So the era of big budget messy comic book films continues

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2016)

This is not Bryan Singer's fault. I love the usual suspects and the first two X-Men films. I can definitely see a leaky script and studio meddling here.
I don't get it? Why does every comic book film since the advent of the Avengers have to be these poorly paced bloated CGI messes? And are we really following the messy continuity and character arcs of First Class ?
Re-watching Singer's first 2 films I realised how brilliant they are and how much I dislike everything since. Those first two films basically showed us how less is more. I found it strange how back in 2000, when comic-book films were still finding their footing, Fox decided to adapt one of Marvel's longest running and convoluted properties of a team of superheros where the roster constantly changes. Especially with a relatively low budget considering what they cost now. But it worked, since Singer stuck to limiting the characters, grounding the story and stylistic elements and focusing on the main themes of persecution and prejudice. And they hold up really well.
It was unfortunate how the first two films focused a little too much on Wolverine. But hey, the character is the most popular and he serves a purpose so it really never bothered anyone. However for this new reboot/prequel series, I DO NOT CARE ABOUT MYSTIQUE! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP TRYING TO MAKE HER HAPPEN! STOP TRYING TO MAKE HER A PIVOTAL CHARACTER! I don't care that the studio got Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence to play her. She is a shapeshifter, what good is that going to do when you are fighting a demigod who can bend reality?
Oh yeah the villain, Apocalypse. He is your generic villain that wants to end the world while ensnaring other mutants to do his bidding while he speaks in a Buffalo Bill monotone. What you expected a villain on par with Ian McKellan's Magneto or Brian Cox's Stryker who were actually layered and multi-dimensional?
And yeah Fassbender's Magneto is so all over the place? What are his ideologies? What are his convictions? Why is he still on good terms in Prof X even though he paralysed him and dropped a baseball stadium over the white-house only furthering the fear of mutants?
Usually I moan about character development especially with a film that features an ensemble cast, but actually some were done right. Jean Grey and Cyclops were actually pretty interesting. We see them young and trying to develop their powers, although still they have yet to explain why Cyclops can't control his beams while his eyes are opened (hitting his head in a plane crash). And Jean Grey is mostly a telekinetic so why did they focus on her telepathy so much? The Quicksilver scenes were awesome as usual with his slowed down perception. One character who I felt somewhat got the Shaft was storm, as early in the film she became Apocalypse's underling. She is one of my favourite X-Men and is very powerful but we don't see her use them in a useful way.
The pacing. There is one sub-plot which came out of nowhere and was used for fan service. And the many of the Mystique scenes.
Ultimately this suffers from Age of Ultron syndrome. This is not a bad movie. Nowhere near the mess of Batman vs Superman. However it does not have the balance of Captain America Civil War. It is still another CGI orgy. In the end I really like the first two Singer films. They were so in tune with the themes of the comic book and didn't really care about the look so this film is not my cup of tea. If you like the flashy stuff and not really care about character dynamics then you should be fine with it.