A Rollicking Good Time

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2016)

I have a soft spot in my heart for the X-Men movies, for before IRON MAN and the "Marvel Cinematic Universe", there was the X-MEN. I loved watching Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan duke it out as Professor Xavier and Magneto with what was then a cast of young up- and- comers, Halle Berry, Famke Jenssen, James Marsden and an unknown by the name of Hugh Jackman. I enjoyed their adventures, even the much maligned 3rd movie.
I was excited for the "re-boot" with James McAvoy and the great Michael Fassbender taking over with a new group of "up-and comers" including a relatively obscure actress by the name of Jennifer Lawrence. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS was a fun "retro" caper set in 1963. To be honest, putting both the "old" and "new" casts together for X- MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST was fun, but a bit over-stuffed and, if I'm going to be totally honest, the reliance on Jackman's WOLVERINE character was beginning to bore me.
So, it was with some trepidation that I ventured into the movie theater to see X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. This was definitely the movie where the X- MEN try to out-Marvel Marvel. The "big bad" in this is an all powerful "god-like" entity (the titular APOCALYPSE) hell-bent on destruction of the Earth. Can the X-Men - including a large band of "newbies" as the younger versions characters we already know - band together to defeat this entity in what will more than likely be a CGI-fest? Or will director Bryan Singer sink this movie under the weight of the many, many characters and CGI that this film will require?
I am happy to report that X-MEN: APOCALYPSE is a rollicking good time with a strong group of characters (including the "newbies") that leads to a satisfying ending that left me wanting more of these new X-MEN.
Apocalypse starts 10 years after the events in Days of Future Past. That is, in 1983. Charles Xavier is running his school for gifted children, mutants are kept at arms length and are not highly regarded while Magneto has gone underground and is happily living as a husband and father. But, of course, these times don't last.
Magneto is involved in an incident that further darkens his heart at the same time that the god-like entity Apocalypse is inadvertently released. It doesn't take long for these two to get together and it is up to Charles Xavier and X-Men to thwart their plans.
McAvoy and Fassbender are strong as Xavier and Magneto, they clearly have grown into their characters and they are ably joined by Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult and all the "newbies" (most notably Evan Peters Quicksilver - a fun character introduced in the last film that is expanded on in this one), as well as the reliable Rose Byrne. Director Bryan Singer knows how to make these movies, so moves easily between character direction and big action set pieces, filtering both in enough so we do not get tired of either.
The highlight for me in this movie is that this is the first time that all the X-Men had to COMBINE their talents to defeat the villain. In the past, each X-Man had to use their talents, but it seemed a series of individual climaxes combined to form the big climax. In this film, the X-Men need to come together and use their skills in tandem to win. I've been looking for this type of ending since the first film.
Oh, and Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is used sparingly in what is , in essence, an extended, vicious cameo that ably foreshadows what should be a bloody good time in the upcoming R-Rated (and last, for him) Wolverine movie.
Is it a perfect movie? No. At 2 1/2 hours, the movie is a bit long. I could recommend a few places in the first 1/2 of the movie that could be trimmed up, but as the action kicks in, it is a fun ride with characters that I enjoyed rooting for and villains it was easy to root against. Also, the villain, Apocalypse, is pretty generic and wastes the talents of Oscar Isaacs. Since Jennifer Lawrence is now a SUPERSTAR, they give her character a much more prominent role than it probably deserves, but it's Jennifer Lawrence, so I'm not arguing. My final quibble, is that it is a bit dense in X-Men mythology, a fact that I enjoyed, but others might get lost in.
My advice, roll with it, don't worry too much about the things that are going over your head. There is no doubt about who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. And the X-Men are, definitely, the good guys.
8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)