Review: X-Men Apocalypse

On Friday, I watched the film “X-Men: Apocalypse”. The plot was very obvious, the worlds oldest and most powerful mutant awakens to destroy the world. It is 1983, about ten years after the events of “Days of Future Past”.  The arc for many of the characters in the film was coming out of hiding to take a stand.

Charles Xavier
After the events of “First Class” and “Days of Future Past”, he opened a school for the “gifted. He believes that both mutants and people can co-exist, one day, without fear and violence. His approach is much like Gandhi however, he learns that beneath the desire for peace is the need to prepare for war.

Mystique
Once ashamed of her appearance, she is now the image of hope for all mutants. She knows that peace is a delusion and that war is a reality; she comes out of hiding to stop mutant persecution. Mystique believes in the X-Men.

Magneto
The most wanted man in the world hiding among those he greatly despise. He has a wife and young daughter; he has found happiness. One day, his act of heroism saves the life of a human from death and leads to the discovery of his true identity. Law enforcement kills his wife and daughter. Magneto comes out of hiding to give them deadly retribution.

Jean Grey
One of the most powerful mutants living in fear of her true potential.

Apocalypse is the great antagonist. He presents himself as a god. Those who serve him, do so of their own accord. His goal is to destroy the world and rebuild it, leaving only the strong survivors. His presence is not as foreboding as portrayed in the comics however, he provides enough depth to evoke fear. He selects Storm, Psylocke, Angel, and Magneto as his horsemen because of their strength and their need to fill a great void in their lives.

Quicksilver provides the light-heartedness needed in such a dark film. The scene where he saves the Xavier School’s students from certain  death was impressive and hilarious. He knows Magneto is his father and when he finally meets him, he keeps their relationship a secret.

Scott Summers (Cyclops), Hank McCoy (Beast), and Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) did well within their respective roles. Nightcrawler‘s actions definitely gives you “the feels” as you watch the film. Hugh Jackman made his appearance as Wolverine aka Weapon-X, which was very cool to see.

I could tell that there were challenges connecting the various characters’ motivations to the overall plot, probably due to so many characters incorporated into the film. You must stay past the closing credits to find out the villain of the next film.

I liked the movie and recommend it to all X-Men fans.