Bryan Singer should no longer be allowed to direct X-Men movies, if not all movies

Rating: 5/10 (28 May 2016)

What I loved about films like _X-Men_ (2000) and _X-Men: First Class_ (2011) was the way they lifted "comic book movies" out of the realm of the cartoonish. They were smart, complex, and cool, and made me even more proud, in a sense, to consider myself a comics person. _X-Men: Apocalypse_ is big step backwards, I'm sad and really annoyed to say. This movie is a big step backwards for Bryan Singer, too, I believe. His abilities as a director seem to be--seriously--diminishing, not growing.
In theory, all the elements seem to be there for an awesome super-hero movie: a compelling tie to history, the complex interactions of a host of interesting characters, the giant budget. But what we end up with is tons of awkward pacing, who-cares attempts at drama, and dialogue that swings between melodramatic, shallow and flat. In the end, it just seems like a great waste of resources on everyone's part--from the actors to the audience.