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X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse movie review film review

Even after one and a half decades since the first film, the X-Men franchise has garnered what its contemporaries can only dream of, a faithful fan following that has grown along with the franchise. So it’s no wonder that the latest film, X-Men: Apocalypse, which is the ninth installment in the series had a lot of ground to cover. Not to mention the stupendous success ofDeadpool from the franchise and Captain America: Civil War from the Marvel studios which have only raised the bar higher than ever.

X-Men have been one of those Marvel films that have excelled in having an ensemble cast with numerous characters and X-Men: Apocalypse hasn’t broken that chain. The cast includes James McAvoy (Charles Xavier / Professor X), Michael Fassbender (Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Raven Darkhölme / Mystique), Oscar Isaac (Apocalypse), Game of Thrones fame Sophie Turner (Jean Grey) and a couple more handful of characters. Bryan Singer, the man who started the franchise is back to wield the megaphone for this flick.

In relation to the post-credits scene of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse, comes back to life after sleeping for centuries. With the world that considered him as a god completely changed, he decides to set things straight again in the form of ‘cleansing’ it. He sets out to gather powerful mutants to form his trusty team a.k.a the four horsemen and Professor Xavier, along with a couple of old team mates and some new mutants who are having a hard time controlling their powers, are faced with the ponderous job of stopping this evil force and thereby save the planet.

Known for his expert story telling skills, Director Bryan Singer starts the film with some impressive scenes which involves introducing the newbies to Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and an awe-inspiring history of Apocalypse. Not to mention the emotionally powerful backstory of Magneto who falls back on the radar of the ones he tries to stay away from. That’s where the good parts stop and we’re left to witness a second half where the screenplay loses steam and takes its toll on the film’s flow.

The stellar cast does make a few shots highly enjoyable but the characterization of Apocalypse, one of the strongest antagonists of the comic world, wasn’t menacing enough and falls short of evoking much threat to the heroes nor the audience. This evidently leads to the tried and tested climax that obviously ends in a way that we expect it to.

As always, CGI makes the film a visual treat but that doesn’t do much help in saving Bryan, who overambitious tries to say a lot within the 144 minutes run-time.

Overall, X-Men: Apocalypse is strictly for the fans of the franchise.

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