‘X-Men: Apocalypse’: A Disastrous Send Off For Bryan Singer

Third time’s a dud in the extravagant mess that is X-Men: Apocalypse. It seems the number three is bad luck in this franchise because this is X-Men: Last Stand all over again. It’s a shame really because things started off with such promise with X-Men: First Class, but hubris (on behalf of director Bryan Singer and 20th Century Fox) has caused the franchise to implode once again. The most basic of details involving character and story from the X-Men canon are left out, which clearly leaves the actors looking confused and the audience (me) frustrated. How did they manage to screw this up when it features Apocalypse, the magnum opus of X-Men villains. What a terrible send off to a decent run of X-Men films. What is it about the X-Men that Fox just can’t get right?

The Mystique Power Hour: Part 2

This franchise has never been able to balance out the mutant star power and this film is no exception. Once again the focus is on Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique being the central hero. Lawrence has yet to capture the true essence of who Mystique is, but this may not be her fault. Singer and friends give the character very little depth, but decide to feature her front and center. This was more a Katniss Everdeen-in-blue-makeup than the two-time, backstabbing villain I remember from the comics and the first set of X-Men films (where Mystique is played fabulously by actress Rebecca Romijn).

The Newcomers

Then there are new additions to the X-Men like Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee). This is the most uninspired group of youngsters ever. Sure, they are mutants, but man do they make their teenage years seem dull. I spent most of the time yelling at the theater screen for them to do something. I understand they are young and getting used to their powers, but in X-Men: Apocalypse, most of the time they were just standing around.

For the most part, their personalities are underdeveloped and powers are underutilized, and you don’t care whether they live or die. The only character among the newcomers that seems slightly developed is Nightcrawler. The portrayal is well acted and had a few humorous one-liners.

The Villains

Then you have new X-Men villains including Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Angel (Ben Hardy), and Apocalypse (Oscar Issac). All this hoopla about Psylocke being Munn’s favorite comic character, with these videos of her fight and sword training, but all of that hard work for what? What you see in the trailer is all you get from her.

Oscar Issac delivers a solid performance as Apocalypse. There is nothing spectacular about his acting, but it’s one of the better performances of the movie. His portrayal is certainly unique as Apocalypse, the soft-spoken deity meant to seduce you with his lusty voice, instead of the stern, assertive tone he uses to attract his followers in the comics. If it wasn’t common knowledge, no one would be able to tell that the character is all-powerful. He’s a short guy, with a soft-spoken voice, who is painted lavender from head to toe. Again, Isaac is good, but not threatening.

Direction

One can only hope that this is Bryan Singer’s last run as director of this franchise. Whether he’s hitting a home run (X2: X-Men United) or striking out with Apocalypse, the audience needs fresh eyes and a new perspective. The X-Men have such a rich history that any number of story arcs can be chosen, but we can’t get there if the films can’t get the basics correct. Also, his directorial work all looks the same to me. Superman Returns and X-Men and X2: X-Men United, offer no visual variety. Singer seems to be passionate about the project, but he’s shown time and time again that he doesn’t understand the material he is working with.

I encourage you to see this film and form your own opinion. I don’t want to go as far as to say this is the worst movie of the year, but my goodness. There have been films featuring all-star casts that are great pieces of cinema. It can be done if there is enough attention to detail. Uninteresting characters, repetitive direction, stale acting, and poor use of CGI doesn’t make a good movie. I hope Singer bows out gracefully before we are cursed with another film from him.

[Image via 20th Century Fox]