"X-Men: Apocalypse" Review

In X-Men: Apocalypse, an ancient purple-tinted tyrant seeks to obtain legendary powers with which he'll destroy the world; it'll take the combined forces of every hero available to have any chance at stopping him. 

This is the same plot for a superhero movie to come, 2018's Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1, and serves to highlight the X-Men franchise's place in the genre. They're the first soldier over the hill, trying out different ideas and taking all the hits. X-Men took on an ever-evolving bevy of characters a decade before The Avengers. Marvel Studios watched their attempt, learns from the mistakes, and comes out richer, wiser, and better.

That's not to say Bryan Singer (Superman Returns, The Usual Suspects) and crew are bad storytellers - Apocalypse may give decent evidence to the contrary, but don't worry, this is a positive review - but flawed ones. This is ambition with no guidance, a joyfully stupid endeavor, a doom-not-gloom apocalypse.

Oscar Isaac plays the aforementioned purple tyrant, Apocalypse, who in ancient Egypt, transferred his consciousness into the strongest mutants, absorbing all their powers along the way. The warmonger was stopped and imprisoned underground, but when he awakens millenia later, threatening to cleanse the Earth by stripping it bare, the X-Men, led by Professor X (James McAvoy) are the ones to stop him.

The movie takes place in 1983, so we get younger reimaginings of the old guard, namely Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smith-McPhee), and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan). Teens in X-Men complain about being bullied and shunned for being different, and after six films, the dialogue gets familiar and heavy-handed. Jean Grey, after a foreshadowing nightmare, fumes to Professor X "You don't know what it's like to shut your eyes and be afraid of what might come out." I wonder what other mutant is afraid of their eyes and what flies out of them. Will they meet, start a romance, marry, have a time-travelling son played by Jon Hamm (hopefully) in Deadpool 2?

However, when the kids start fighting, they work well together, using their powers as an effective unit, a staple of the comic.

The older acts do well with what they're given. Isaac has the year's most deliciously hammy lives ("You will never...strike...GOD!"). Nicholas Hoult is kind-hearted and nerdy as Beast. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are perfect; they consistently rise above the script, yanking on heartstrings. Fassbender's Magneto is this trilogy's (First Class, Days of Future Past, Apocalypse) strongest character - pained, chilling, caught in an existential crisis. One advantage Fox has over Marvel: Magneto is a better villain than anyone in the MCU, and it's all Fassbender.

It's apparent Jennifer Lawrence is fatigued with her role as Mystique. She looks bored, even when delivering the rally-the-troops speech to take down Apocalypse. To have such a non-presence from one of Hollywood's most vibrant young actresses is a shame.

A large complaint from many people is what the movie does with Psylocke (Olivia Munn). The katana-wielding mutant is criminally underused, with barely any screen time or dialogue. The car-chop superhero landing from the trailer is her highlight. In Munn's profile with "American Way", she described taking Psylocke over the role of Vanessa, the girlfriend in Deadpool: "I thought Psylocke was always one of the most lethal characters, and I said, ‘Yes, as long as you’re not using her to be the eye candy. She has really powerful abilities.’ And they said, ‘Yes, that’s an important part.’ " 

Considering Deadpool's success, it's easy to give this comment an ironic twist, but further down the profile, Munn acknowledges the film is out of her control.

"'You can do the first-look cover on Entertainment Weekly,' she says, 'but if they’ve chopped up some stuff or taken out moments and the fight scene is reduced for whatever reason, then the moment is gone.'”

X-Men: Apocalypse bombards the screen with computer-generated destruction and a plethora of underused characters (Jubilee [Lana Condor], who can fire plasma from her fingertips, does so not once), but unlike the similarly over-stuffed Batman v Superman, I feel Singer and his crew approach the franchise with love and a sincere appreciation for these characters. There's a reckless abandon I can't get too mad at, but I think the ability to pause the movie and stretch is a necessary one.

Thank you all for reading. I'm the Man Without a Plan, signing off.