X-Men: Apocalypse Movie Review

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Written by: Simon Kinberg (screenplay), Bryan Singer & Simon Kinberg & Michael Dougherty & Dan Harris (story)
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan     Tye Sheridan 
Rated: PG-13

Plot:
Apocalypse awakens after thousands of years and recruits four new mutant body guards. It's up to Charles Xavier and his gifted youngsters to save the world.

Verdict:
This movie had enough stories for three movies. It suffers from trying to throw everything in and thus not having enough time to focus on any one story. It actively avoids trying to make a statement or have any meaning which is unfortunate. Worrying less about shoehorning big name stars into the movie and focusing on the story would have made this better as Apocalypse is a half baked villain. There is a lot of squandered potential and it lacks a memorable new mutant introduction like Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
It depends.

Review:
I will avoid any major spoilers until my spoiler warning section. I will reveal a few minor spoilers related to the plot at large. The movie trailers reveal more information than I reveal pre-spoilers.

Apocalypse is an ancient being, possibly the first mutant, that was powerful thousands of years ago. He can absorb other mutants' powers, and is awoken in the '80s, which is when this movie takes place, ten years after Days of Future Past. Upon awakening he touches a television, and even allowing him the power to read an analog television signal and every channel simultaneously just from touching the screen, he's also imbued with the knowledge of things that wouldn't even be on television. Of course his desire is world domination. I assume his reasoning is that since he's the strongest mutant he should rule the world and enact survival of the fittest. I get that, and the movie hints at it, but we still needed a few more scenes to legitimize him as a villain. Why does he need four bodyguards? That's an explanation that would have been helpful.
That's part of the problem with this movie, it tries to include too much and doesn't give any story its full due.

X-Men Apocalypse - There's four of them and not a horse in sight.

Apocalypse recruits four bodyguards, his four horseman. This introduces or reintroduces characters, with the fourth not quite fitting the role. The fourth horseman felt contrived, just for the star power.

Quicksilver's sequence again was one of the best, though this time it was not original and just a repeat. He brought a lot of levity to the movie, though Nightcrawler ruined a touching moment with Charles and the X-Men after they defeated Apocalypse. It's another instance of this movie getting close to making a statement or having meaning and backing off completely.

We get an update on Magneto that could be it's own movie. Magneto has been keeping a low profile since X-Men: Days of Future Past, but events converge to bring him back as an antagonist seeking revenge on the world. He's filled with rage and wants someone to pay. By taking out humans, he's also leaving children orphaned just like he was. His vengeance would make him become the very thing that makes him an antagonist. The movie has no inclination to explore this.

Mystique's story line also follows from Days of Future Past. She is regarded as hero, but she's reluctant to accept such a title. What she's been doing since then is just as interesting as what Magneto's been doing. Part of her story, has her finally accepting that she can be a force of good despite her transgressions. It's such a minor plot point that it's almost irrelevant.  The movie could have been built around that. The X-Men at large are heroes to humans that often ridicule them and want to imprison them. Even Wolverine in previous movies has wanted to shirk the responsibility of helping people. Xavier sees their power as the reason they should help the weak. This is the crux of the differing ideologies between Charles Xavier and Magneto. Magneto sees their power as a reason to subjugate humans. I thought the movie might explore this, but it doesn't.

X-Men: Apocalypse - How can the X-Men defeat the most powerful villain ever?

This is also the re-introduction of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm to the X-men through new actors, though in this movie there are no X-men, at least not officially. They're just mutants. In the next movie I forsee them banding together as X-men and actually making a team.
The movie forces Cyclops and Jean Grey into an awkward romance early on when Cyclops bumps into her before he has special glasses that lets him see without blowing stuff up. It was completely contrived and unnecessary, especially when there are better stories to tell in this movie. They later share a moment when she comforts him that fits much better.

The movie goes out of it's way to take a jab at X-Men: The Last Stand (aka X-Men 3), with a pointed reference about how the third movie is always terrible. The problem with this scene is that Nightcrawler goes out in public to see a movie with Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Jubilee but isn't ridiculed by the public. We never see him interact with anyone, and that's always been the underlying subtext of the X-Men. Despite looking like humans, they are ostracized because they have (usually) imperceptible differences. I thought this scene might reinforce Mystique's reluctant hero idea or even Magneto's rage, but it's just included as a cheap shot.

Apocalypse uses Charles Xavier to launch all nuclear missiles into outer space so that no country is a super power and open his path to world domination. He also wants Xavier's powers so that he can control anyone in the world and in essence become omnipresent. The X-Men win because they are a team, and Apocalypse is fighting alone. Where Captain America: Civil War combined the super hero's powers for inventive fight sequences, the Apocalypse movie doesn't capitalize on them working as a team. The fights are disappointing.
Xavier's argument that teamwork triumphs is completely undermined and it didn't have to be. As a result, the final fight was underwhelming and potentially detrimental to future movies. Where do you go from here with such a display of power?

SPOILERS

Apocalypse recruits Angel, Storm, Psylocke and Magneto. Magneto has been a main villain in previous movies, and it felt weird for him to play second fiddle to Apocalypse especially since Magneto's story is much more nuanced and in turn better. It felt like the movie shoehorned him in just for the star power. He has no issue playing backup? That and he's also much more powerful, than the other horseman. I would have preferred to see Gambit or another mutant instead. Gambit would be a nice introduction since there is potentially a Channing Tatum/ Gambit vehicle in the works.
Magneto got a wife and had a child since the last movie. It's the death of his child that causes him to access the rage he's been hiding. This just didn't feel earned. It's a terrible event, but the pacing felt too quick. We didn't have time to explore his emotions, so we just skipped ahead to where he goes on a murderous rage and teams up with Apocalypse to destroy the world.

Speaking of contrived, just as I was thinking it's nice the movie didn't have to shoehorn Wolverine into an X-Men film for once, it does just that. There was no reason for Wolverine to be in this movie. He's unleashed, wearing a nice little headset that I guess controls his brain. He murders a large number of guards before Jean Grey calms him down by helping him remember his name, Logan, and a few memories. It was a nice touch as Wolverine is later attracted to Jean Grey. She also gently lifts his headset off, which caused me to wonder if it comes off so easily, how come it didn't fly off while he was gutting all the guards. Wolverine runs off into the woods after maybe two minutes of screen time.

Apocalypse enters Charles Xavier's mind as he's communicating with Magneto. Later, Xavier is able to enter Apocalypse's mind and fight him because they are still linked. Xavier states the X-Men will win because they are a team and Apocalypse is fighting alone. Apocalypse does have his four horseman though, not that they matter.
Jean Grey completely eviscerates Apocalypse to where there isn't even a trace left of him. With Xavier's teamwork statement, I was expecting his and Jean Grey's powers to combine or for him to amplify her power but that doesn't happen. Jean Grey defeats Apocalypse completely on her own. With that display of power, how will future enemies not be taken out instantly by her power? Call her and the fight is over. I suppose this is the precursor to the Dark Phoenix saga, but it would be nice to see a movie or two with normal Jean Grey before getting into that. Is the movie series not going to explore the Cyclops and Jean Grey or Wolverine and Jean Grey story lines and conflicts?

What's cannon in this movie series? Is this First Class series of movies overwriting the movies that started in 2000? Hugh Jackman is the only actor that has been in the original trilogy and the first class trilogy.

With this ending and a potential evil Jean Grey as Dark Phoenix I wonder if the link that existed between Xavier and Apocalypse bled into the Xavier and Jean Grey link. A partial piece of Apocalypse's psyche could be imprinted into Jean Grey which could explain her evil turn and her immense power. This is backed up by the fact that the last scene has Magneto and Jean Grey rebuilding the completely obliterated X-Men school. If you'll notice, the bushes along the front walk are trimmed into pyramids. Jean Grey would have planted them sine they aren't metal. Pyramids are Apocalypse's favorite shape. He's the reason ancient Egypt use them, and it was also the shape of the temple he built in this movie. That can't be coincidence.

The stinger after the credits that introduces Essex Corp. is related to Mr. Sinister. He will be a villain, but in which Marvel series? X-Men seems like to obvious of an answer.