The results of this sixth X-Men movie (ninth if you count the two Wolverine solo outings and Deadpool) and director Bryan Singer’s fourth entry are not quite as consistently spectacular as its immediate predecessors, First Class or Days of Future Past. The conclusion of the X-prequel trilogy launches a brand spanking new antagonist in the gray-skinned Apocalypse, but is more successful at reintroducing fan favorites like Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner, previously known only as Sansa Stark of HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Storm (Alexandra Shipp). By the end of Apocalypse, the route forward for the X-Men is clear, even if the path is strewn with the rubble of its own retconning.
Apocalypse begins way back in ancient Egypt, where some poor Egyptian resembling Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron from The Force Awakens) has his consciousness replaced by that of first mutant En Sabah Nur. The action then shifts to 1983—22 years after First Class and a decade after Days of Future Past—where Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is hiding out in Poland with a wife and daughter, Raven “Mystique” Darkholme (Jennifer Lawrence) is on the run, and Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) is educating young mutants at his school in Westchester, NY, until the awakening of Apocalypse reunites them.
Where the movie fails most noticeably is in its representation of Apocalypse, one of the X-Men’s—as well as the Marvel Universe’s—key villains. Always traveling with his Four Horsemen means a chunk of the movie catalogs Apocalypse putting together his team of new Storm, Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Angel (Ben Hardy) and Mags. Then Apocalypse sets out on a tedious, megalomaniacal mission that culminates in a coup de grâce that can most nicely be described as “been there, done that.”
As a false god, comic Apocalypse spent centuries fomenting war betwixt civilizations; movie Apocalypse wakes up and recreates a mashup of Superman IV and any disaster movie ever. The massive destruction of a major city has become de rigueur for multi-million-dollar blockbusters. Recognizable landmarks no longer topple with any emotional impact stronger than apathy. Isaac does what he can, intoning ominously but not interestingly. Much like movie Doctor Doom, Apocalypse and audiences deserved better.
Though the makeup and effects are laudable, they may be a little too faithful. For a franchise that proudly shied away from the blue-and-yellow spandex, Munn’s Psylocke is little more than first-rate cosplay. Granted, this oversight is necessitated by the (re)introduction of so many characters; someone is going to get left out, and unfortunately, baddies Psylocke and Angel are the odd X-Men out. Cyclops and Jean Grey get ample and appropriate coverage; Sheridan and Turner have potential, though the eventual love triangle with Wolverine seems creepier (and more illicit) than ever.
Overall, the movie gives good X-fan service. You-know-who makes an uncredited, extended cameo that is way less narratively necessary than it is personally pleasing. Even mutant locator Morlock and eventual Apocalypse acolyte Caliban (Tómas Lemarquis) shows up. But it is Evan Peters’ Peter “Quicksilver” Maximoff who again steals the show; this version of Quicksilver easily scores a rare victory for the 20th Century Fox films over their Disney counterparts. Quicksilver’s loopy action set-piece is the movie’s strongest and most original, though action is not Apocalypse’s best attribute anyway.
Not a disaster (it will be hard for any X-film to be worse than the utter debacle that was X-Men Origins: Wolverine) nor a triumph like its two immediate precursors, X-Men: Apocalypse could stand an injection of humor, more compelling stakes (or a more sinister villain) and enhanced action. The movie teeters toward tedium but always regains its balance thanks to the surprisingly comically nimble Quicksilver or some sort of fan servicing. Alas, Marvel and the last two X-films have led us to X-pect more from our comic book spectacles.
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