REVIEW #61 X-Men Apocalypse (2016)

X-Men Apocalypse was directed by Bryan Singer and introduced the original mutant who was known as a god thousands of years ago. Now he has returned to cause mass extinction on earth and the new band of X-Men must team up to stop him.

CAST & THE ACTING 

There are a number of new castings for the younger generation of mutants; Tye Sheridan takes up the mantle as Cyclops, Sophie Turner is Jean Gray, Evan Peters returns as Quicksilver, Ben Hardy is Angel, Olivia Munn is Psyclocke and of course James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender also return. Although I feel Sophie Turner was a great Jean Gray I do think that they didn’t quite get the casting right for Cyclops. I do like Sheridan as an actor but I just don’t think he is a match for the character which is a shame because Cyclops has never really portrayed well on screen. Oscar Issac was the villain Apocalypse and again I don’t think it was a great performance, for such a powerful character he almost come across a little boring, so I felt as though he had a lot more potential. Ben Hardy as Angel was a casting I was super excited for because seeing him go from Peter Beale on Eastenders to a huge Hollywood film like this is incredible! However, in general, I don’t think this film had any great acting sequences or perfect castings to talk about.

PLOT & THE STORYLINE 

I actually did like the idea of Apocalypse and in the comics Shield mentioned him as one of the world ending threats, up there with the likes of Thanos and the infinity stones! However 20th century fox didn’t quite pull it off like the MCU did with Thanos. The aspect where Apocalypse could enhance mutant abilities was very good and seeing just how powerful Magneto becomes was great to watch. The exploration into Magnetos life outside of being a villain was nice, to see him ultimately do good despite the pain and suffering he experiences in the film really helped develop him as a character. I think to summarise the plot I would say it was underwhelming, it had a lot of potential for sure but I don’t think it was executed very well. One thing I did love was the Wolverine cameo, without spoiling it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, it was great!

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL EFFECTS 

I think one thing 20th Century Fox did right was committing a decent budget for the CGI and special effects because some of the scenes did look great. The huge sequences really emphasised Apocalypse’s power but it was actually contradicted by how easily he was defeated in the end. There were more great scenes surrounding Quicksilver and pretty much every time there is a sequence based on his powers you can guarantee really good cinematography. One example would be when he arrives at the mansion and has to save everyone from the explosion, it’s a really great scene to watch. Overall I think the key for this film was having the CGI compliment each mutants power, so without top quality effects the film would have looked really poor and it would have negatively impacted every component of the film. Luckily they were great! 

OVERALL (7.8/10)

I did enjoy the film because it showcases great special effects which make it really entertaining. I remember seeing it in the cinema when it was released and it was great to see it on the big screen! However the more I watch it the more I notice how much potential Apocalypse had to be one of the best villains we have seen in any Marvel film, but ultimately he was let down and in the end, defeated pretty easily by a team of kids! So for that reason I don’t think it can get a score of 8 or above. The new additions to the cast were also pretty average, only Sophie Turner and Ben Hardy really suited their roles but we did see further exploration into Magnetos character and the hardships he faced since the events of Days of Future Past. I would definitely recommend the film but in my opinion it could have been better with a few tweaks. 

Thanks for reading!

Callan