“Forget everything you think you know, you’re not students anymore. You are X-Men.”
Boasting a cast brimming of Academy recognized talent, and fresh off the heels of the critically acclaimed X-Men: Days of Future Past, Apocalypse had all the necessary parts to be a runaway success. But, in his fourth outing, director Bryan Singer presents his first misfire, offering up a painfully familiar storyline that shows the franchise’s tiring approach and over saturated cast list, all of which makes for a frustrating, if not annoyingly mediocre film.
The story, which showcases yet another global destruction/mass death scenario, fully displays the fact that the franchise is running on fumes, aimlessly attempting to gain some level of traction with its set of age-old tires. And while a sense of excitement surrounds the project, the allure of the mutants and their fight for acceptance has played it course and offers up little in the form of excitement or anticipation.
Centered around Apocalypse, the world’s first mutant who has always been worshiped like a god, the film opens in ancient Egypt where a group of slaves carry out a plan to overthrow their ruler. But every good leader has followers, and Apocalypse’s four horseman sacrifice themselves for their master, preserving him under the Earth’s surface for thousands of years. Fast-forward to the 1980s and the tyrant leader awakens to mass confusion at what the world has become. He quickly makes it his mission to cleanse humanity and restore order as he see fit. As expected, it is up to the X-Men to save the world.
Utilizing more of Jennifer Lawrence’s Raven than anyone else, Singer does an ample job of understanding his cast and their drawl in relation to the audience . But where he fails is in his attempt to let the story tell itself as he struggles to give each character its own space, sacrificing the bigger picture for screen time and action sequences. The end result is a hodgepodge of information, all of which accumulates to a final battle sequence that feels a bit too deja vu for comfort.
Singer tackles the fall out from the conclusion of Days of Future Past quite well, especially in the form of a Fassbender’s Magneto. The careful characterization helps to put things into perspective as we catch up with the mutant and his attempt to live a normal life through working in the mines of Poland. But the strong start is short lived as the film quickly veers off track, unable to maintain its authenticity as it reverts back to the cheesy stylistic approach of The Last Stand. Sacrificing strong characters for action sequences and adequate plot lines for special effects, Apocalypse is lead by its visuals. Though that isn’t necessarily a bad situation, its congested presentation makes the final product both crowded and unfullfilling - so much so that even a steel claw cameo can’t savor the nostalgia.
I credit Lawrence, McAvoy and Fassbender. The trio bring a sense of life to their characters that far outpace the story they are telling. However, the supporting cast disappoints, offering up little in the way of memorable moments, counteracting every positive with an equal negative and giving audiences the haunting realization that, while the stars flock to the franchise, there really isn’t much to tell that hasn’t already been told…twice.
