Apocalypse doesn’t deserve hate
The X-Men The quality of the films varied from the start. During Bryan Singers X-Men And X2: X-Men United were both fantastic X Men: The Last Stand was an utter disaster, putting an embarrassing end to the initial spate of stories. The failure of X-Men Origins: Wolverine suggested that prequels weren’t the right approach for the franchise, but then X-Men: First Class And X-Men: Days of Future Past Take the franchise on a new path with the younger cast. The opinions of the fanbase on which films they prefer and which they despise vary wildly. While X-Men: Apocalypse While the third chapter of the prequel saga was largely seen as a major disappointment, the time is more favourable.
to be fair X-Men: Apocalypse was not a total disaster when it came to financial and critical success. The film still earned $544 million worldwidea respectable sum that just didn’t measure up to the success of X-Men: Days of Future Past. While the reviews tended to be more mixed compared to the previous films in the prequel series, they weren’t entirely bad; Richard Roeper said, “It’s eye candy, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, it’s brimming with excellence and there are some quite touching teamwork segments.” There are some really awful movies X-Men franchises, but Apocalypse does not belong to it.
Really great performances from series regulars
There’s no doubting how brilliant James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are on screen together as Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr, respectively. The duo faced an incredible challenge introducing their versions of the characters in First class; Sir Patrick Stewart’s appearance as a professor
However, McAvoy and Fassbender have fleshed out the roles with more psychological depth. Charles is so obsessed with protecting the status of all mutants that his empathy gets him in trouble. Erik is a Holocaust survivor who wants to use appropriate violence to fight against oppression at all levels. Their propensity for violence is ultimately what separates them, even if they were originally friends.
Their performances don’t weaken in the slightest in terms of quality Apocalypse. An early sequence features some of the greatest performers in Fassbender’s entire career, which is by no means to be taken lightly. Erik left the world of mutants to live as a lonely worker off the grid. When authorities track down his new family, tragedy ensues that takes the lives of his wife and daughter. Erik’s primal screams of grief are quite moving and explain his decision to team up with the ancient mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac). Erik screams, wondering if he’s cursed to choose violence. His trauma is explored in a fascinating way that respects the series’ sensitive themes; It’s pretty radical to see one of the main villains of a summer blockbuster use his powers to terraform Auschwitz.
Similarly, McAvoy shows the way Charles has matured and begins to resemble the parent figure Stewart did so well. First class saw him as a permissive younger man, and in days of the future past He has gone through a period of severe depression and substance abuse. It was rewarding to see McAvoy play a more confident version of Charles fully committed to teaching the next generation of students.
There is no lack of internal drama as Charles is so reactive to any anti-mutant violence that it is simply overwhelming. Seeing his pride when Jean Gray (Sophie Turner) fulfills her potential is a particularly touching moment and a great way to wrap up his story arc. Furthermore, the final conversation between Charles and Erik perfectly sums up the complex relationship they have had over the years.
Sonic madness and creativity
X-Men: Apocalypse wasn’t afraid to make drastic tonal changes, which is more than evident in a key sequence starring Quicksilver (Evan Peters); The speedy mutant saves other students at Charles’ Mutant Academy after Apocalypse detonates a bomb. Though the explosion is gravity treated, Quicksilver adds a comedic moment as he zooms around to the strains of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This.” It’s incredibly wacky, but there’s also an element of the absurd in many of the best stories X-Men Comics.
Each of the films in the prequel series has taken on a slightly different tone, making them more exciting; Unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where all films began to follow the same formula, this is X-Men Franchising has given filmmakers the opportunity to pursue their personal interests. If First class felt like a spy thriller set in the 1960s and days of the future past felt strongly inspired by The Terminator So franchise Apocalypse It ended up being a completely insane 1980s-style sci-fi adventure inner space or Flash Gordon. Singer wasn’t afraid to take things in an even weirder direction towards the end; The scene where the apocalypse literally invades Charles’ mind and haunts him feels like a nightmare straight out of a David Lynch film.
Setting up the series for future success
unfortunately, X-Men: Apocalypse is often held responsible for the subsequent failure of Dark Phoenix. However, this film’s flaws were entirely its own; It was Simon Kinberg’s flat direction and the decision to try again to adjust that Dark Phoenix Action that failed the last Stand That ultimately doomed this film. Apocalypse actually does a great job of creating a new generation of heroes with its younger cast.
Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey, Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Nightcrawler are all able to honor and even surpass what their peers achieved in the original trilogy. Sheridan’s version of Scott Summers in particular deserves praise, as the character’s role never reached its full potential during James Marsden’s tenure. Similarly, Turner captures Jean’s complex relationship with her powers and how she is afraid to unleash herself for fear of harming others. There are also interesting story threads that lead to potentially interesting adventures later; Quicksilver reveals to Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) that Magneto is his father, but he can never tell him directly.
