An Apocalypse is coming. An X-Men: Apocalypse, to be exact. The next chapter of Fox/Marvel’s mutant universe is just a few short weeks away, and the first early reviews have been published. Before we get to those, here’s a refresher of the situation: Apocalypse is the ninth installment in the X-Men film series. Bryan Singer is back again in the director’s chair, having completed previously successful turns in the original X-Men, X2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past. The latter (and most recent before Apocalypse) garnered near-universal acclaim from critics, earning a 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
This is seemingly a good set-up for X-Men: Apocalypse, but there a couple worrying factors. For one, Apocalypse arrives in theaters dangerously close to the greatest superhero movie ever made, aka Captain America: Civil War. Secondly, there are some concerns that Singer and the studio lost the plot with the eponymous villain’s costume. Oscar Isaac is a big movie star now and it’s clear why Fox wanted his face to be seen, but the result has certainly alienated fans. Sticking with the alternate design may have been for the best.
So, a smart bet might say that X-Men: Apocalypse should succeed thanks to a talented and familiar director, as well as a solid franchise foundation to build upon. That same gambler wouldn’t lay the house down, however, because Apocalypse foreshadowed niggling issues and Marvel fans won’t have enough time to come down from their Captain America: Civil War high. So, what do the critics think? It’s not looking too good, you guys. Take a look at the early reviews for X-Men: Apocalypse, below:
Bryan Singer's fourth "X-Men" film disappoints with too many characters and an over-reliance on visual effects. If you’ve seen one cinematic apocalypse, you’ve seen them all. At least that’s the feeling conjured by “X-Men: Apocalypse,” the latest entry in one of the more reliable comic-book franchises around, this time disappointingly succumbing to an exhausting case of been-there-done-that-itis.
But all in all, Apocalypse is a third-tier X-Men movie that arrives at a time when studios and filmmakers who traffic in spandex need to be at the top of their game. We know all of the clichés and all of the tropes too well at this point to settle for place-holding mediocrity. We know the difference between an instant classic and a dog. Apocalypse isn’t quite a dog. But it is a movie with way too much of everything except the things that should matter the most—novelty, creativity, and fun. C
As a conclusion to a trilogy, Apocalypse falls somewhat short. It marginalises key relationships in favour of establishing new ones, and lacks the depth and distinctive historical flavour of its immediate predecessors. But taken as the next chapter in the series, Apocalypse is an undeniably fun and entertaining adventure and does a pretty good job of establishing Xavier’s next class.
Overall, the X-Men: Apocalypse narrative starts off strong with highly enjoyable introductions and a fun “getting the band (back) together” kind of feel, but then it fizzles out and turns into a mind-numbing montage of poorly choreographed combat and outrageous, widespread destruction. Yes, Apocalypse’s goal from the start is to cleanse the entire earth, but that winds up meaning absolutely nothing because the movie doesn’t spend any time humanizing Earth’s population. I don’t want to assessApocalypse in comparison to Captain America: Civil War, but to clarify the point, this is exactly what Civil War gets right – it shows you the victims of Sokovia and that ups the importance of what the heroes are going through the entire film. In Apocalypse’s case, it’s almost as if Apocalypse’s master plan only pertains to the fate of the X-Men.
The idea of an apocalypse means every dial has to be turned up to 11 and this film certainly provides bangs for your buck, although there is less space for the surreal strangeness of the X-Men to breathe, less dialogue interest, and they do not have the looser, wittier joy of the Avengers. But the more playful episodes with Cyclops and Quicksilver are welcome and everything hangs together. But in the future X-Men films have to mutate into something with fewer characters and more characterisation.
Better than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but not by an awful lot, and vastly less entertaining than Marvel’s current Captain America smash, it’s also curiously more sadistic, and seemingly less bothered about large-scale human fallout, than this once-spirited series used to be. Apocalypse isn’t quite the end of the world for X-Men fans, but it might be the end of the line.
Despite the undeniable presence of a huge amount of action, X-Men: Apocalypse is decidedly a case of more is less, especially when compared with the surprising action and more interesting personal interactions (including the temporary subtraction of some characters) in other big Marvel franchises.
