Well ...I now know how fans of Batman V Superman felt just a few short months ago. I get it now guys. I understand the feeling of sitting in a movie theater and thinking to yourself “what am I not getting? How am I not seeing what others are seeing in this?” I had that feeling today as I watching X-Men: Apocalypse, thoroughly enjoying myself. It was more than that though, as this was more than just a popcorn flick in my opinion. In fact, thinking about it; this is my favorite X-Men movie yet (not counting Deadpool.) Hell, I marked out for THE MOMENT toward the end as I did with Giant Man and Spider man during Civil War. I was shocked just how out of tune my opinion was with the rest of the world and I want to share just how excited I am about this film with the CBM audience.
Before I get started, I want to go through a caveat. This is my opinion and in no way am I saying that any critic or person is wrong for feeling the way they do. Nor am I going to be a dick and pretend like because I like it that I am some kind of super genius; I am not going to claim that the movie is just over everyone's heads and they just “don't get.” I also won't try to tell you why you don't like the movie by saying you read too many comic books or that this is a different interpretation of the X-Men and you need to let go. You know why you do or do not like something, you don't need me to tell you how you feel. And finally, I am not going to justify the problems many have with the movie by saying “yeah, they are there but ...” for the simple fact that the problems people have, I don't see them, or they are certainly not as big of a deal for me as they are for others. I will simply say why something satisfied me as opposed to what I heard going in because these problems are probably very real to many. In fact, there are a few problems that I have that is different from what everyone else is pointing to. Though my biggest issue were the two fat people behind me talking really loud, spouting out incorrect facts about the X-Men in an attempt to show off to the people waiting for the credits to end how smart they were.
Now, while I did go through this in another editorial, I feel it is important to briefly go over my history with the team. I have been reading the X-Men comics before the cartoon came out; roughly around Jim Lee era. What got me to pick up the comic? Rogue's Jungle Bikini on the cover and that was when I officially became a pervert. Sure, the cheesecake got me, but it was the characters and stories that kept me there. This love for the team was solidified with the cartoon. I'll say that I stuck with the comics throughout the decade, while reading up on back issues. Honestly, while most of my experience was during the Lobdell era, my favorite X-Men stories were during Claremont's legendary run. While Jim Lee is great, Silvestri is my favorite X-artist, with Joe Mauderia's run being a close second. So obviously, I am an X-Men fan with a certain expectation of what an X-story is, and certainly what it isn't, but that doesn't make me one of the “revert the rights back to Marvel people” as I always believed that the X-men should be the only super-powered people existing in their own pocket universe. I also don't believe that everything is adaptable and some changes needed to be made for the first couple of films, but am of the belief that Singer is being stubborn in understanding that he can get away with an actual X-Men movie that bears more resemblance to the source material ...which is exactly why I thought this is the best X-Men yet.
With the first two X-Men films, I liked them because they were good comic book flicks for their time. However, I thought that was as close as we were going to get to what is essentially an X-Men story for the big screen. Looking back, the first one is merely testing the waters,while the second one holds up ...but falls down the rankings given what comic book movies have become. Also, they certainly weren't perfect in that some characters felt like they were there because they were fixtures in the comics or just there for a power display. One character in particular suffered the most in favor of making your marquee guy cool, while another seemed to be relegated to object of affection rather than most powerful mutant, and a third was just there without much of an arc. Personally, I feel that all of this is fixed within this movie ...or, at the very least, it is a proper start to righting some wrongs.
The first thing to understand about X-Men: Apocalypse is that it is a BIG movie with tons of moving parts. Too many? Perhaps to some degree, but I personally feel that it handled its parts better than a slew of other X-Films. My biggest issue with them, even DOFP, is that some characters are just there for an action scene or just for the sake of having a comic character. This was more rampant in X-Men: Origins and The Last Stand, but Singer and Vaughn were not immune to it. Let's not forget the expendables that were the Future X-Men or Darwin. Nobody in this film, aside from Jubilee, felt meaningless this time. Everyone had a purpose, and had a beginning and end to their arcs. I felt there was just as much focus given to First Class alumni as there was to the younger students. Surprisingly, I was not annoyed by the presence of either throughout the film. Going in, I thought that one would grate on the other. Either I would dig the Kid's story and hate the J-Law stuff, but I was pleasantly surprised how much they all worked for me, starting off separate, then coming together towards the third act. It was telling an epic with tons of characters, and somehow all of those pieces fit together for me ..even if there had to be a bit of forcing certain pieces to fit in. Honestly, I had more of a problem with how they got Ant-Man, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man in Civil War than I did with how Apocalypse got its characters from point A to point B.
I personally thought they did a really good job of keeping the arcs of the previous movies going forward here. Macavoy and Fassbender are great here as to be expected. I would say that Macavoy is doing a great job of playing a maturing Xavier over these last three films ...and they don't have to shut his powers off for long periods of time to make him work. He even gets to be funny when it is appropriate, and in regards to Moria, but he manages to make the serious beat work very well. I don't quite know how to articulate this, but he made the X-world real. He felt invested in everything that was going on, and had a hand in most of the moving parts, as he should given the character he is playing. His counter-point, until the end, is handled very well here. He has a reason as to why he is helping Apocalypse, and it is a heartbreaking one. He is a man who just wants to end everyone, and Apocalypse takes advantage of that.
However, nothing was more surprising to me than how okay I was with what was going on with Mystique. Yes, I get that there are many things about her presence that are extremely annoying to fans. Whether it be that the character is only important because of the actress, the actress doesn't want to spend time in the make up chair, and that the character was never this role model leader character. With that said, and accepting those truths, they make those things work within the film. She has a reason to be un-morphed in that she is trying to hide her identity from the public, understanding that there is A LOT of bad in her; that she is only a hero because someone prevented her from an assassination attempt ...and hating being seen as some kind of false idol for mutants. Is that in contrast to her comics' character? Yes. Is that in contrast to the character that we have been seeing since First Class? Absolutely not. As a character, she makes perfect sense in her role here, what brings her back to the school, and what wraps her up in this struggle with Apocalypse. Toward the final battle, they even use her to come full circle with where we begun with First Class to where we are now; connecting some dots if you will. I had way more of a problem with Nicholas Holts' Beast, as I have been since DOFP. As oppose to Mystique, he has absolutely no reason why he cannot be in full make-up throughout the film. What is worse is that when he is in make-up, the voice that comes out is not that of the Beast from the comics or The Last Stand. Time fractures aside, I believe that the characters Macavoy, Fassbender, and Lawrence are playing will be Stewart, Mckellen, and Romjin-Stamos (if things had gone the way they were supposed to in the original time line.) I don't believe for a second that this man will grow to become Kelsey Grammar in Blue Face. There is no whimsy to his speech, no articulation; there isn't even an attempt to make him sound like a well-read intellectual. I feel that there are more problems with that character than with Mystique.
Where I didn't have a problem was Scott, Jean, and Kurt. Finally, we have a Scott Summers that is not portrayed as some kind of Boy Band loving Douche nozzle who always becomes M.I.A within fifteen minutes of the film. They cover a lot of ground with him and Jean that sets up their development throughout the whole film. I never felt that they were being short changed or that there was no understanding of who they were. In fact, omitting some stuff with Sinister, this was a very true to the comics adaptation of the character, in that they DID show his back story and his struggle to control his powers ...and how he went from being unsure to having confidence. He isn't the goody two shoes pretty boy here and is given pretty good motivation for revenge half-way through the film. This is the first time I have liked the characters outside of the pages of the books. With Jean, is her course predictable? Yes, but again, the last time we were in this territory within the movies, she was more used as something for Logan to pine after. They make sure to tell you, in very vivid terms, that Jean Grey will [frick] shit up if she isn't careful. While her and Scott have the beginnings of a romance, I never once feel that she is a reward for a job well done like she was in the other films. They felt like equals in their scenes together, and that they had a special bond because of their gifts. Then came THE MOMENT, and I was floored in how much restraint Singer didn't show with her. Yes, the Phoenix in the water in X2 was cool, but I consider that a tease. This was full on bird of fire surrounding Jean Grey as she destroyed the world's first mutant and it was magnificent. Keep in mind that I did not see the TV spot that spoiled this. As a long term fan of the comics, I thought this was a moment that we would never see, and was in awe as it finally happened on the big screen. Rounding out the new class is Nightcrawler, and lo and behold, he was in full make-up the whole time. Honestly, this is a character that I think is ALWAYS going to pop on screen as long as they are somewhat faithful to the comics. Everything I said about Alan Cummings in X2 can be said here. They use his powers a lot and he brings modesty and humor to the movie. I thought including him was a nice touch and did break the monotony of the Scott and Jean show when it was up to the three of them to implement a daring rescue.
There have been reviews that I read that state that these three aren't given enough focus, and I personally do not understand it. I believe that the torch was handed to them and Storm (more about her in a moment) very well as the balance between their stories and the First Class was about equal. Now, there is a point where the story sort of derails so these two groups can intersect that is a diversion from the main story. Did this facilitate a cameo that might or might not have been necessary? Yes. Did I have fun during this scene? Yes., just as much fun as I had during the Mr. Nobody diversion in Fast 7 that took up the whole middle of the film. Did it work as a way to not just bring the old and new together, but show the extraordinary soldiers and leaders these three would become? Absolutely. Mind you, it wasn't just one of them, but it was three characters working together, as a unit, to solve a problem. I think that is where this movie really clicked with me and why I think it works as an X-Men film better than anything that came before it.
This is a team film.
The first three X-Men films never felt like it was focused on that aspect of the comics. It was Wolverine and friends ...and how do we write out Cyclops as fast as possible. Yes, the first movie has them working as a team towards the end, but it is Wolverine and three underdeveloped characters taking on the Brotherhood. First Class was a great movie that did have this aspect, but it was during the time that Fox was not aware this was a re-boot, and they focused on a team comprised of second stringers. Vaughn made those characters work, but they weren't the characters many of us wanted to see work together. But, there are bonus points for making that the F-up team that made Xavier never want to make his own para-military group of vigilantes. For as good as DOFP was, it felt like Singer saying “We aren't a super hero film; we are serious” thus two characters are de-powered and we never see an actual group of mutants recruited to unite under the common bond of uniting humans and mutants together. It is a bunch of characters with their own motivations and goals reluctantly working together, parting ways at the end. X-Men: Apocalypse, for the first time, felt like an X-Men film. We weren't sacrificing watching a group problem solve together in favor of the cool guy looking cool, we weren't de-powering people for large chunks of the film that prevents us from having super power fights, and we are not afraid to show characters work off others that are not our main leads. As Mystique says toward the end, the team finally comes together and embraces what they truly are.
I thought the final scene showcases this incredibly well as you have the X-Men coming up with plans, using their powers, and adjusting strategy to come at Apocalypse and his Horsemen. I thought the action in this final scene was handled very, feeling like something that was ripped out of a 80's/90's comic issue. Typically, these movies have had a way of holding back on the final fights where they are not the spectacle they could be. This, I felt, was something to behold. No, it isn't the air port fight scene from Captain America: Civil War ...but, in my opinion, it was close. I personally loved the way it started off slow with a basic battle with Horsemen to stop the transference from happening, and from there it just kept amping up to the point where you have numerous characters shooting beams of energy at Apocalypse just to take him out. Compare this to X-Men where they didn't have budget to do this, X2 where they didn't have the faith, X3 where they were more worried about adding in an internet meme than making a decent climax, or the others in this series where it was heavy on the character moments, but light on the unfiltered super hero fights. I think this was perfect time to ease off the heavy moments of revelation and put the foot on the peddle for something that resembles the character's roots a bit more. Sue me, but I thought a lot of this could have come right off the panel.
Speaking of the villains, I was actually not disappointed with the Horsemen, as in they were what they have always been: one major character and then three henchmen. As I said though, none of them felt wasted to me. Were they minor characters? Yes, but I wasn't expecting anybody not named Magneto not to be one. Frankly, I was expecting much less in terms of having lines. Storm was given an arc that was somewhat an abridged version of her origins, just sub out Shadow King with Apocalypse, and a motivation for why she fought on his side ...and a planted reason for turning on him in the end. Despite maybe not having much in between, we do get to know her more than say Toad or Sabertooth in X-Men. There was an arc there. Psylocke? Firstly, if you are going to do the Jim Lee costume, you might as well have the thong as well. More importantly, I don't typically judge a character's worth by the amount of lines they have ...and, honestly, I was surprised how many she was actually given. The thing is, both her and Angel show up earlier in the movie, establishing them as apart of the world. While their moments are brief, we get a little taste of their character. Psylocke is an enforcer who works for the most power, and Angel is a rebel punk rocker. With those little instances, you get something more than just a showcase of power. Think of it as a sampler, as well as an audition to see if the audience likes you enough to bring you back for a little more fleshing out ...at least, for Olivia. That method worked with Quicksilver last go around.
On the matter of Apocalypse, I am middle of the road here. My point of reference here is that he is exactly what he was in the comics, non-definite power set and all. What he is works in the comics, but might not exactly work on the big screen. It is Stark's Law of Adaptability. Something on the pages might work only alright in the source material, but could become iconic with the right formula on the big screen. Unfortunately for Poc, it works the other way around, too. In the pages of the comic book, he is a major threat who talks of culling the world of the weak where only the strong can survive. A villain like that will always have a home on the page, but isn't incredibly complex for this generation of cinema goers. The truly great villains are the ones who deeper motives than just being evil. Hell, X-fans have been spoiled with Magneto as the primary villain. We go from that to pretty much Skeletor. With that said, I felt that Oscar Isacs took that and made the character entertaining throughout the film. He didn't steal the show, apparently that role is reserved for Evans Peters now, but he was menacing enough to provide the ultimate threat to the X-Men. I didn't feel like he was some old fool who underestimated his foes and was hobbling his way through a hair brained scheme. He was certainly Apocalypse, but there just seemed to be something missing from the character. Basically, he felt like an MCU villain.
Not only am I an X-Men fan, but am also a fan of the greatest decade ever: the 80's. It was the decade that proved that everything is awesome when the world is coked up. I was born in 82, so I have pretty good idea of what the time period actually looked like. That is why I feel something like the Wedding Singer tries too hard to be eighties because it goes over the top with the fashions, hairstyles and music. I am happy to say that this is more Donnie Darko than it is the Wedding Singer. Yes, it is mostly subtle with its eighties throughout most of the film, but that was how most of the decade was. Not every woman was dressed like Madonna, nor was every man rocking a Flock Seagulls hairdo. However, the touches in dress and music are there. But, like with the grainy footage in DOFP, when this movie decides to go all out eighties, it certainly does so. Yes, the Quicksilver scene is a follow up to his “Time in a Bottle” moment from DOFP, but I feel this improved on it in so many ways. What I really enjoyed about the Sweet Dreams is that a lot of it seemed to be taken out of a Peter Gabriel music video, so much so that I am convinced that the song was initially supposed to be Sledgehammer. It is hard to explain if you haven't seen that video, but the way Evans contorts his face is a lot like Gabriel. It is pretty cool. All in all, I feel that scene sold me on the eighties aesthetic and was a great moment of cinematography.
This doesn't mean that I didn't have problems with the movie, though they don't seem to be the same ones everyone else has. As stated above, I thought Beast was somewhat a fail, so I will not go over it again. As per usual with this particular franchise, there are continuity problems. I am one of those who understands that a good chunk of the movies have been retconned out, so I understand that First Class is a retroactive re-boot. That isn't the problem. What is the problem is that these characters from First Class do not look or like twenty years has gone by. If it were not for the different decade aesthetics, I would have sworn there was only two years between films. This is exceedingly difficult when you get to Havoc's age compared to his brother's. While it isn't unheard of, there would have to be over a decade's difference between the two. That could work if Alex didn't look to still be in his twenties. For whatever reason, that really bugged me. There were also coincidences that didn't make a whole lot of sense, like Quicksilver instinctively knowing that there was an explosion in the sub-basement, or there coincidentally being flight suits at the Weapon X base that were fitted exactly towards all of the X-Men. As it pertains to the “comic accurate suits,” I feel like an ass for nit picking them, but I feel like I have to. With the exception of the top half of Cyclops, they just don't look good. They look they were designed by a guy who just said “FINE! YOU WANT COMIC ACCURATE, I WILL GIVE YOU COMIC ACCURATE!” and half assed something that sort of looked out of the comics. Basically, it felt like Singer was trying to convince the audience that comic accurate costumes would just look terribly, when we all know that they CAN work.
But that is about all I can really think of as far as problems go. As said, the issues others see, I just can't. Not saying they aren't there, but that they don't resonate with me.
Does this mean that I don't think that these movies need a creative make over anymore? HELL NO. I still believe that it is time for Singer to pass the torch to another director to helm this series. While I think he certainly did a good job here, I am ready for a different vision to take over ...because the movies are clearly headed to area he isn't comfortable with. I also think there are things that he does that hurt production of an X-Men film, namely not wanting the actors to read the comic material. Also, if he touches little boys, he shouldn't do that either. If the rumors are true that we are headed to the 90's with the sequel, I think it is best we get to the classic Jim Lee Animated series designs, as well as moving away from Mystique as a mainstay character. Unless her role is to introduce Rogue (of the invulnerable, super strong, flying, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead variety, please) to the team then die, I think it time to part ways with J-law. After a great come back to the series, saving it with Mathew Vaughn, I think it is time to let some new eyes launch this next trilogy with a very different looking team. Preferably, I would like it to be Edgar Wright, but that isn't happening. With the success of Deadpool and the ending of the trilogy, it is time for a re-set altogether. This was a great capper to this era, but I think Tim Miller has proven that a new voice and a more accurate vision is necessary at this point.