By Daniela Jalteco
Set in the 1980s, the X-Men go up against the villain Apocalypse who plans on destroying and purifying the world in “X-Men Apocalypse.”
Every shot of destruction you see in the trailers is exactly what you see in the movie.
You would think that with a movie is called “X-Men Apocalypse,” the filmmakers would have done something big and unexpected.
Instead it’s pretty much the same thing audiences seen in the other X-Men movies.
The movie has a great set up as it starts off greatly engaging.
The film begins in ancient Egypt as Apocalypse’s background is set up.
They did a good job with setting Apocalypse’s background story by showing that he was worshipped in Egypt.
It also shows that he was protected by his four horsemen.
It’s revealed that while he was having a ritual, not all of the people in Egypt had the same worship for him as others.
As a result of that his ritual does not go as planned.
This was a strong opening as it made Apocalypse a very interesting villain.
Oscar Isaac did well with what was given to him as Apocalypse. He certainly made it clear to the audience that he wanted to destroy the world.
Forcely and strongly, he brought a menace to the character. Yet the movie did not know what to do with Apocalypse.
The character of Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender, was very well done. His storyline is very touching that makes you sympathize for his actions.
For the first time we see Magneto happy and shows a much more softer side to him. This is done by showing his relationship with his wife and daughter.
They show that familial tragedy happens and reverts him to the Magneto we all know.
The filmmakers also did a good job with the Nightcrawler, played by Kodi Smit-McPhee.
They were great with showing the advantages and disadvantages of his powers.
All the other actors did a good job with their performances. The problem is that they did not do anything new or unexpected.
The first 45 minutes of the film was captivating. Once the destruction starts the film is nothing but a bunch action filled fighting sequences.
At times the movie seemed rather toned out. The placement of some scenes were put in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A good example of the toned out scenes comes with a scene of Quicksilver, played by Evan Peters, rescuing the X-Men. It was probably the best scene in the film but was put in the wrong place.
It comes when the destruction of Xavier’s mansion happens and it felt flat because of the placement.
Many elements throughout the movie seemed to have been put in because they felt required to add them in.
Some scenes felt like they were put in without any real regard to the tone or where it went in the movie.
One of the big selling points was that Storm, Psylocke and Angel were going to be big parts of the movie.
They were Apocalypse’s horsemen but they were not put to much use in the movie.
The Horsemen were not given anything special to do or any character development to have.
Angel literally leaves the movie by fleeting away.
Psylocke just walks out of the movie after the chaos.
These characters mean so much to the X-Men fans.
They’re instead given generic roles and just shuffle off screen randomly.
It is the same superhero plot and it is the same generic stuff that audience have already seen.
It was an entertaining movie overall but it is your typical superhero type of movie.
“X-Men Apocalypse” is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief strong language and some suggestive images.