isn't to blame here entirely either. He wrote a fantastic script for DOFP.

Singer, Kinberg, Dougherty & Harris just didn't get this one right. It happens. At least Singer will get a break now.

The slate ahead looks good even without Singer:

-Mangold's OLD MAN LOGAN is filming now and comes out March 3rd
-Doug Liman will direct GAMBIT late this year after his Amazon.com movie (GAMBIT is most def the October 6, 2017 film)
-Tim Miller's back in the director's chair for DP2 along with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick + a bigger budget (DP2 has to be the March 2, 2018 film)
-Boone's directing NEW MUTANTS from a script he wrote (that's most definitely the June 29, 2018 film)
-X-FORCE should arrive late 2018, hopefully under someone other than Wadlow.

All of that plus Noah Hawley's LEGION series on FX starring Dan Stevens which sounds awesome.

 

[ArtDamage]

That lineup alone sounds like it'll be better than a majority of the x films we've gotten so far. Especially excited for dp2 and x-force.

 

[SNIKT1950]

That lineup alone sounds like it'll be better than a majority of the x films we've gotten so far. Especially excited for dp2 and x-force.

DOFP really opened the door to FOX's Marvel Universe. There's even rumors of a Wolverine and Deadpool movie after DP2 & a Starjammers movie after the next X-MEN team film which will probably be set in space and be an adaptation of The Phoenix Saga.

 

[Victοr]

DOFP really opened the door to FOX's Marvel Universe. There's even rumors of a Wolverine and Deadpool movie after DP2 & a Starjammers movie after the next X-MEN team film which will probably be set in space and be an adaptation of The Phoenix Saga.

If Scott's dad is a regular dude, how are they gonna do the Starjammers? I mean, I'd love a Starjammers film, but with Havok dead and Corsair a regular old dude, how are they gonna do that?

 

[SNIKT1950]

If Scott's dad is a regular dude, how are they gonna do the Starjammers? I mean, I'd love a Starjammers film, but with Havok dead and Corsair a regular old dude, how are they gonna do that?

The parents you saw in Apocalypse aren't the biological parents for the Summers Bros. Done.

 

[Victοr]

The parents you saw in Apocalypse aren't the biological parents for the Summers Bros. Done.

Eh, I guess. It would also open the door for having both Scott and Havok spend some time in Sinister's orphanage.

 

[SNIKT1950]

Eh, I guess. It would also open the door for having both Scott and Havok spend some time in Sinister's orphanage.

We're getting Sinister in OLD MAN LOGAN. He's probably my favorite X villain after Apocalypse.

Hopefully they won't dispatch him as easy as they did Apocalypse or at least feature him in another movie set long before OML.

My dream X-Men movie is a Mutant Massacre movie.

 

[Victοr]

We're getting Sinister in OLD MAN LOGAN. He's probably my favorite X villain after Apocalypse.

Hopefully they won't dispatch him as easy as they did Apocalypse or at least feature him in another movie set long before OML.

My dream X-Men movie is a Mutant Massacre movie.

Eh, I'm not getting my hopes up yet. The stinger could be for the next X-Men movie, and not Old Man Logan. Besides, Sinister is much more tied to Scott than Logan. Origin II did establish a deeper connection between them, but I consider Sinister Scott's nemesis. Still, I'll wait for a an official announcement.

Sinister needs to be a multi-picture villain though. I mean, Cranston already wants to play him, so what are they waiting for?!

 

[SNIKT1950]

Eh, I'm not getting my hopes up yet. The stinger could be for the next X-Men movie, and not Old Man Logan. Besides, Sinister is much more tied to Scott than Logan. Origin II did establish a deeper connection between them, but I consider Sinister Scott's nemesis. Still, I'll wait for a an official announcement.

Sinister needs to be a multi-picture villain though. I mean, Cranston already wants to play him, so what are they waiting for?!

The stinger was def for OML. Essex Corp. taking the vile of Wolvie's blood confirm those rumors of "a mad scientist" being the main villain and X-23 playing a supporting role.

I'm with you on Cranston though. He'd make a great Sinister. Hopefully Richard Grant is good.

 

[Victοr]

The stinger was def for OML. Essex Corp. taking the vile of Wolvie's blood confirm those rumors of "a mad scientist" being the main villain and X-23 playing a supporting role.

I'm with you on Cranston though. He'd make a great Sinister. Hopefully Richard Grant is good.

Well, the OML villain could be Cornellius or even Killbrew, who'll be working for Essex Corp. Thus, making the movie more "Wolverine"-centric, and also teasing Sinister himself. We'll see when the official cast is announced. Only downside is, that we'll probably not get Daken anytime soon. The Romulus stuff was rather rubbish, but Daken himself was damn great.

 

[svander]

I almost fell asleep watching this last night. Felt 10 years long.

 

[jye4ever]

Kinberg on disregarding the Mystique/Logan ending from DOFP, can you say lame:

One of the things we talk about in Days of Future Past -- there’s a scene where Hank/Beast talks about the immutability of time,” writer-producer Simon Kinberg told Cinema Blend. “Basically, you can change the way the future goes, but it finds its way back. So while we don’t show how, it found its way back to Wolverine being part of Weapon X and under the thumb of Stryker, that’s the idea.”

 

[ApeManRyan]

Honestly again this movie isn't terrible. I still likes it for what it was. I am a MCU guy for sure but whenever a fox xmen movie comes out it gives me a totally different universe that I enjoy and I did enjoy this one. I loved the actors and characters in this movie besides a few that were a waste for sure but everyone was on par. Prof x, Magneto, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, Quicksilver, Apocolypse, Beast, Storm, Angel and so on. They all did great. Even Jennifer Lawrence wasn't as annoying in this one. Sure it has its slow moments and some problems but it doesn't hurt the film. I still think Bryan Singer gots it. Wasn't one of his highest ones but it still was enjoyable.

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