It's not as bad as everyone thinks it is - though it's undeniably flawed.
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Apocalypse is the third film in X-Men‘s “reboot” trilogy, which has replaced old names such as Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart with fresh faces including Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, to great success. First Class is a move that lives up to its name in terms of reputation; though Days of Future Past, an odd mix of the old and new X-Men, can feel crammed with rushed storytelling due to its huge cast. Apocalypse firmly leaves behind the original cast at last, and completes the young X-Men by introducing Game of Thrones‘ Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, and Alexandra Shipp amongst others.
Some of the new cast (Turner as Jean Grey) are fresh, feisty fun, while others (Shipp as Storm) aren’t given anywhere near enough screentime to blossom. Other cast members, such as Jennifer Lawrence as Raven and Nicholas Hoult as Beast, are mostly forgotten in favour of promoting the new cast. The villain, En Sabah Nur (Star Wars’ Oscar Isaac) is laughably bad, and the plot has a heap of implausibilities, off-tone moments and general flaws. But take a step back from your film critic head, and I find Apocalypse enjoyable; Michael Fassbender particularly shines as Magneto in powerful scenes which see his family despicably murdered, and there’s one particular Evan Peters scene which is quite unlike anything I’ve seen in film before.
There is so much to pull apart when it comes to this latest X-Men offering, but remove all critical, fan-boy analysis, it’s a fun romp, which leaves behind a lot of the timey-wimey crap that we’ve all grown tired off.
X-Men Apocalypse, directed by Bryan Singer, is released in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD by 20th Century Fox. Certificate 12A.
