martes, 31 de mayo de 2016

Some thoughts about X-Men: Apocalypse

The times have changed but the world is still on the verge of destruction.

An old God has resurfaced after sleeping for thousands of years and now is decided to take control of the planet by making only the strongest survive. However, while some mutants might agree with this, Charles Xavier and his X-Men have other opinions about the matter.

Here it is people, the conclusion of the trilogy that Bryan Singer decided to create to fix the X-Men movie franchise after X-Men 3 heavily damaged it. The first two movies were solid enough to cement the path for an alternate continuity which strangely enough, also fits in the one that Singer initially created. So, with that in mind, how does this finale fares?

Well, just like the last two films, decently enough.

As you may remember when I talked about X-Men: Days of Future Past, I mentioned that it was a missed opportunity that they didn't use that movie as a way to completely reboot the franchise so they could bring new actors to the classic characters but it seems like here they're pretty much bringing a brand new cast to play such parts which creates a pretty promising future for upcoming films.

Now, about the premise itself, is obviously takes the focus on one of the most powerful enemies from the X-Men universe: Apocalypse. The origins and portrayal of the character are mostly inspired by more modern stories featuring him and they do a decent job at displaying his motivations and most importantly, the presence that such villain should have. That being said, I kinda miss the original maniacal and cartoony incarnation though, at points I don't think this Apocalypse has enough personality compared to his earlier versions.

About the story, it takes place ten years after the events of the proper timeline from Days of Future Past. Xavier is recruiting new mutants, one of which is Scott Summers who quickly becomes one of the most interesting students from the academy. Even Magneto is trying to start his life once again with a new family but sadly, fate will suddenly interfere and connect his path with Apocalypse and his Four Horsemen.

I have a few complaints about the plot. Why did Magneto suddenly decide to become a good man and start a family? If I remember correctly at the end of Days of Future Past he tried to kill the President and a lot of people with no sign of remorse so this change of heart pretty much comes out of nowhere and seems out of character. The only reason why this happens is to give the character more reasons to join Apocalypse which is okay by itself but it doesn't make a lot of sense if you just watched the last movie.

Other problems come in the form of the dialogue. I don't think is necessarily bad but is pretty derivative and cliche at times with characters constantly delivering more information that they should and leaving very little to the imagination. Is not really subtle in that regard.

In terms of the cast and characterization, I think it was a success for the most part. James McAvoy still plays a pretty charming Charles Xavier. Same case for Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is still appropriate. This can also be said for Nicholas Hoult as Beast. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is pretty much what you would expect and I'm glad he didn't receive a big role compared to the last entry in the series.

About the new actors, I think they are pretty solid. Tye Sheridan does a good job at depicting a Cyclops with a much more different personality from what we usually see (mind you, I don't think that portraying Scott as a kinda rebellious teenager is exactly inpired either). Sophie Turner as Jean Grey is... okay I guess, is not like the character needs much effort to be appropriate, she has always been a bit lacking in personality. Olivia Munn as Psylocke is decent, she definitely looks the part at the very least. Same for Ben Hardy as Angel. Kodi Smit-McPhee provided a few fun moments as Nightcrawler. Alexandra Shipp was adequate for Storm despite that her role as a Horseman of Apocalypse was pretty strange. Finally, Lana Condor as Jubilee... eh, she was there I suppose, nothing else to say because she barely did anything.

What else? Oh right!

Quicksilver was AWESOME!

Evan Peters as Pietro Maximoff easily stole the whole show and many of the complaints about this movie can be ignored due to how immensily entertaining his segments are. The rescue scene at the Mansion is one of the memorable events not only from this movie, but also from the entire franchise, so many hilarious scenes perfectly executed while playing Sweet Dreams as background music which I think will always remember me of this part whenever I listen to the song. The scene where he starts beating up Apocalypse is equally as enjoyable. This makes me realize that the character could sustain his own movie, they just need to give him the chance to shine.

Speaking of humour, I think it was successful for the most part. The interactions between the characters delivered nice lines while there were also some inside jokes like how when they speak about movie franchises they mention that "The third one is always the worsT" which made me smile at the very least.

The special effects get the job done with the abilities of the cast being nicely represented while the battles were depicted adequately with a good sense of scope. The fights were well-choreographed too.

In conclusion, I don't think is a perfect movie but I also think is an entertaining flick that manages to bring a certain sense of closure to this new trilogy while bringing a lot of new and interesting developments for upcoming entries. Is worth watching it.

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