Starring: James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Issac, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Evan Peters, Lucas Till, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Ben Hardy, Olivia Munn, Lana Condor, Josh Helman
Directed By: Bryan Singer
First, I’m a huge fan of the X-Men. I grew up reading X-Men comics, collecting X-Men trading cards, playing with X-Men action figures, and watching the amazing 90’s X-Men TV show. So, I hold these X-Men films to a higher standard, but at the same time, I give brownie points for little things. So, take this review for what it’s worth… it’s a review by a fan.
Spoilers ahead.
Second, Bryan, we need to talk. You can’t do a film like Days Of Future Past to reset the continuity, and then say “fuck continuity”. Days Of Future Past ended with Mystique impersonating Stryker and saving Wolverine. This film has Wolverine captured by the actual Stryker. Wait, what? That makes zero fucking sense. What did Mystique do with him? Are you telling me she impersonated Stryker to rescue Wolverine just to hand him over to the actual Stryker? I’d like to think she’s smarter than that.
Also, props for including Caliban, who actually served as a horseman for Apocalypse, but you lose points for including him at the same time. Your whole plot is that Apocalypse needed Xavier to be able to communicate with all the mutants, because he deems that an extremely useful power. Caliban’s power in the comics (one of them) is that he can sense mutants in a radius of him (in addition to absorbing fear in his enemies and using that to strengthen him). Apocalypse could have easily recruited him, amplified that power, and found more mutants. Instead, he waits for Xavier? It might have been better to just have had a different mutant other than Caliban.
Also, what happened with Psylocke? So, she just walks off? Really? But Storm joins the X-Men. Literally. She’s actually on the fighting team at the end of the film, despite having just been a villain. Are the X-Men that desperate? They could have recruited Jubilee, if they’re that desperate. Also, introducing Angel just to kill him again… I was hoping Angel would actually get a decent film incarnation at some point. He was one of the original X-Men, but he’s never had a chance to actually be on the X-Men in either film he’s been featured in.
Also, what was Mystique’s plan? She just drifts around rescuing mutants on her own? Why just save Nightcrawler, but not Blob or Angel? How many mutants has she rescued? I feel like this film really made no sense, but if you ignore a lot, it’s kind of a fun film. I enjoyed it, and I did enjoy several things.
I enjoyed Cyclops and Jean Grey in this film actually more than I did Marsden and Janssen (sorry, not sorry). And, Quicksilver is always fun, even if his key sequence makes no sense. Magneto was the emotional center of the film, and his scenes were great. Fassbender is amazing. I liked that they brought Moira back, and expanded on her relationship with Charles (even if Banshee is dead, and can’t challenge him for her affections). And, even though he looks like the villain from Power Rangers, I liked Oscar Issac as Apocalypse. I do wish we had seen more of his original Horsemen, as they died too quickly without us really getting to see their powers.
Visually, the film is great. I understand why this film isn’t getting great reviews though, because the script sucks. I can’t wait for Cinema Sins on this. It’s going to be brutal. I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as The Last Stand was, and it doesn’t murder the franchise. In fact, it sets up the potential for a really cool Phoenix film with Mister Sinister as the villain.
If you’re a huge fan of the X-Men, you’ll appreciate some aspects of the film, while hating others. It’s a mixed bag. If you’re not a fan, the little things won’t bug you much, and you’ll enjoy a decent summer popcorn flick.
FINAL GRADE: B
