X-Men: Apocalypse

This review may contain spoilers!

This film does not deserve the negative reviews it's been getting, this is a remarkable new addition to the X-Men universe. I would give X-Men: Apocalypse a 7.5/10.

This movie has some great follow up from Days Of Future Past and takes the time to pay attention to each character, I especially liked the focus on Magneto and his family within this film. What made this film such a remarkable X-Men film was the fact that it risked a longer run time for scenes that would focus on nearly every cast member; I thought this attention to character was great and really set this film apart. The cinematography was incredible, there were some huge stand out blockbuster shots in Apocalypse. The special effects only added to this, everything was such a visual spectacle that you can't really fault the film for it's style at all. The score was perfect and added to the intense action vibe of the film, I also have to commend the use of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" by Eurythmics which resulted in another masterful Quicksilver scene.

James McAvoy, who played Professor Charles Xavier, has always been the perfect casting choice for a young Professor X in my opinion; he really stepped into the role of leader and teacher in this film. Jennifer Lawrence, who played Mystique, really takes on more of an aggressive team leader role in this film; Lawrence does a great job at avoiding the responsibility of involving herself in conflict. Nicholas Hoult, who played Beast, is quite a charismatic performer in this film; he acts as the team's conscience and urges other characters into making good choices. Oscar Isaac, who played Apocalypse, did a stellar job with some awful characterization and dialogue; a lesser actor couldn't have made Apocalypse as menacing and grandiose as Isaac did. Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver, is one of the funniest performers in the X-Men franchise; Peters also brought a more serious edge to his character in the responsibility he felt towards Magneto. Josh Helman, who played Col. William Stryker, really came into his own in this film; Helman was able to bring the hardened antagonist to life in this film. Sophie Turner, who played Jean Grey, had some big shoes to fill and she outdid herself; Turner really captures the fear Jean has around her own powers. Tye Sheridan, who played Cyclops, really showed the origin of Cyclops well; Sheridan portrayed a character who was torturing himself and who had a lot of self-loathing. Lucas Till, who played Havok, seemed to have a lot of fun reprising his First Class role; the death of his character was one of the saddest scenes in the film. Kodi Smit-McPhee, who played Nightcrawler, created a character who was funny and a little awkward; a great aspect of Nightcrawler's role is the open fear he shows towards those who intend him harm and Smit-McPhee does a great job of showing this. Carolina Bartczak and T.J. McGibbon, who played Magda and Nina respectively, really brought out a strong performance from Fassbender in this film; the three of them had great chemistry as a family so that when Bartczak and McGibbon died it was a truly devastating moment of the film. Hugh Jackman, who played Logan, had a great cameo in this film; Jackman really showed the savage side of Logan in this appearance and it was great seeing him interact with the younger cast.

However the best performance came from Michael Fassbender, who played Magneto. Fassbender has such a strong, all-powerful presence in this film that really signifies how great he is at playing Magneto. This film is really Magneto's film, we see him attempt to live a normal existence but have to endure a painful and violent transition back to the role of villain. You feel a lot of empathy for him and if there's one character you'll be talking about after Apocalypse it'll be Magneto.

The greatest flaw this film held could be related back to about a third of the movie, specifically anything around Apocalypse and his Horseman. Despite a rather cool opening scene that explains Apocalypse's origins we never really understand Apocalypse to be any more than a two-dimensional antagonist who wants to destroy/rule the world. His Horseman aren't given much focus either (excluding Magneto), instead you're left wondering what the point was in giving the Horseman roles to such big characters like Psylocke, Angel and Storm.

Rose Byrne, who played Moira MacTaggert, was someone I enjoyed in First Class but just did not live up to her previous performance in this film; Byrne feels out of place in an action film and doesn't really fit in. Ben Hardy, who played Angel, was nothing more than an annoying minor antagonist; it very much felt like he was shoehorned into the film and you didn't care all that much when he died. Alexandra Shipp, who played Storm, had a really weak presence in this film; Storm's entire transition from Horseman to hero felt a little forced. Lana Condor, who played Jubilee, was completely unnecessary to this film; Condor presents a mutant who never displays her powers and is ultimately a background role. Olivia Munn, who played Psylocke, had a lot of potential that was ultimately wasted; you can't help but feel the writers didn't truly know how to include her in this film. Tomas Lemarquis, who played Caliban, was a pretty annoying stock minor role; Lemarquis' performance was quite bland. Zehra Leverman, who played Ms. Maximoff, had next to no chemistry with Peters; I wish she'd been given a bit more to do in this film so that we could have understood her relationship with magneto more.