X men apocalypse film theory series#

In theory, the perpetually-neutral MystiqueвЂ™s discomfort with the вЂheroвЂ™ tag foisted upon her in the wake of the previous filmвЂ™s events would set up the opportunity for real, compelling character development. Despite comparatively underpowered superpowers, she outmanoeuvred her enemies and friends to вЂ“ as Apocalypse establishes вЂ“ make a real difference to human-mutant relations. I didnвЂ™t buy this interpretation at all, to be honest Raven had both agency and moral complexity lacking from those two very-set-in-their-way boys. RavenвЂ™s character in Days of Future Past caught a little flak from some critics for being reduced to a go-between for Erik and XavierвЂ™s conflict. The latter might have worked, had any of the subtlety of the ideological/political rift between those two men on display in the previous two films (particularly Days of Future Past) been retained. The centrality of Xavier to the storyline is mostly linked to his mutant powers (which Apocalypse intends to exploit to mentally enslave the entire planet вЂ¦ why, precisely, his horseman are going along with this plan remains a mystery) and his history with Erik. That balance made sense some couple decades ago in First Class, but when Xavier is, presumably, intended to be in his forties, it just doesnвЂ™t work. Oh, McAvoy isnвЂ™t terrible, but heвЂ™s ill-suited to a storyline that canвЂ™t seem to decide if it wants a reflective patriarch or вЂ“ in his scenes with and related to Moira Mactaggert вЂ“ a goofy schoolboy. Xavier, meanwhile, doesnвЂ™t even have the good fortune of a Fassebender-calibre actor to elevate the character.

The effort spent establishing the comradery and conflict between him and Xavier is twisted into simplistic point-counterpoint crap about вЂhopeвЂ™ and the like. The complexity of his past as a Holocaust survivor is swept away in a CGI haze of dust and rock. The always-capable Fassbender goes a long way towards papering over the holes in the screenplay, but this once-magnificent character is reduced to a clichГ©. destroying the world by tearing apart its metallic core orвЂ¦something along those lines.parroting lines from the previous films.having a wife and daughter whose sole narrative purpose is to be victims.When done right, one of the best-conceived characters in comic books. The lofty heights of said stakes is largely the responsibility of this guy. Instead, Apocalypse and Apocalypse raise the stakes so high as to be utterly meaningless. Note how Civil War sidesteps apocalyptic threats and nebulously-defined villains for good, old-fashioned character conflict. When Singer first kicked off the X-Men franchise, the idea of truly global superhero movies felt exciting вЂ“ new. It doesnвЂ™t hurt that the whole premise associated with Apocalypse вЂ“ you know, the goddamn apocalypse вЂ“ feels very dated in a 2016 superhero movie.

But Apocalypse вЂ“ whose name is in the freakinвЂ™ title, after all вЂ“ is supposed to be the centre of the film and heвЂ™s barely a character. A mishandled villain isnвЂ™t the end of the world (sorry) Peter DinklageвЂ™s antagonist in the last film was comparatively underdeveloped yet served as an effective MacGuffin/foil for our protagonists and their conflicting viewpoints. In X-Men: Apocalypse, heвЂ™s a mopey, Ivan-Ooze-looking guy who smothers Oscar IsaacвЂ™s talents under a swathe of make-up and vocoder dialogue. The вЂњfirst mutantвЂќ, his near-omnipotent super powers, impressive physique and social-Darwinist made him the sort of supervillain who seemed iconic from the instant you heard about him. I canвЂ™t recall many specifics of the вЂњAge of ApocalypseвЂќ comic storyline, but I do remember the shadow cast by Apocalypse.

X men apocalypse film theory series#

I have some familiarity with the X-Men canon from reading a handful of prominent (pirated) comic series and watching the вЂ90s cartoon in my youth. Also, there will be actual spoilers from here on out, so maybe close this window if youвЂ™re yet to see the film. So, spoilers: all of these reasons are characters from the film. Rather than a conventional review вЂ“ JonoвЂ™s already got that covered вЂ“ letвЂ™s break down the various reasons why it sucks. To put it bluntly вЂ“ X-Men: Apocalypse sucked. In fact, despite being a vocal defender of the previous film in the franchise вЂ“ Days of Future Past, also from director Bryan Singer вЂ“ I canвЂ™t even agree with my fellow critics awarding the film begrudging two-and-a-half or three star ratings.

As a steadfast fan of (most) of the X-Men films, I found time in my overseas holiday to fit in a (Croatian-subtitled) screening of the film and, regrettably, I canвЂ™t concur with his positive review.

My estimable colleague Jono Winter recently posted a favourable вЂ“ if tentatively favourable вЂ“ review of X-Men: Apocalypse on this site.