Is there a way for the X-Men franchise
to maybe...sorta...kinda...avoid the third movie? Can they skip it and go right
to the fourth? The last time they had a third film it was X-Men: The Last Stand, a
stinker brought to you courtesy of Brett Ratner. Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse is by no means terrible on that
level; in fact it's not even bad. It speaks directly to fans of the comic in
ways that are amazing at times, and others in ways that are infuriating. But
for all of the fan service, the film's overlong 2 1/2 runtime, and minimal plot
is what makes it the weakest entry in this latest trilogy.
Set in 1983, which we know from the big
hair, leather jackets, and an excursion to check out Return of the
Jedi, the film is the logical continuation from the time-altering
conclusion of X-Men:
Days of Future Past. While most of the characters remain the same, we're
also introduced to newer, younger versions of established mutants, such as
Scott "Cyclops" Summers (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner),
and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee). They're part of the new class at the
suddenly-crowded School for Gifted Youngsters, which Charles Xavier
(James McAvoy, with hair that makes him look like an extra on Miami Vice)
opened to teach the next generation of mutants. 
The incredibly slow 90-minute build sees
Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg assembling various plot threads that
might work individually, but there are so many that none are given ample room
to breathe. An impressively tense flashback thousands of years introduces us to
the immortal villain En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac underneath all
that makeup and armor), who awakens in the present with a plan to make mutants
the dominant species. This brings Xavier's former lover Moira MacTaggert (Rose
Byrne, not seen since X-Men: First
Class) back into the fold, as well as the retired Magneto (Michael
Fassbender), who had retired to Poland to start a family. Mystique
(Jennifer Lawrence) has gone off to rescue endangered mutants, but wants
nothing to do with Xavier or his school.
The vast majority of the film is spent
watching Apocalypse assemble his Horsemen, recruiting a younger version of
Storm (Alexandra Shipp), who is still in her thieving days in Cairo; the
telepathic ninja Psylocke (Olivia Munn, given nothing to do but look hot in
purple spandex); and Angel (Ben Hardy), who has been fighting in underground
cage matches. Of all of these subplots the only one of any emotional resonance
is Magneto's. Borrowing liberally from his reworked origin in the 2000s, we see
that for a mutant like him, one who has caused such death and destruction,
there is no such thing as retiring quietly. The outside world finds him, and
things go tragically bad, leading to some incredibly poor decision-making on
Magneto's part.
There are other moments that work well
because they echo events we've either seen in the past or suggest others we're
familiar with. The early, awkward encounters between Cyclops and Jean, along with
their easy rapport later on, tease wonderfully their future love affair. The
same goes for a diversionary sequence about halfway through involving Wolverine
(Hugh Jackman) that captures his Weapon X imprisonment, bloody escape, and
future infatuation with Jean in perfect detail. Just as the Chris
Claremont-era comics excelled with the soap opera qualities, the movies are
best with the little character moments that tell us who these heroes are.
On the other hand, Jean Grey proves to be
problematic. It seems that the X-Men writers are incapable of using the
character without in some way referencing the dreaded "Phoenix
Force", which grants her limitless telepathic and telekinetic powers. This
time around it isn't just referenced or teased, it's an integral part of the
plot, so soon after we saw it used in 'The Last Stand'. The Phoenix should be
given a film all of its own to be dealt with, not as one of a dozen other plot
threads to be sorted out.
Considering the amount of time spent
watching Apocalypse round up his forces, you'd think he'd be a marginally
interesting villain but that isn't the case. Apocalypse is an
all-powerful being but he's not terribly impressive here. Sure, he can augment
the mutant powers of others, but he does little that makes him seem so
invincible. We are constantly told he's powerful, and occasionally he'll show
it against humans who couldn't hurt him anyway, but against the X-Men he
doesn't seem so tough, making for an underwhelming final battle. It
doesn't help that the basic layout of the fight resembles the last two movies
almost exactly. It felt fresh with 'First Class' but two movies later and
one has to consider if it's time for another director to come in with a
different approach.
Whereas the prior two movies found ways to
have fun with their '60s and '70s settings, X-Men:
Apocalypse keeps it serious
throughout, which is kind of a drag. The exceptions are Xavier's love-struck
reaction to seeing Moira again (and who could blame him?), although the
circumstances surrounding that are pretty messed up. Another guaranteed to
bring a smile is the return of Evan Peters as Quicksilver, who once again is
given his own centerpiece slo-mo action sequence. Set to the sounds of The
Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams", Quicksilver's arrogant displays of mutant
speed are a blast, even if the effects aren't quite as polished as
before. 
As a life-long X-Men fan it's tough
knocking X-Men: Apocalypse for what it gets wrong, but such a
high bar has been set by the previous films that this one just can't measure
up. As the franchise finally begins to expand with Deadpool, New Mutants, and others likely
to be announced, hopefully this is just a quirk and not an evolutionary
dead end.
Rating: 3 out of 5
