Peps' Movie Wrap-up: X-Men: Apocalypse

http://nicholas-hoult.org/category/projects/x-men-apocalypse/I have to admit, I get all prickly when it comes to anything related to the film adaptations of the X-Men franchise. I derived some enjoyment from the first film that came out when I was still in college. But the subsequent offerings left me feeling mixed about the franchise's cinematic outings (I liked some, I was okay with some, and there were some I'd rather forget).

And I so, so wanted to like X-Men: Apocalypse, because Oscar Isaac is great in everything he does and it offered a chance to see how Sophie Turner would fare outside of the Game of Thrones universe.

In 1983, Charles Xavier / Professor X (James McAvoy) has set up his school for mutant children, helping them hone their powers for good, with the help of Hank McCoy / Beast (Nicholas Hoult). Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) is living a quiet life in Berlin with his family, hoping to leave his days as Magneto behind. RavenMystique (Jennifer Lawrence), on the other hand, travels around the world to save mutants who are being exploited by humans. But the delicate balance and peace that they have maintained over the last few years is upended when Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), considered to be the first mutant, is awakened after thousands of years and is intent on resuming his plans of world domination.

There's a lot of excitement when certain storylines from the X-Men canon are used for the film. But that also comes with the burden of expectations, especially for those who are familiar with the material. X-Men: Days of the Future Past might be the material worth dissecting when you are a comic book fan, but X-Men: Apocalypse is one that would gain additional scrutiny among those who watched the 90s animated series.

But first, let's talk about the pros. Firstly, the cast that they have assembled for X-Men: Apocalypse is top-notch. It's always a challenge to create a great cast, especially since X-Men films usually feature a large ensemble. There have been misses in the past (January Jones as Emma Frost is a particularly sore subject, given how I liked X-Men: First Class), but this film's casting is pretty solid. The film puts its veteran cast to good use, and gave us new faces to become familiar with, especially since the original trilogy's characters are given another go-around in their teenage forms. The cast, as a whole, is great and, for the most part, everybody looks the part, which makes for a visual treat.

But with any ensemble cast, the challenge is to give everyone enough material to work with. Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) is, of course, given her time to shine, especially with the foreshadowing of yet another important part of the X-Men canon (and one the film franchise did not give justice in its third installment), but the rest are under-utilized. Olivia Munn's turn as Psylocke made me wonder why she thought this would be a meatier role to work with than that of Deadpool's Vanessa Carlysle. Ororo Munroe / Storm's (Alexandra Shipp) hero worship for Mystique is one that was never fleshed out. And, while he had plenty of screen time, Apocalypse isn't quite the compelling figure that he should be.

http://www.superherohype.com/news/368871-apocalypse-is-nigh-empire-subscriber-cover-for-x-men-apocalypse-released
As a standalone popcorn film, X-Men: Apocalypse does very well in serving great action sequences, peppered with warm humor and drama steeped in personal struggles. It gives viewers a glimpse of humanity's first exposure to mutants, who might really seem like gods then, and makes for a situation that pits mutants against mutants. In terms of narrative, however, the film falls short in some ways. When the mythology of Apocalypse's selection of his four horsemen was discussed, I expected a more discriminating selection process. Magneto and Storm's inclusion in the group is understandable, because of the destructive nature of their powers, but Psylocke and Angel (Ben Hardy) seemed like less likely choices in terms of their abilities and more so because they were conveniently there. Then, there's Quicksilver's (Evan Peters) reveal about his connection with Magneto, which gave him a convenient reason to be in the thick of things, but never quite getting a resolution to his conundrum.

In truth, those shortcomings could have been overlooked if this were, in fact, a single standalone film. As part of the franchise, however, while it does give the series continuity, it also serves to offer glaring inconsistencies. The X-Men comic book series is known for its many time resets, giving 20th Century Fox the chance to essentially reboot the series as needed. This was established in X-Men: First Class and in X-Men: Days of the Future Past. I think they could have gotten away with the age difference in Moira MacTaggert in First Class (played by Rosy Byrne) and X-Men: the Last Stand (played by Olivia Williams), given that she a minor supporting character in the latter and we can all pretend that she ages really, really well. But Angel appearing as approximately the same age in both Apocalypse and The Last Stand is just too hard to ignore. On the other end of the spectrum, however, I do have to give credit to the fact that they were able to close the time loop for Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), which is a treat for those who've been along for the X-Men cinematic ride since 2000.

http://screenrant.com/x-men-apocalypse-trailer-analysis/?view=all
It seemed like the opportunity created by Days of the Future Past is lost on director Brian Singer, who seems hellbent on providing narrative focus on the stars that he deemed would get the most seats in the theater. I mean, I love Jennifer Lawrence to bits, but Mystique was never the hero that the series desperately tries to paint her as. It would have served them better to allow the new and younger cast members to grow in their roles, because they would be the face of the franchise in the future.

X-Men: Apocalypse offered a lot of potential, because of its significance in the comic book canon and because it did have most of the right elements in play. It's a visual treat, with excellent action scenes one would want in a summer movie, and a dream cast that has the acting chops to pull off whatever the story would throw their way... if only that story was as solid as the elements that they brought together to bring it to life.

But I have hope for the future. With Fox developing a mutant centered TV series under the guidance of Marvel Television's Jeph Loeb, there's a chance for the film outfit and Brian Singer to finally understand what it means to honor one's source material. Nobody really expects a faithful adaptation (even the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken liberties), but one expects to keep the spirit of the source alive at its core and skipping on the glaring inconsistencies borne from concerns of making money or just creating a spectacle.

If they find the right balance in creating blockbuster films while highlighting the excellent storytelling that the X-Men comic book franchise is known for, then the next X-Men film should be something to look forward to.

And definitely the X-Men film we all deserve.

Happy viewing with some gripes with this one.

P.S. Here's an interesting article about the current state of Hollywood summer films from Roger Ebert's site. I feel that this is more true every year.

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