- Format: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English (DTS 5.1)
- Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
- Dubbed: French, Spanish
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: 20th Century Fox
- Release Date: October 4, 2016
- Run Time: 144 minutes
The X-Men franchise has weathered the many
ups and downs of the superhero genre, as it was originally a trailblazer for
comic book blockbusters. In order to continue the narrative, this franchise had
to reinvent itself with a series of prequel films, which have also utilized
time travel and origin stories to include the most popular of the X-Men
characters, Wolverine. The other
aspect of the X-Men movies which
keeps them continually fresh is the seemingly endless supply of mutant
characters to add, allowing for the inclusion of new along with the comfort of
the familiar.
X-Men: Apocalypse has all of this, but somehow still feels dialed in. Everything from the
story to Jennifer Lawrence’s lackluster costume seems half-ass in construction,
as though half of the film’s job had been completed merely by getting the
audience into the theater. The effort to get viewers to return for further
films has greatly diminished, even if Apocalypse
still has a few memorable sequences of distracting spectacle.
In what we are told is the final
entry in the prequel storyline, our younger cast members return to play the
iconic characters, including a few origin stories for familiar favorites along
the way. More tragedy is thrown at Erik (Michael Fassbender), pushing him
further into the villainous side of Magneto. Magneto uses his powers to start an
apocalypse for a powerful mutant known as En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac). Charles
Xavier (James McAvoy) also becomes a pawn in the world-destroying plan, forced
to rely on his untrained students and a few veteran mutants to save him and the
world.
One of the major characters to return
is Mystique, though Jennifer Lawrence barely seems present in the role. Her
performance is entirely dialed in, often feeling as if she may be too bored to
finish her sentences. Worse yet is the lack of commitment to the technical work
of the process, as Lawrence’s unwillingness to sit through the make-up process
for Mystique resulted in a piss-poor body suit that looks like a bad Halloween
costume rather than the effects of a massive Hollywood blockbuster. As the
highest paid actress in the world, you would think Lawrence could be a bit more dedicated to the
job countless others would be grateful for. If nothing else, I hope this is the
last we see of this version of Mystique.
If Mystique disappoints because of Lawrence’s unwillingness
to go through the effort to become the mutant, this is where the spectacle of
the new mutants takes over. Having had the best sequence in the last film of
the franchise, Evan Peters returns as Quicksilver in a much larger role. Once
again, Quicksilver’s super-speed provides the film with its most entertaining
spectacle-filled sequence. The film also gives Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) a proper
origin story introduction to the world, and brings back Nightcrawler (Kodi
Smit-McPhee) for the first time since the original trilogy, as well as setting
up the direction for Storm (Alexandra Shipp) in the storylines that follow.
So much time is spent with a variety
of mutants, each with unique abilities to showcase, it is easy not to notice
the missing plot in X-Men: Apocalypse.
There is a bad mutant that wants to destroy the world and good X-Men forced to
save everyone with his destruction. It is as simple as that, which is
narratively lackluster despite a good dose of symbolism and spectacle
attempting to counterbalance the lack of plot. In other words, it is likely a
good thing that this is the last of the X-Men
prequel films, as it is beginning to feel like scrapings at the bottom of the
barrel.
The Blu-ray release includes a DVD
and a Digital HD copy. Some of the special features are doubled up on both of
the discs, including a gag reel and an audio commentary with director Bryan
Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg. There is also a photo gallery. Exclusive
to the Blu-ray is a generic featurette, a video of the wrap party, and a series
of deleted/extended scenes, which come with an optional introduction by
Singer.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 7/10
Historical
Significance: 6.5/10
Special Features: 7/10
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