X-Men Apocalypse Spoiler-free Review
The critics smashed it, so I was a bit skeptical going in. I decided to check X-Men Apocalypse out in the glory of full IMAX 3D anyway, this past weekend. I went in with an open mind, despite the poor(ish) CGI I saw in some of the early trailers, and the fact that I didn’t like the look of Apocalypse, despite being a huge Oscar Isaac fan.
Here’s the verdict: X-Men: Apocalypse goes back to basics, and is a good superhero movie.
The thing with everyone commenting on how these movies have to have a Shakespearean story, and Oscar-worthy performances, has lead to a collective consciousness where we all expect so much of these superhero movies. And cool, let’s give credit where credit is due, and acknowledge when a superhero film achieves this (or something close to it).
But… And this is a BIG BUT.
Let’s not pretend like a superhero movie can’t be a fun, spectacle of a popcorn flick, and also be a great film by being just that. X-Men: Apocalypse does have a few flaws, and I’m still not happy with how Apocalypse looks, but the action was great, we get another fun Quicksilver slow-motion scene, we see younger, almost re-imagined versions of our favourite core X-Men, and we even get a Wolverine cameo (which isn’t a spoiler, because it appeared in a trailer).
Oscar Isaac brings it home in his performance as a formidable Apocalypse, despite sometimes looking slightly awkward in the suit and platform boots.
Sophie Turner is a solid Jean Grey, but I still can’t get over her American accent. Kodi Smit-McPhee is an endearing Nightcrawler, providing some good laughs; and Alexandra Shipp does a much better accent with Storm than we’ve seen before. But for me the standout in the new cast is Tye Sheridan as Cyclops. It feels like he is actually the younger version of the Cyclops played by James Marsden, even down to the ticks and intonation.
Do I even need to mention the older actors, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult? I think not. We know they can all act, and they do a solid job with the script they are given. Fassbender especially, is given some amazing dramatic material, which he nails (obviously).
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice kind of ruined my expectations for superhero films; Captain America: Civil War continues to show me that Marvel is an unstoppable world-building machine, and then X-Men: Apocalypse came along and reminded me that popcorn movie superhero flicks are alright.
I still don’t get why the critics are hating on the film so much, but it appears to be doing great globally, raking in just over $100-million, with its U.S release coming this weekend.
Rating: 8/10
See it/ Don’t see it: Go and see it in glorious IMAX 3D if you can.
Favourite things: The young Nightcrawler, Cyclops and Jean are awesome. Also, another Quicksilver slow-mo moment!
Check out the X-Men:Apocalypse trailer below:
And if you loved X-Men: Days of Fyture Past, check out the Quicksilver slow-motion scene from that film below:
Are you going to check out X-Men Apocalypse this week? When you do, feel free to leave your comments on this post and let us know what you think of the film. Also, don’t forget to share this post with your friends.
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