First Class is still the best

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2016)

I had moderate expectations for Apocalypse. I'm not a big fan of the first X-Men Trilogy but since First Class, in 2011, I've grown to like this franchise very much. First Class was and still is the best of the bunch for me. My moderate expectations came from the fact that I believe Days of a Future Past fell a bit short in comparison with FC, but I still enjoyed it a whole lot. Bryan Singer is not one of my favourite directors and since he established this franchise, I guess his films lack the boldness and freshness that Matthew Vaughn brought to the series.
Now it's time to review Apocalypse. The first sequences of it were mind-blowing. Egypt, an old Apocalypse putting his consciousness on a newer body, the False God fighters and the colapse of the pyramids were just amazing to watch. Then it settles a bit and starts building-up to the final clash between Apocalypse and the X-Men.
Despite roughly being 2 and an half hours long, I never felt it was dragging or boring. The action scenes were great and the more character development bit were fine. A big shout-out to the casting team : both Tye Sheridan and Sophie Turner were impeccable as the new Cyclops and Jean Grey.
Oscar Isaac as I feared was only average as Apocalypse and the new actors didn't bring much to the table - Olivia Munn is sexy, yes, but not much more than that. Magneto, Prof. Xavier and Raven are the standouts once more. After three entries I feel connected to their characters in way I'm not with the others. Charle's and Erik's ideological fight drives the plot as it did on the previous films and Apocalypse gives more attention to Michael Fassbender's character pain and grief. Fassbender is really the best of the film. He acts so perfectly. He truly is Magneto. Above else, he is Erik Lensherr. Evan Peter's Quicksilver continues to steal every scene he's in and the slow-motion sequences are one of the best bits of the film.
Plotwise, its what you'd expect from a big super-hero blockbuster. Simple and clichied, but it still works for the fun factor. We're gonna see this film to be entertained for 2:30 hours and nothing more. Its a popcorn flick and its what you think it is. Oh, and there's a very very sweet cameo in the middle which blew my mind.
I just don't know if it deserves the RT rating. Its certainly better than 49%. But will it be alongside Wolverine 3, the last we see of X-Men in the future?
I hope not. Specially, if another director with fresh ideas is on board.