X-Men Apocalypse

That's right I've been to the cinema yet again! You must think I have nothing better to do. You're kinda right. This time it was to see the much awaited and criticised X-Men Apocalypse! But firstly you know the drill, 3 sections, Trailers, The Review (Spoiler Free) and then Spoilers ( Just a Little). However, this time I am going to go into a little more depth with this review as I grew up with the X-Men cartoon in the 90's (showing my age) and comics; while I am not an authority or total fanboy, there are a few points I'd like to go over. So lets get started!

Trailers

Independence Day: Resurgence

Twenty years have past since the events of the first film and humanity has advanced technologically due to scavenging and backwards engineering of the crash Alien spacecrafts. However, they weren't the only ones. THEY are back, bigger and badder than ever! Bill Pullman is back as is Jeff Goldblum, but there is a distinct lack of Will Smith. However, moving on with a new generation of defenders, the cinematics and special effects in this film look amazing. Appearing to follow a familiar formula of drama, action, love and comedy relief, this should be an entertaining thrill ride. Will it be on par with the previous title, better, or worse? Only time will tell.

Alice through the Looking Glass

It is time for another trip with Alice to Underland in Tim Burton's second instalment and in this one she must battle against a mechanical Time Incarnate (Sasha Baron Cohen). With a flair for the dark and the macabre, Tim Burton never fails to entertain me and I am hoping I can count this film too. Special Effects are great as usual and the story looks intriguing, definitely one to look out for.

The Secret Life of Pets

From the Studio that brought us Despicable Me and The Minions comes a new tail (see what I did there... it's a pun!). A tale we have always wondered about and possibly suspected. Just what do our pets do all day whilst we are out of the house? Finally we have the answer! This movie looks like a pure unadulterated joy-fest with everything you want for the kids and just enough subtle adult jokes to let the parents watch too. Personally I love animated kids films, there isn't an overly complicated plot and you can just sit and enjoy. If Despicable Me and Minions are anything to go by, this will be awesome!

Also shown....

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows            

Warcraft: The Beginning

 

The trailers for both of these films were shown again and as I have already spoken about them, I don't want to bore you again.

X-Men Apocalypse - No Spoilers

The the end of this film there IS a post-credits scene, and when I say the end, I mean the very end. No mid credits scenes for you! More on that later.....

To start off with I was a little unsure as to how I was going to receive this movie. As I have said previously, the first promos and trailers didn't really impress me, to be honest they left me disappointed. Apocalypse didn't look or sound right. Now I'm not a huge fanboy of the X-Men but having grown up with the 90's TV show, Apocalypse had been shown and voiced in a different way, and I wasn't the only one to notice. However, Hollywood and FOX took note and made some changes, and then some more. Now Apocalypse looks better and sounds better.

When the critics got their chance to review the film, it didn't go down well. With more bad reviews than good, things didn't look good. However I have a problem with critics and movie reviews (he says whilst writing one himself), they often give the wrong impression. In the past I can remember, on more that one occasion, having read a review of a movie that I had wanted to see and then thought 'actually I don't want to see it now', and then sometime later after eventually having seen the film and thought, 'I really enjoyed that'. Instead of writing your reviews as if they are gospel, why don't the reviews just say "that's my personal opinion, make up your own mind". That is why I write my reviews the way I do, its my opinion and my thoughts but it's definitely not to be take as the gospel truth. Ok, now that's done with...

I really enjoyed this film, it had a familiar feel and structure like the previous instalments of the franchise and with a runtime of 2 hours, 27 minutes it makes it the longest X-Men film to date. The action and battle sequences were a feast for the eyes both graphically and choreographically. Fight scenes were well paced with well timed cuts and good angles and the comedy relief was plentiful from a range of characters including Quicksilver and Nightcrawler. It even makes fun of sequels, declaring the 3rd films are the worst.  More emotional scenes were very effectively done with actual believable tears. The special effects in this film are outstanding, creating visually beautiful environments, enhancing the appearance of Apocalypse and even in just showing the effects of each mutants power. Ok big question, how does Sophie Turner do as Jean Grey? To begin with I wasn't so sure, but as time went on I came to see that actually she is a really good fit for the character. In the original trilogy you had a very sure of herself young Jean that lifted every car in a suburban street, and then a very humble and uncertain adult that had to concentrate to transport a cannula/syringe. Sophie's portrayal has elements of both humble and confident but also expands on Jean's powers a little.

The story is an oldie, but a goodie. A powerful bad-guy wakes from sleep/arrives on the scene, decides everything is bad, corrupts some people, tries to take over the world. The good-guys step in, take a bit of a battering but win in the end. How can you not be happy with that? However, it seems a common flaw with big comic book films these days to introduce a big bad-guy and then deal with it in one film, whereas some of these characters have been the antagonists for years and years. Why the big rush to finish dealing with one character and then move on to the next? Is that just an issue with Sony, FOX and DC recently? In Marvel you have enemies (such as Loki and leading up to Thanos) that keep making appearances and it prolongs the enjoyment and thrill. Unlike Sony's treatment of Venom, here one minute, gone the next, whereas there should be a whole family of symbiotes ready to unleash.

All in all, regardless of Rotten Tomatoes pitiful 52% rating, this is a great movie and well worth your ticket price. Are the big comic book fans going to be pleased.... maybe, maybe not. You can't please everyone and the idea is to produce a film that appeals to the majority not the minority. I enjoyed it and I'll definitely be buying the DVD/Blu-Ray upon release, but you will have to make up your own minds. Don't pass over a movie because someone told you it was terrible and not worth it, when nine times out of ten you may just end up loving it. Give it a go.......go on.....you know you want to.

Spoilers (Just a Little)

Ok, like Batman V Superman, this isn't going to be a whole break down of the plot and tell you everything. This is just a few points on characters, positive and negative with maybe some room for expansion.

Apocalypse

As you can see from the picture here, whether in comic book, cartoon or film each variation of Apocalypse is different, but there are some recurring features. I still felt that the look and sound wasn't quite right, though a vast improvement on the original promos. However as the film progressed I remembered that these films are going for a more realistic approach and actually changed my mind. A little more information on the technology used in Apocalypse's body swapping Essence Transference would have made it a bit more interesting. Those of you who know the comics will know it comes from Apocalypse assimilating Celestial technology. I was disappointed that essentially he dies at the end, he is completely obliterated by Jean. A long time antagonist of the X-Men gone in one film....poof! FOX really could have done a bit more with that. Not once is he called Apocalypse, by himself or anyone else.  In once scene, Apocalypse is said literally 10 times. He refers mainly to himself as En Sabah Nur, but states he has gone by many names. Overall, initially not really liking the interpretation, I ended up liking this version and how it was portrayed.

Psylocke

Again I was quite disappointed with the portrayal of this character, though that is not the fault of Olivia Munn. While Psylocke does have her sword and psyonic weapons (although I don't remember a whip?!) she also had psychic powers and telepathy though these were none existent in the movie. And although she appears may times throughout the trailers, her part in it is actually really small.
However, she does escape from the final battle unseen by the X-Men and with any luck hopefully reappear later on.

Archangel

Archangel as a character was pretty good, however this time around before his metamorphosis into Archangel, Angel is a cage fighter with no hint at his past or how he ended up there. Comparing the versions from the cartoons/comics to the movie show some quite obvious changes.

In the comic/cartoon, Archangel is more cyborg with fully retractable wings, but when extended act as a solid wing rather than feathers.
The new version gives him a more human look but with subtle cyborg hints and features. The wings are not retractable and have a more realistic practical appearance. Still pretty cool and the transformation scene, while a little graphic, was brilliantly done.

Storm

Ororo Monroe, at least that was her original name. I honestly cannot remember if she introduces herself by any name. This is how I remember Storm from the 90s TV show and the later incarnation by Halle Berry. Admittedly I can envision Halle Berry as the future Mrs Black Panther but not this incarnation, or at least not yet.

Initially she starts off with the appearance of only being able to create some gusty winds but once her elevation by Apocalypse she becomes a right Valkyrie riding the lightning.

I actually quite liked this portrayal and would like to see more "Storm" from this actor.

The outfit... a vast improvement. More like battle armour than a skin-tight all in one.

Jean Grey

As I said before, I really liked Sophie Turner as Jean so I won't go over it again. What I will go over is the inclusion of the Phoenix Force. They seem to have been a bit more ambiguous with it this time. They are not saying that it is Jean split personality dark side or in all honestly make any reference to the Phoenix at all.

The Phoenix manifests itself or at least effect twice in the film. First during a dream sequence upon Apocalypses awakening and this appears as fabric, wallpaper and painting starting to smoke, char and bubble with flameless heat.

The second time....... oh baby! Xavier calls Jean for help and tells her to let go, to release everything she has got. We see her walk on thin air and literally burst into flames whilst focusing her energies on Apocalypse. Jean appears to use her full force to completely obliterate Apocalypse without a trace and as the camera pulls out we see the out stretched fiery wings and a tail with a slight suggestion of an avian head.

Now they could go two ways with this. They could continue with the establish canon of the original trilogy and leave it as an uncontrollable dark side, or..... have it as the actual "Phoenix Force" approaching and as it gets closer, Jean will have more and more access to it's power.

While Jean's dark phoenix in last stand isn't proper cannon, I still like it (I like a bit of darkness I do). However I would much prefer the official Phoenix storyline and I'm sure virtually all of the fans would agree.

Wolverine

Well  now... Wolverine make a reappearance and it turns out the events of Apocalypse take place at the same time as the Weapon X program. Our intrepid youngsters (Cyclops, Jean, and Kurt) sneak onto a helicopter to rescue their unconscious brethren from the grasps of Striker only to be trapped aboard and taken to Alkali Lake. Whilst there, the rescuers come across a holding cell containing a "savage" animal which Jean releases upon the base soldiers to distract them from discovering their presence. Jean releases Wolverine. However the main thrill I got from this seen was the appearance of Wolverine himself. In Origin: Wolverine, he escapes butt-naked in just his claws, whereas in the comics and cartoons he is fitted with some sort of monitoring device, visor and electronic packs (as in the picture) and THIS is how he is equipped in this film.

Costume

Only a quick bit this but during the last scene before the credits we see Jean, Scott, Kurt, and Quicksilver being instructed by Mystique and Beast in the "Danger Room". No holograms yet but the wall peels away and in walk some Trask Sentinals, however it is their costumes I want to make note of. All of the suits FINALLY pay homage to the comics and cartoons. Mystique while not in an extremely feminine outfit, wears a flight-suit with a wide white stripe going straight down the middle. Kurt get his black with red panels/highlights, Jean get her black suit with the brown/ochre panels (the outfit before the orange and blue one) and Scott get his bluish/black suit with bandelier type straps and classic visor.

After Credits Scene

After the credits were are treated to the "clean-up" of the Alkali Lake facility. Removing of bullet casings, bodies and such. We follow an undisclosed man to the Weapon X room whereupon he opens a chiller and removes a sample of Weapon X's blood. This is transferred to a suitcase containing other multicoloured test-tubes and upon closing we see the name ESSEX CORP.

Does this mean we are going to see the introduction of Mister Sinister? But how? As Essex was transformed into Sinister by none other than, that's right you guessed it.... Apocalypse. How're they going to work this one out, who knows? But Sinister is a great character and I hope they do him justice.


So that's it a bit longer than normal. Thank you if you managed to read this far and please leave some comments or feedback down below. I do try to reply as soon as possible and I know I say it a lot but I can only grow as a blogger with your help and feedback. Is there something I should look into, maybe a more detailed review ( I can give you a good website for that!), just let me know.

Thanks again here's an potato.