Spoilers X-Men: Apocalypse - Grading & Discussion

[Reverend]

I know this probably isn't supposed to make perfect sense, but does the whole bit with Apocalypse making Storm's hair turn white (and Xavier bald) mean that Apocalypse was dealt with in the pre-DofP version of the 80's?

Possibly related side note: turns out Magneto did help Xavier build cerebro after all. That version of it, anyway.

 

[Set Harth]

I know this probably isn't supposed to make perfect sense, but does the whole bit with Apocalypse making Storm's hair turn white (and Xavier bald) mean that Apocalypse was dealt with in the pre-DofP version of the 80's?

I had expected this film to explain, in some way, that DOFP's alteration of the timeline had led to Apocalypse's awakening... but it didn't.

He can't slash his way out if his limbs are being held in place.

I had thought of that ( with The Wolverine serving as a prior example ) but I guess I assumed, for some reason, that Jean was only manipulating the locking mechanism of the box as opposed to anything on the inside. But it appears we need to assume she was doing both.

 

[Anwar]

Eh, mediocre. Felt like a repeat of the other films, only this was trying to emulate the MCU.

Unfortunately, Singer isn't up to the task.

 

[Ethros]

I had expected this film to explain, in some way, that DOFP's alteration of the timeline had led to Apocalypse's awakening... but it didn't.

I thought it did, that he only woke up because that cult were looking for him and digging up his tomb etc. The cult that only existed because Mutants were now well known after the White House 1973 incident.
Unless I got it wrong.

 

[Goji]

Definitely messy and off-kilter in places, but I liked it. Not as much as the other recent X-Men films, but more than the Civil War movie from this year. I did not see Batman vs. Superman.

 

[Reverend]

I thought it did, that he only woke up because that cult were looking for him and digging up his tomb etc. The cult that only existed because Mutants were now well known after the White House 1973 incident.
Unless I got it wrong.

IIRC mutants would have become known around that time regardless since originally it was Raven that publicly assassinated Trask. Granted what Erik did was orders of magnitude more dramatic, but the previous scenario could still have lead to Apocalypse being uncovered with similar, if not identical results.

Indeed, the new future we saw in DoFP was still pretty similar to what we already knew, at least in terms of the major players. The key difference (besides the absence of a sentinel apocalypse) is that somehow they managed to deal with the Phoenix a bit better that time around, meaning Jean & Scott were still alive (and one assumes the Professor is still in his original body, not his brother's.)
The only thing I can think of is that Xavier never tried to wall it off in her mind and thereby turning it into a dark Id monster distortion of Jean's powers that we saw in X3.

 

[JD]

I was wondering if there was any significance to the company name in the post-credits scene, and there was. I completely forgot that Sinister's real last name is Essex. I'm assuming since Apocalypse was asleep the whole time from 36,000BC to 1983 that they won't have any direct ties between them.
I was a little surprised that that was what we got at the end. With the Phoenix stuff earlier and either Singer or Kinberg talking about wanting to start dealing aliens, I was expecting something hinting at the Shi'ar or the Phoenix Force's interstellar origins.

 

[Set Harth]

3600 BC, not 36000.

 

[Turtletrekker]

I know this probably isn't supposed to make perfect sense, but does the whole bit with Apocalypse making Storm's hair turn white (and Xavier bald) mean that Apocalypse was dealt with in the pre-DofP version of the 80's?

Similarly, we saw Rogue with the skunk-stripe in her hair in the altered timeline in DoFP, indicating that she spent time in Magneto's mutant making machine, further indicating that Magneto tries the same stunt in both time-lines.

 

[Ethros]

I thought as well Magneto would have stuck around at the end, seems silly if he's in the next movie and yet again it's like "Oh, Charles, nice to see you again" like they randomly run into him every 10 years now.

10 years, and they all look exactly the same. I know what else could you do but put them all in ageing prosthetics, but it did make me smile how in the space of 20 years since First Class they basically all look exactly the same (Raven can get away with it I suppose.)
Especially Stryker I think, I know the actor is 30ish but he looks about 25, and yet only 20 years later he's meant to look like Brian Cox in his 60s? Say what you will about Origins: Wolverine, but I think Danny Huston was a lot more convincing as the young Stryker.


Anyway, back to Magneto, yeah shame he couldn't have stuck around seen as in the 80s in the comics he became a good guy helping the X-Men and teaching the New Mutants. He could have even been in the upcoming movie. Granted Michael Fassbender might not have wanted to, but just saying

 

[Wyse]

Just got back from seeing it. Wasn't as great as Captain America 3, and it was dumb in some places, but it was FUN. My third favorite superhero flick so far this year. Give it a B+.

 

[Gryffindorian]

According to a Marvel Wiki page, the movie version of Magneto was born in 1930, making him 13 in 1943, 32 in 1962, 43 in 1973, and 53 in 1983. Yet Erik Lensherr didn't look older than 45 in Apocalypse.

I always pictured him to be in his mid-20s in First Class, mid-30s in DOFP, and mid-40s in 1983.

 

[Noname Given]

C
I will echo many of the above and say good, not great. Hell, for me the best scene was the Qucksilver/Mansion sequence. I also think they pretty much did caricatures of both the Angel and Storm characters. After picking up and 'enhancing' the 'Four Horseman' they pretty much stood next to Apocalypse while he spouted his monologues - and basically looked pretty. Even in the final fight sequence it was mostly Psylocke defending while Magneto floated in his impenetrable shield 'reforming the world' for Apocalypse.

YMMV

 

[Snick27]

Great movie. The best so far this year. Though unlike many here im a casual fan and never read the comics nor watch the cartoon. Was never a big fan of the original 3 X-Men movies either, so im glad that X-Men Days of Future Past erased those 3 movies. Weird that people think these newer ones as prequels, i see them as soft reboots.
Love the actors they use for these movies as the ones in the original trilogy i honestly couldnt stand outside of Hugh Jackman.
Though i kinda wished Hugh could of been in this more since they probably will recast him for the next X-men movie. Best part of the movie was Jean going all Phoenix. I just wanted to scream as that was so freaking awesome. Plus love the actress that plays her(Game of Thrones).
Wish the movie was longer, as some of it felt kinda rushed. Some times these type of movies don't give us enough time with some of these characters so we really get them fleshed out and get to know them.
Cant wait for the next movie and wish DC would take note here as Batman vs Superman was just awful.

 

[Turtletrekker]

If I were to make two lists, a list of good X- Men movies and a list of bad X-Men movies, I don't know if I would put Apocalypse at the bottom of the good list or the top of the bad.

 

[MacLeod]

Great movie. The best so far this year. Though unlike many here im a casual fan and never read the comics nor watch the cartoon. Was never a big fan of the original 3 X-Men movies either, so im glad that X-Men Days of Future Past erased those 3 movies. Weird that people think these newer ones as prequels, i see them as soft reboots.
Love the actors they use for these movies as the ones in the original trilogy i honestly couldnt stand outside of Hugh Jackman.
Though i kinda wished Hugh could of been in this more since they probably will recast him for the next X-men movie. Best part of the movie was Jean going all Phoenix. I just wanted to scream as that was so freaking awesome. Plus love the actress that plays her(Game of Thrones).
Wish the movie was longer, as some of it felt kinda rushed. Some times these type of movies don't give us enough time with some of these characters so we really get them fleshed out and get to know them.
Cant wait for the next movie and wish DC would take note here as Batman vs Superman was just awful.

If anything I would say the movie was too long, it could possible have been tightened up a bit and some of the new characters given some more development.

 

[DarKush]

I enjoyed this film. I don't get why its getting the hate from the critics. It's not a great film, but its enjoyable. I liked Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse. I thought he mostly got the character. Many of the newer actors, despite some screen time or story problems, were mostly watchable. I didn't care for Sophie Turner as Jean Grey. Physically she fits the role perhaps more than Famke, but I felt she was bland in the role and the story kept holding her back to have that one big moment for her.

I do agree with the criticisms that it was overstuffed and a lot of the characters got lost in the shuffle. One of the most egregious was Jubilee. I mean this actress was making the promotion rounds and was barely in the movie. Alexandra Shipp, the Storm actress, was also promoting this pretty hard, which doesn't match the development she got. I also thought more could have been done with Storm, Psylocke, and Angel.

Nightcrawler too, but I wasn't too miffed about NC's screen time, or lack thereof. It was the Horsemen that largely got the short stick. I actually liked the ancient Horsemen more and wished they had keep them around instead.

Visually I though they hit the mark with the New Horsemen, though the Psylocke costume felt a bit too unrealistic to me. And thought Magneto's had too many lighter highlights.

I also thought the inclusion of Moria McTaggart felt off. I wish she had been in Days of Future Past instead. And it bothered me how the film handled how Charles's altered her memories. The film didn't have enough time to let some character moments breathe. I also wasn't as jazzed for the Weapon X cameo as I should have been. For one, they revealed Logan's inclusion weeks before so the surprise was gone (unlike the excellent First Class cameo), and I just didn't feel that Jackman was feral enough.

I also felt this film didn't do a good job inhabiting the 80s. First Class and DOFP were weaved into their respective decades and tied to actual historical events. I wish Apocalypse had done this as well, showing us the secret history. I was really stoked by that aspect of First Class.

Despite my criticisms I thought this was an X-Men entry that was not embarrassing. I do think though that Singer has reached the limits of his creative vision and I think they need a change in directors.

 

[Kelthaz]

I enjoyed this film. I don't get why its getting the hate from the critics. It's not a great film, but its enjoyable.

Which is exactly what the critics are saying. There's no hate for this movie from critics.

 

[JD]

I thought as well Magneto would have stuck around at the end, seems silly if he's in the next movie and yet again it's like "Oh, Charles, nice to see you again" like they randomly run into him every 10 years now.

Yeah, that bugged me too. I thought they were setting him up to join up with the X-Men or at least stick around the academy as a teacher/mentor for the young X-Men.

Though i kinda wished Hugh could of been in this more since they probably will recast him for the next X-men movie.

He is getting a third solo Wolverine movie, but that will be his last. The rumor/theory right now is that they will be introducing his female clone, X-23/Laura Kinney as the new Wolverine rather than recasting Logan. The post credits scene in Apocalypse could possibly be interpreted as a set up for her introduction in the next movie. They actually did that in the comics recently, Logan was killed (more or less) and X-23 took on the Wolverine name.
EDIT: I forgot about Jubilee in my other post, her role bugged me just like Psylocke's. They made it sound like they were finally going to be giving her a big role, and making her a member of the X-Men, but then she ended up barely being in more of the movie than the other Jubilee in one of the earlier movies. I think she got more footage in the Xavier Institute commercial than she did in the actual movie.

 

[Pauln6]

Enjoyable but sometimes the direction was a bit ploddy (too much tortured staring again) and I felt that Civil War did a better job of showcasing the supporting cast. I agree that somebody needs to slap the writers and tell them to stop name-dropping characters for the sake of it at the expense of continuity. Jubilee could have been a lot of other characters to avoid hitting the continuity wall. But then Moira should have been Gabrielle Haller really so they just started as they meant to go on.

Psylocke and Angel really needed more tortuous transformations. Storm could have been dyeing her hair to fit in so no reason to suggest Apocalypse made it white. But were they Betsy and Warren or not? I suppose Psylocke could be Kwannon. However, this was Warren's most iconic story, pretty much the only one where he could contribute on an emotional level and I felt they bungled it about as badly as Phoenix in X3. They sucked out all the tragedy of losing his wings and gave him very limited fight scenes. I did enjoy Caliban though.

I liked the fact that they built a team of X-Men quickly and had them working together, although they didn't get as much action as I would have liked. Cyclops and Nightcrawler had some good moments. They managed a fairly decent mixture of telepathy and telekinesis for Jean but they fell into the trap of just upping her power instead of using them more smartly. Scarlet Witch was far more fun to watch in Civil War. The Phoenix imagery was nicely done though and the costumes at the end were a nice homage, even if I prefer the uniforms from the original trilogy.

Apocalypse never really got the chance to shine. His plan lacked finesse and seemed rushed. His powers seemed too reminiscent of other characters that were in the same movie (molecular telekinesis and regeneration) and his ability to enhance the powers of others should have been with the aid of the alien technology rather than a touch of the hand. I would have liked to see him do a bit of shape-shifting outside of the astral plane too. He wasn't terrible but I didn't really believe in his majesty.

It would have been nice to see him stir when Wolverine bounced back to the future and then to see him plotting and gathering his horsemen over a period of time that could have included him recruiting Sinister, transforming Angel (maybe his Dad amputated his wings as a child and Apocalypse aged him) and/or British Betsy into ninja Psylocke.

I do think that the imagery of the pyramid is possibly meant to be the alien tech and they could build on that in a sequel. Next sequel should be the Maruaders and cable, third sequel should be Dark Phoenix.

It sits reasonably well into the continuity. Enjoyable but could have been better. B