To go bald where no X-Man has gone before…
If anything, «X-Men: Apocalypse» is a mixed bag. Let’s call it a roller coaster: An exciting, but extremely uneven experience. Some really great moments carry on for just a little bit too long, some cringeworthy creative decisions lead into funny scenes. On one hand we get some gripping sequences stolen by the new characters, on the other hand I was left speechless by some unused, even wasted talent of the veterans (and villains). Especially Magneto (Michael Fassbender) seemed to be stuck in a much darker, more serious, and in the end, probably better movie. I liked Raven though, who didn’t seem to care too much in a natural way, which both fit her character and her real life counterpart (Jennifer Lawrence).
The X-Movies where always the ones I expected the least of; not including the first one, when the genre was still fresh and exciting. For a long time, this lack of expectation protected me against some serious disappointment – up until «Origins: Wolverine», which barely qualified as a movie.
On the bright side, compared to, let’s say «BvS», «Apocalypse» never felt like a mess. All the parts fit together somehow and I even got more than a few satisfying fan serving moments and references to past and future plot points,… it all just felt somewhat clunky.
The problem at hand may be that I didn’t feel much of anything, like in most Bryan Singer pictures – I’m often impressed but rarely moved. In contrast, the movies of the «real» MCU may be as constructed and schematic as they come, but I always feel at home, and I keep caring for the characters in the midst of spectacular action and gripping storytelling.
While watching «X-Men: Apocalypse», I think I spotted a solid movie shining through the cracks, but this film wasn’t it. Apocalypse’s design sadly doesn’t look much more convincing than in the first trailer, the character motivations where all over the place, and Olivia Munn didn’t seem to be enjoying her part as much as I thought she would be.
Was I not entertained?! Oh, who am I kidding? I surely was!
Sadly, I never recognized the quality and coherence I thought I saw in «First Class». Not in «Days of Future Past», which was a small step in the wrong direction, and surely not in this one. But I still kind of liked them all. Not like a «real» Marvel flick, but you now, it’s still my childhood heroes,… on the fracking big screen, with costumes, powers and all.
I may be giving this one some extra slack because it’ll hopefully be the last one in the current installment, and it did a surprisingly solid job in tying it all together, bringing the story to a satisfying end.