For all of eternity an incredibly powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), has been treated like a god. Now, in the 1980’s, he’s back, and he’s developing a new group of four horsemen. X-Men: Apocalypse sees old friends Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) pitted against one another once again, but the fate of the entire world is on the line this time. The X-Men are back in action as they attempt to bring an end to the literal apocalypse, but new threats will prove that to be a difficult task.
This is one of my favorite X-Men films. That’s far from the popular opinion, as X-Men: Apocalypse is typically regarded as one of the worst of the superhero franchise. I’ll get back to what I love later on–but there is a glaring issue that transcends the entirety of the film, and that’s the dialogue. X-Men: Apocalypse is plagued with horrible dialogue, as it fails, over and over again, to create relevance in the words that each character speaks. I often cringed at the cheesy or poorly prepared dialogue–and that took away from some of the more important scenes in the film.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming of why X-Men: Apocalypse is awesome. Three words: Quicksilver and Wolverine. Quicksilver (Evan Peters) is one of the best characters in the X-Men film universe, and Peters quickly becomes a fan favorite after just a few minutes on screen. In possibly the greatest scene in X-Men film history, Peters arrives on screen in style–as “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics plays and as one of the fastest men in Marvel runs through an exploding building he shows the world just how much fun superhero films can be. At the opposite end of the superhero spectrum is the world-famous Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). He’s darker and full of so much more pain than the aforementioned Quicksilver, and he brings balance to a film that possesses moments of comedy and levity. There’s no hiding the fact that Jackman’s Wolverine is the most popular live-action X-Men the world has ever seen, and his inclusion in the film–through a wild scene of blood and destruction–raises this film to great heights.
There has always been a threat to humanity, the good of mankind or the X-Men in the titular team’s films, but X-Men: Apocalypse sees that threat reach a global scale. That’s an exciting twist of events for this franchise, and the lead antagonist never relents (even if he does dabble in the absurd a bit)–making much of X-Men: Apocalypse feel tense, as it should.
Beyond the tense nature of much of the film, X-Men: Apocalypse continues to explore the stories of beloved characters, but also reintroduces younger versions of others so that viewers can see what makes them who they are. Characters like Ororo Munroe/Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), and Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) make their way back into this universe. Their stories resonate with viewers as they are full of heart and passion, but, even better, they invite viewers into the development of characters that they have been in love with for years.
The slew of characters makes X-Men: Apocalypse incredibly interesting. Each character has a story that runs parallel to the others, that creates empathy, and provides viewers a reason to cheer for nearly everyone on screen. Furthermore, X-Men: Apocalypse is simply fun–it’s full of endless action, successful comedy, and a team of misfits finding their way in the most unique ways possible. I completely understand why viewers may find this film unappealing–from the poor dialogue to the bastardization of Apocalypse’s aesthetic compared to the comics, but, for me, I just can’t get enough.
Directed by Bryan Singer.
Written by Simon Kinberg, Bryan Singer, Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Jack Kirby, & Stan Lee.
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Lucas Till, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Lana Condor, Olivia Munn, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
Comments