Move over DC and Marvel, it's X-Men time!

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2016)

After yawning my way through Batman vs Superman (even though I'm a huge Batman fan) and really not caring much for Civil War, I finally got the chance to see the new X-Men effort.
Now, I'm as disappointed as anyone that the X-Men are no longer a part of the Marvel universe. But that doesn't mean FOX doesn't know what they're doing. This movie shows that they do, actually, have a clue.
They're getting new actors on board, preparing the universe for the future through the plot and making sure X-Men is going to stay a unique brand in the superhero line-up.
Oh, and it's an enjoyable movie, too.
Comparing Apocalypse to the above mentioned BvS and Civil War, Apocalypse was the first movie that felt like it had normal pacing (I nearly fell asleep during BvS and Civil War was also very boring at times), a good plot (both BvS and Civil War used the same mechanism in their plots and you see it coming from miles away) and actors that seemed invested in their roles.
Concerning the actors, don't get me wrong: I loved Ben Affleck as Bats, but I didn't like what they did with the character. Same goes for Supes. As for Marvel, ever since Avengers 1 they seem at a loss what to do with multiple characters in a movie.
Not so for X-Men, because I felt it handled the larger cast pretty well. A couple of roles absolutely do not get as much screen time, but for the most part I felt everyone played their part.
What I liked best about it was that the movie wasn't afraid to actually use their powers, as "imbalanced" as they may seem at times (but they're not and each power displayed runs into checks and balances, that was well done).
Nightcrawler is teleporting people all the time, Quicksilver goes bullet-time at times when it's actually useful... sometimes superhero movies make you feel like: "Why didn't they just...?" but not this one.
I mentioned actors invested in their roles. Here's what I like about Apocalypse in that regard: FOX is like a football team realizing their players are getting older and that they need to start looking at the future.
It's not just age, either. It's the eagerness with which actors get involved and, not to forget, our willingness to see them in certain roles. I don't know about you, but a new Thor and a new Captain America are two changes in the Marvel lineup I'm looking forward to.
Heck, my favorite two things about Civil War were Spidey and Black Panther, a refreshing new set of heroes and actors!
Where Days of Future Past introduced new actors, Apocalypse continues this trend and I feel like they "bought" the right players. Up-and-coming actors that nevertheless have enough star power to last through the next set of movies.
I enjoyed Nightcrawler, Jean and Scott very much. Storm and Psylocke did't get enough screen time for me to make a judgment.
And of course there's still James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender acting the sh*t out of their parts. Compare these performances to Downey Jr and Evans in Civil War (I would those performances "tired") and you'll see what I mean.
Coming in to land, it's not Apocalypse had the most original plot or was full of things you hadn't seem before. But it was executed well and I actually cared about the characters: that's a feeling I find myself increasingly lacking with modern movies.
All in all, if you haven't seen it because of the bad reviews: go ahead and invest those 2+ hours, they're well spent.