USA TODAY International Edition
‘ Apocalypse’ doesn’t pack much punch, in the end
The latest in the X- Men movie franchise is just X- meh.
An end- of- the- world scenario makes for big- budget action but a lackluster story in director Bryan Singer’s X- Men: Apocalypse ( out of four; rated PG- 13; in theaters nationwide Friday, previews start Thursday night). The film comes undone with too many characters and not enough nuance or freshness. Apocalypse continues the story started in XMen: First Class ( 2011) and X- Men: Days of Future Past ( 2014). The title villain — played in over- the- top fashion by Oscar Isaac — has risen from his tomb in 1983 to scorch the Earth and rule a new world. To do so, he’s rounded up his Four Horsemen, including the antihero Magneto ( Michael Fassbender).
The movie is scattered in whether it wants to focus on the old kids like Magneto’s old friend Xavier ( James McAvoy) and the shapeshifting Mystique ( Jennifer Lawrence), or go all- in with the rookie class, led by Cyclops ( Tye Sheridan), whose eyes shoot laser blasts, and the telekinetic Jean Grey ( Sophie Turner). When Apocalypse enacts the final phase of his nefarious plans, the new crew plays an integral role in the explosive though way- too- long end battle.
Even at two and a half hours, there’s not enough screen time for the jam- packed ensemble, so Apocalypse’s minions Storm ( Alexandra Shipp), Psylocke ( Olivia Munn) and Angel ( Ben Hardy) get shorted. Evan Peters’ Quicksilver gets ample time to strut his super- stuff, and Turner ( Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones) has a strong turn as Jean, showing personality as well as an unbridled power that’s seeded for later cinematic episodes.
“We can all agree that the third one is usually the worst,” says Jean, coming out of a showing of Return of the Jedi, and when it comes to this recent trio of X- Men movies, she’s not wrong.