"X-Men: Apocalypse"
The ninth film in the 'X-Men film series'. The first movie, 'X-Men', which was released in 2000, was the one which really introduced SUPERHEROes to the modern age. Following this movie we have had its sequels, X2 (2003), X-Men: The last stand (2006) then, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2104), Deadpool (2016) and now Apocalypse. Apocalypse follows the storyline after the events of 'First Class' and 'Days of Future Past'. With both these movies being critically acclaimed, does Apocalypse too, live upto its predecessors' legacy? Lets dig in and find out.
The most powerful and the first Mutant ever, awakens after thousands of years. Upon his awakening, he does things what every other villians of Hollywood does, in every movies (esp. The Superhero ones)- Wiping out the entire earth and building his own empire out of it. And our heroes fights him, together and defends the earth once again but not before destroying near-half of the earth. Add some extra-ordinary CGI effects and some brilliant cameos, few nods and references to the previous movies and comic book easter eggs- these all together completes X-Men: APOCALYPSE.
"WOWs" :
1. The opening Egyptian back-drop scenes and typical X-Men title card. The 4K resolution 3D screen and Dolby atmos sound equipped theatres, will give you some lifetime best experiences in these scenes.
2. The Wolverine cameo. Like Spider-man in 'Civil War', Wolverine's cameo in 'Apocalypse' is easily the best of the movie. Be ready to witness the never-seen-before Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.
3. Quicksilver's EPIC scene. Even better than the one in 'Days of Future Past'. The 1980's soundtrack in this scene is an added bonus.
4. Comic-accurate characters' portrayal on-screen. Every mutants in the movie are the exact depiction of their comic-book counterpart. A HUGE PLUS.
5. The little chemistry blossoming already between Jean-Cyclops and Jean-Wolverine. As we have seen already in X2 and X-Men: The Last stand, even in 'The Wolverine'. MOMENTS PLEASING FANS.
6. CGI effects. One of the best in recent times. The quality was great and even greater was, the 3D effects. The Magneto's power surge was spectacular, watching in 3D.
"WORSEs" :
1. One dimensional villain. Apocalypse suffers from ULTRON-esque screenplay treatment i.e without a proper explanation behind his kill-the-earth motto. His make-up and special effects were HORRIBLE.
2. Psylocke's costume. When Apocalypse upgrades his fellow horsemen costumes, I dont know why he gives psylocke, the ridiculous Sexist costume ever in a X-MEN movie. Yeah! It is very much similar to the comics. But here, it wasnt necessary for her to don that exposing purple thing. When you have Jennifer Lawrence to fill-up the glam quota in the movie, I dont think this was good idea to make Psylocke, the sexy figure.
3. Under utilisation of Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique. Every one knows J-law's acting prowess. And wasting her potential to the character which only does the talking in the movie, is for sure, worse for me.
4. The characterization of Magneto. It is really boring of him, playing the normal and nice guy at the start and turning out to be THE VILLAIN of X-Men towards the end and again returning back to be a reformed person. Why do the filmmakers go such lengths to make him a good guy at the climax and again turns him into Villain in the very next movie?
5. Predictable screenplay. When the Villain rises, when the X-Mansion blows up, when Jean sees Prof. Xavier struggling, when magneto sees mystique beaten-up, when Storm sees her idol/hero dying, when the alkali lake shows up .. in simple whenever something edgy happens, we easily get to predict that the next scene would probably be this. A WORSE factor to any film.
Final Thoughts:
Apocalypse isn't a greater film in the franchise, its not the worst either. It scores well above the 'First Class' in the pace and betters 'Days of Future Past' in the CGI fest Action scenes. With some gripping story and a screenplay with more twists and turns, this would have been the perfect trilogy. A missed opportunity by the makers. But it doesn't mean that we should miss it too. It is fun. It is action packed. It has Wolverine. It has Quicksilver doing his slo-mo thing. Watch it in a theater with better projection quality and great Sound effects, the failed screenplay wouldn't matter anymore.
The ninth film in the 'X-Men film series'. The first movie, 'X-Men', which was released in 2000, was the one which really introduced SUPERHEROes to the modern age. Following this movie we have had its sequels, X2 (2003), X-Men: The last stand (2006) then, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2104), Deadpool (2016) and now Apocalypse. Apocalypse follows the storyline after the events of 'First Class' and 'Days of Future Past'. With both these movies being critically acclaimed, does Apocalypse too, live upto its predecessors' legacy? Lets dig in and find out.
The most powerful and the first Mutant ever, awakens after thousands of years. Upon his awakening, he does things what every other villians of Hollywood does, in every movies (esp. The Superhero ones)- Wiping out the entire earth and building his own empire out of it. And our heroes fights him, together and defends the earth once again but not before destroying near-half of the earth. Add some extra-ordinary CGI effects and some brilliant cameos, few nods and references to the previous movies and comic book easter eggs- these all together completes X-Men: APOCALYPSE.
"WOWs" :
1. The opening Egyptian back-drop scenes and typical X-Men title card. The 4K resolution 3D screen and Dolby atmos sound equipped theatres, will give you some lifetime best experiences in these scenes.
2. The Wolverine cameo. Like Spider-man in 'Civil War', Wolverine's cameo in 'Apocalypse' is easily the best of the movie. Be ready to witness the never-seen-before Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.
3. Quicksilver's EPIC scene. Even better than the one in 'Days of Future Past'. The 1980's soundtrack in this scene is an added bonus.
4. Comic-accurate characters' portrayal on-screen. Every mutants in the movie are the exact depiction of their comic-book counterpart. A HUGE PLUS.
5. The little chemistry blossoming already between Jean-Cyclops and Jean-Wolverine. As we have seen already in X2 and X-Men: The Last stand, even in 'The Wolverine'. MOMENTS PLEASING FANS.
6. CGI effects. One of the best in recent times. The quality was great and even greater was, the 3D effects. The Magneto's power surge was spectacular, watching in 3D.
"WORSEs" :
1. One dimensional villain. Apocalypse suffers from ULTRON-esque screenplay treatment i.e without a proper explanation behind his kill-the-earth motto. His make-up and special effects were HORRIBLE.
2. Psylocke's costume. When Apocalypse upgrades his fellow horsemen costumes, I dont know why he gives psylocke, the ridiculous Sexist costume ever in a X-MEN movie. Yeah! It is very much similar to the comics. But here, it wasnt necessary for her to don that exposing purple thing. When you have Jennifer Lawrence to fill-up the glam quota in the movie, I dont think this was good idea to make Psylocke, the sexy figure.
3. Under utilisation of Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique. Every one knows J-law's acting prowess. And wasting her potential to the character which only does the talking in the movie, is for sure, worse for me.
4. The characterization of Magneto. It is really boring of him, playing the normal and nice guy at the start and turning out to be THE VILLAIN of X-Men towards the end and again returning back to be a reformed person. Why do the filmmakers go such lengths to make him a good guy at the climax and again turns him into Villain in the very next movie?
5. Predictable screenplay. When the Villain rises, when the X-Mansion blows up, when Jean sees Prof. Xavier struggling, when magneto sees mystique beaten-up, when Storm sees her idol/hero dying, when the alkali lake shows up .. in simple whenever something edgy happens, we easily get to predict that the next scene would probably be this. A WORSE factor to any film.
Final Thoughts:
Apocalypse isn't a greater film in the franchise, its not the worst either. It scores well above the 'First Class' in the pace and betters 'Days of Future Past' in the CGI fest Action scenes. With some gripping story and a screenplay with more twists and turns, this would have been the perfect trilogy. A missed opportunity by the makers. But it doesn't mean that we should miss it too. It is fun. It is action packed. It has Wolverine. It has Quicksilver doing his slo-mo thing. Watch it in a theater with better projection quality and great Sound effects, the failed screenplay wouldn't matter anymore.
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