X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Theres a scene in X-Men: Apocalypse where a group of characters roll out of a screening of Return of the Jedi and Jean Grey comments that the third film is always the worst.
Well she ain't wrong. Especially in the case of this third film in the re-jigged X-Men universe.
The first hour is a complete mess. Introducing so many characters yet giving them nothing to do, i was pulling my hair out trying to recall the last film as to who they all were. It seemed so far up it's own mythological arse it came over as impenetrable to any none enthusiastic fan viewing it. Zipping from scene to scene yet never really going anywhere. In fact as much as i hate to say it, Jennifer Lawrence as Raven / Mystique, was easily the best thing about the first half of the film so badly drawn were her fellow X'ers.
It's also rather repetitive with yet another cage fighting sequence and once more Professor Xavier declaring to anyone who hasn't fallen asleep that Magneto must have some good in him. How many humans and mutants has Magneto murdered? Must be off the scale by now. This is before we get to the finale where whole cities are vaporized in a blur of CGI dust and no one bats an eyelid at the loss of life. Ben Affleck's Batman must be apoplectic with it all.
The big bad villain, no idea who he was, some blue dude left over from Stargate SG-1 left no impression whatsoever until the climax, which i will say became interesting to the point of borderline tension but all in all X-Men: Apocalypse isn't a film i'll be rushing back to which saddens me in a way as it's predecessors First Class (2011) and Days of Future Past (2014) were definitely superior superhero fayre.
|