XMen: Apocalypse

When Bryan Singer retook the helm and blessed us with Days of Future Past, especially with wonderful scene with Quicksilver and the guards I was a happy man again.  Then came the announcement that Apocalypse would be the big bad for the next installment of the reboot franchise and I was even happier.  The universe had been reset so well and the new cast were nailing it.

Xmen Apocalypse didn’t live up to those expectations, not that it is a bad film, far from it, but when the bar is set so high from the last encounter this just felt far too bitty, scatty and almost like, dare I say it, it felt like I was watching Mortal Kombat Annihilation (but done well).  Far too many characters with far too much story to tell left me feeling unfulfilled.

When an age old god, the original mutant, is awoken from his slumber he gathers his four horsemen and looks to wipe out humanity and start again.  There are only a few who can stand in his way, those with xtra powers, the XMen.  Led by Mystique (the wonderful Jennifer Lawrence), the band of young and rising familiars must use all their efforts to stop the Apocalypse.

With far too many plot points working in conjunction with each other, I felt that the film was really scatty and lacking.  The Quicksilver
scene was pretty much the same with nothing new, he just turned up in the nick of time, did his thing, had a bit of fun on the way, but it was nothing new.  The four horsemen were really lacking in oomph and just reminded me of the side characters from the aforementioned Annihilation.  (Phsylock didn’t help my analogy by doing a Kitana Cosplay).  It looks wonderful, but again, there were some scenes that really looked like a high end computer game not a big budget blockbuster.

I personally think that there is too much crammed in to the mix and not enough time spent with the right people.  Apocalypse is an interesting bad guy, but his henchmen pointless (three of them there to distract), the good guys are only given moments to shine.  I am wondering if an extended cut of the film will be released soon which will be about 4 hours long but not be as scatty and bitty.

Don’t get me wrong though – this is a fun and enjoyable, even the it knowingly acknowledges this after an in film cinema trip to watch “Return of the Jedi”.  Jean Grey comments, “the third film in a franchise is always the worst”.  With the characters offering a meta-reference to the quality of the film, it does not fill me full of confidence.

My friend, Roshtakular, said this was his most favourite Comic Book film to date, I am yet to get his opinion…maybe I could convince him to share his thoughts.