Spoilers X-Men: Apocalypse - Grading & Discussion

[Thestral]

Quick hit from having just seen it. Really enjoyed it overall.

The good: Scott, Jean, Kurt, Mystique, Charles, Magneto. Peter stole the show once again.

The bad: For as much as they were promoted, Jubilee and Psylocke and Angel got shit to do, and Storm was only slightly better. Oscar Isaac was not at all convincing as a godlike intimidating Apocalypse - not quite "Vandal Savage in Legends of Tomorrow" bad, but closer than he should've been. Those moments when they gave him a "voice of the legion" effect made a huge difference though.

Overall I'm interested to see where they go next and the new additions were very good. Just... maybe stop throwing in characters and calling them important if they're only going to be one-note? Honestly I thought that's one area Civil War shined at in comparison.

 

[Kor]

Poe-pocalypse reminded me of Ronan from the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Kor

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I did a fly by grade earlier: B-

Thought I might come in and type out some thoughts but I see most have been covered.
I wanted more. Movie still left some unexplained fallout from DOFP(like how did Logan still end up with the real Stryker). Film seems to shake loose all prior Wolverine + admantium infusion scenes from X2 & W:Origins. The classic BWS Weapon X origin as a timeline fix was welcomed.
So now Nightcrawler is moved up the timeline...clearly then NOT Mystiques son as he could've been from X2 but I suppose Azazel is still likely his dad.

I don't think it'll hold up good on subsequent re-watches.

I don't think Nightcrawler is moved up the timeline at all. He looked more or less middle aged in X2, so could easily have been a teenager in the 80s. Plus, if you thought Azazel was always supposed to be his dad, then he always had to be born somewhere in the mid to late 60s (early 70s at the latest) , because Bolivar Trask killed and dissected Azazel sometime between First Class and DoFP.

Completely agree, especially since everyone else was covered pretty much from their necks down in spiffy armor. Hell, even Mystique, who's famous for being naked, had the armor.
I can understand wanting to have a call back to the comics, but there are ways to do that without using the same ridiculous costume from the comics.
Hell, Psylocke doesn't even dress like that in the comics anymore. I think this costume from the 2013 Uncanny X-Force series would have fit in pretty well with what everyone else was wearing

Exactly. I think knowing the context makes it hard to see the complaints since we're looking at it as a part of the movie, but when you just see the image by itself I think it makes sense that some people would have a problem with it.
EDIT: The discussion of Psylocke's costume reminded me of one other thing that bugged me. The "flight suits" and the X-Men uniforms at the end seemed way to futuristic to have believably come from the 1980s.

Something that for some reason always need to be pointed out with these kinds of movies: this is a completely different historical timeline which is obvioiusly more scientifically advanced than the real world. Look at the Blackbird, the Sentinels (made entirely out of 'space age polymers, not an ounce of metal on them), and above all else, the Danger Room.

 

[Timby]

The bad: For as much as they were promoted, Jubilee and Psylocke and Angel got shit to do

Wait, what? I don't recall seeing Jubilee in any promotional material, and the only shots of Psylocke and Angel I ever recall seeing were the the bit of her slicing the car in half, and him in the steel cage match. I'd hardly say they were heavily promoted.

 

[Noname Given]

In fairness, Kinberg didn't write First Class (and it's all the better for it; it's easily the tightest-written film of the series outside of X2), and on Days of Future Past, he had Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman working on the script with him.

Well of these last three X-Men films, '"First Class" is still my favorite (and IMO) really did a good job of taking the original X-Men continuity from the 1960ies; adding everything else, and still coming across as more organic as it played out (which was a good thing.)

 

[bbjeg]

Wait, what? I don't recall seeing Jubilee in any promotional material, and the only shots of Psylocke and Angel I ever recall seeing were the the bit of her slicing the car in half, and him in the steel cage match. I'd hardly say they were heavily promoted.

Lana Condor (Jubilee) definitely said more in interviews then what she got to say in the movie.

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[Mr Light]

I still think it's hilarious that we're expected to believe these same actors have aged 20 years between First Class and Apocalypse

 

[JD]

Yeah, her and Olivia Munn did a ton of promotion for the movie.

 

[Pauln6]

Quick hit from having just seen it. Really enjoyed it overall.

The good: Scott, Jean, Kurt, Mystique, Charles, Magneto. Peter stole the show once again.

The bad: For as much as they were promoted, Jubilee and Psylocke and Angel got shit to do, and Storm was only slightly better. Oscar Isaac was not at all convincing as a godlike intimidating Apocalypse - not quite "Vandal Savage in Legends of Tomorrow" bad, but closer than he should've been. Those moments when they gave him a "voice of the legion" effect made a huge difference though.

Overall I'm interested to see where they go next and the new additions were very good. Just... maybe stop throwing in characters and calling them important if they're only going to be one-note? Honestly I thought that's one area Civil War shined at in comparison.

Angel was more than capable of slicing into the plane on his own surely? Why couldn't he use his wings to escape when he was stuck? I get frustrated with Angel not because he's bad but because they casually gift away his niche (agile and fast flight) to other characters who also have other powers. They beefed him up in this and then hardly used his new wings as weapons.

I think Apocalypse would have convinced more if his power of instant death had actually been used against the heroes or at least if there was an acknowledgement that the only way to defeat him was to keep him off balance so he couldn't use it. The fight scene should have included him shape shifting as bit too.

 

[Timby]

Yeah, her and Olivia Munn did a ton of promotion for the movie.

The actors doing promotion does not necessarily mean their characters will have a lot of screen time in the finished product. Otherwise, James Doohan and George Takei would have been front and center in nearly every Trek movie.

 

[JD]

Sure, but they still made it seem like they were going to be having a lot more screen time than they did. It does sound like Lana Condor had a big role in the mall scene that ended up getting cut, so there could have been more cut scenes for some of the other supporting characters too.

 

[Set Harth]

I had wondered why they hired someone with no prior experience acting in film whatsoever.

 

[Reverend]

I still think it's hilarious that we're expected to believe these same actors have aged 20 years between First Class and Apocalypse

I can buy it with Raven because of the nature of her mutation and they established in First Class that she will probably age very slowly. You *might* be able to extend that to Hank and Charles since they were both shown in the previous movie to be taking a serum based on her blood chemistry...but it's a stretch the say the least. Fassbender in reality is actually only about ten years younger than Erik would be around this time and they did seem to grey him up a bit, so I can live with it. Moira is a little harder to credit though.

I know they wanted to get into the 80's so they can start bringing in younger versions of the old line-up, but it feels like they've rushed into this without really addressing the implications of a bunch of 20-30 somethings playing people who should by now be in their 50's. That's a lot of people who seem to be ageing suspiciously well.

 

[Hartzilla2007]

I still think it's hilarious that we're expected to believe these same actors have aged 20 years between First Class and Apocalypse

Slightly relevant

Patrick Stewart 1984

http://www.ninthplanetfromthesun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/large_dune_blu-ray4.jpg

Patrick Stewart 2006

http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/patrick-stewart-x-men.jpg

 

[Turtletrekker]

I still think it's hilarious that we're expected to believe these same actors have aged 20 years between First Class and Apocalypse

Slightly relevant

Patrick Stewart 1984

http://www.ninthplanetfromthesun.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/large_dune_blu-ray4.jpg

Patrick Stewart 2006

http://cdn.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/patrick-stewart-x-men.jpg

 

[Gaith]

I agree with the "good, not great" majority opinion. Great cast, fun characters, cool action... but there's a definite sense of wheel-spinning and plot point recycling, also. (Weapon X again, Stryker threatening the school again, Mystique shifting loyalties again, cage fighting again, Cerebro backfiring on Xavier again, forming the team again, Quicksilver single-handedly saving the day again, Cyclops' origin again, hints of Phoenix again...)

I do believe they missed an opportunity at the end to set up the Avalon / Asteroid M storyline. It would have been a logical step for where they had taken Magneto, and it could even be used as an excuse to sideline Magneto in the next film in case Fasbender doesn't come back.

But wasn't that the next logical step for Mags following his White House lawn message to the world? He proclaimed a new day for mutants to reveal themselves, and take up their rightful place in the world... only to abruptly retire to a humble, anonymous blue-collar life because he met K̶a̶y̶l̶a a beautiful brunette? And now, despite having killed a whole bunch more people, Xavier happily lets him go, rather than at the very least placing him on lifelong house arrest on the school's grounds? Because we all know he's going to kill again; it's only a matter of time! And when he does, somebody should definitely sue the pants off the Professor.

I know nothing of the comics, but seems to me this movie should have been Magneto's mutant utopia story, with maybe a few hints of Apocalypse as set-up for the next. I guess they could still do that story, and have Mags be the main villain, but it'd likely feel damned awkward, especially now that the X-Men are up and running again, unlike at the end of 1973, whereas Mags is just a dude in respectable civilian clothes. Indeed, the big Magneto ascendancy promised at the end of First Class has been pretty much ruined by Singer twice in a row now.

All that said, I did quite enjoy the movie, and would happily watch it again sometime. (Unlike, *cough*, BvS, *cough*.) I'm not sure what the path forward is, though: if they try to go cosmic for the next main X-Men film, it may look like a pale imitation of the MCU, which will have had two GotGs plus the Thors and first Infinity War. On the other hand, after six main Earthbound flicks, and a Big Bad as big and deadly as Apocalypse, more of the same could be just problematic. I'm far from giving up on the franchise, and look forward to seeing what's next, but it's pretty impossible to deny that the MCU has the biggest and best game in town.

My grade: B. (About as good as Civil War, which had a fresher story, but is hampered by the fact that it revolves around Bucky, the MCU's least interesting major character by far.)

 

[M.A.C.O.]

Oh Captain, my Captain.

Sir Patrick Stew circa 1974.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

It's true, Patrick Stewart is sucking the life force out of someone.

 

[Gryffindorian]

On a side note, I'll probably end up like Patrick Stewart within two years. The thing about bald guys is that they tend to look more mature than the average man of the same age. The only difference is, as they get older, they don't appear to age much because they've always looked older.

I've been dealing with this dilemma for years. I inherited very fine hair from my mother's side, and while I used to have slightly thicker hair in my 20s and 30s, I've been gradually losing it. At this point in my life, I don't care. Minoxidil seems to have more side effects than benefits, so I'm quite reluctant to try it. There may come a time when I decide to just shave my head altogether. I just hope I can be as cool as Mr. Stewart.

 

[FPAlpha]

Saw it and gave it a B, good effort and i loved seeing all those characters i loved back when i was reading comics (always been a fan of Olivia Munn and she is the perfect casting choice for Psylocke who is awesome in the movie).

Actually yelled out when Jean went full on Phoenix Force, that was one heck of a moment and i seem to remember speculation that future movies might revolve around the Phoenix Force storyline ffrom the comics (and hopefulyl including the tragic end).

I also liked Apocalypse much but villains of such magnitude always seem to fall short when they only appear in a single movie.. first act building up, second act reveal of their masterplan and third act massive CGI battle and defeat. Apocalypse is X-Men's version of Thanos or some other galaxy level threat and the Age of Apocalypse is one of the defining storylines of X-Men alongside Days of Future Past so a slower buildup over two or even three movies might have given Apocalypse more oomph.

The Quicksilver sequence was amazing, again, and i love how they repeated the perfect mix of action, heavy CGI and humor again for this piece.

I agree with previous comments that they should have kept Wolverine's appearance a secret but apparently marketing couldn't resist using Jackman/Wolverine to drum up buzz.. shame, this way anybody who's even remotely followed the movie and saw the trailers was spoiled.

All considered a very soilid film with some hell yeah moments (mostly for comic book fans who knew these characters for decades). I'll be curious to see what they come up with for the next movies now that the main cast seems to be done but most of them have expressed interest if the script is good (and this time i believe it because it seems the actors had much fun working on the movies judging by the interviews i saw and the stories surrounding the production) and i'd like to see the new characters/actors get their moment in the light (such as Cyclops slowly growing into his command role).