Early reviews of Bryan Singer’s latest installment to the X-Men franchise were similar to DC’s Batman V Superman.
Although a number of them bordered on being dismal, it still doesn’t take away the fact that X-Men: Apocalypse could be the biggest story in the X-Men narrative.
Apocalypse is arguably the biggest baddie in the X-Men universe. And that is what makes this new movie all the more exciting to watch.
Just the sheer thought of the gifted youngsters duking it out with The First One is enough to make you envision spectacular fight scenes, those that are riddled with carefully choreographed fights blended with skillful CGI.
It’s every fan’s dream.
And for someone who grew up watching the animated series The Uncanny X-Men this is definitely an exciting film to watch out for.
Singer has done a great job with the first two X-Men movies and 2014’s Days of Future Past, which is probably why some viewers felt X-Men: Apocalypse was a little let down.
But I’m sure fans would be more forgiving.
The negative reviews could only be due to nitpicking, which is valid. But it doesn’t mean this movie is bad.
In fact, it’s pretty good.
As kids, we’ve always considered the X-Men as our default mutant heroes. They were everywhere: in TV screens, comic books, and playing cards.
Everyone knew who Cyclops and Wolverine are. We all know how powerful the minds of Professor X and Jean Grey are. We also know who Phoenix is. It’s only a question of how the movie’s going to play all these out.
X-Men: Apocalypse is a great reminder of distant memories of keeping track of every character in this complex mutant universe.
The mutants we’ve all grown to root for (and hate) are all here. In fact, one of the cool things about Apocalypse is it didn’t hold back when it comes to bringing back the characters from the previous films and introducing a new breed of mutants that we might see more of in future installments.
It was evident that there’s an effort to establish a solid background for each character, even though there are quite a lot of them.
Writer Simon Kinberg managed to weave backstories that are strong enough to help us make sense of the rationale and implications of each character’s decision. Ultimately, it was easier to catch up with all that’s happening even if you haven’t been following the X-Men universe.
However, there’s still a lot of room for further character development.
Because there’s a lot of them in the film, we weren’t able to get deeper into each character’s psyche. It would have been great if we got to learn more about each one. But since there’ll be more succeeding films, we’ll have more time to get to explore their personalities.
There was also a lack of riveting dialogues. I can’t help but compare this to Civil War just because both films have a lot of characters to highlight. But even with that many players, the Russo brothers were able to give each one a distinct voice. Plus, there’s always a catchy banter even during action sequences.
This was what I felt Apocalypse lacked. Or it could be because the movie has a lot more serious theme than the other Marvel blockbuster.
Another area that I felt was a little shortchanged was the fight sequences. For an X-Men movie of this caliber, viewers are expecting to see lots of fight scenes. We want to see the pages of comic books come to life. We want action-packed choreographed fights. The movie relied more on CGI and less on the actual fights.
But that’s not to say that the action scenes are not exciting. Quicksilver, for example, had quite a scene. It was a longer version of his slow-mo scene in Days of Future Past. It also solidified his position in the film’s storyline.
For some reason I kept comparing it to Civil War’s action sequences. We all know how these mutants work, so at the back of my mind, while seeing the events unfold on the big screen of SM Aura’s impressive Director’s Club cinema, I was anxiously waiting for something similar to that airport fight scene.
But to do that would be unfair for Singer.
Even with its few shortcomings, X-Men: Apocalypse has delivered well with its storytelling. I’m a huge fan of great storytelling and that’s why I love this movie a lot (aside from being a fan, of course).
Singer, Kinberg, Michael Dougherty, and Dan Harris did a great job at painting a clear picture of the entire X-Men universe.
They were able to justify why there’s this fascination about Mystique, whom we all know is a big villain or why the first batch of X-Men is that way. Plus, we will finally know how Professor X got bald.
Through flashbacks, cameos, and small details sprinkled here and there, they were able to help us make sense of questions we may have had after watching the first X-Men films and give us a good idea of what’s in store for the future.
Most importantly, Singer was able to humanize these mutants–something I feel every superhero flick should do.
You’ll see through the costumes, optic blasts, and lightning strikes. You’ll see your favorite mutants as mere humans, making it easier to relate to them and understand the reasons behind their actions. And for any fan of something, isn’t that one of the best feelings, to be able to have something in common with your childhood hero?
And, oh, don’t forget to stick around for the post credits.
Thanks to the Director’s Club of SM Aura, IMAX, and Snack Time for the exclusive screening of X-Men:Apocalypse. For a truly immersive experience, I highly suggest you watch the movie here. Enjoy each scene on a plush, comfortable seat while munching on popcorn and soft drink. This will certainly make the movie experience awesome.
Photos courtesy of X-Men Movies and Director’s Club Cinema official Facebook pages
