X-MEN: APOCALYPSE MOVIE REVIEW
It is undeniable that this 9th edition of X-Men has relatively more action scenes than any of its previous installments. But very few such action blocks make impact like the time freezing fight sequence that takes place around the midway mark.
The film takes time to settle down with the initial parts possibly putting few not-so- X-Men-fans to sleep but X-Men soon picks up pace specially when Apocalypse alias En Sabah Nur takes the centre stage and starts to give a tough time to Professor Charles Xavier and his allies.
Apocalypse played by Oscar Isaac looks very terrifying and gives you a feel that he can never be destructed. Being a prequel, it is not hard to predict that Professor Charles is not in real danger and he will be alive by the end of the film. The intensity of his struggle is well captured which makes you feel if he is tough enough to handle the wrath of Apocalypse.
The film handles too many characters and giving a special introduction scene to all of them is a little tiring to watch especially when the theatricals get overbeaten and you have seen similar mutants stunts in the past many times. Such introduction scenes are the root cause for the film to have a very weak start.
Though over the year, X-Men series has developed several new characters, there is always one character that still finds the maximum craze, especially in countries like India. Yes, it’s the Wolverine character played by Hugh Jackman. Like you must by now know, he is not playing a full-fledged role here but appears for a crucial fight scene which ends up getting the loudest cheer from the house.
Like all previous installments, X-Men Apocalypse also has a heavy dosage of CGI works. If not for the grand production value and superlative graphic work, this film would have been a very average venture as the core story line looks weak. Last few editions of X-Men were more emotion-driven films but it looks like a planned move by director Bryan Singer to stay out of sentiment this time. This one is an out and out action film and you cannot expect anything more out of it.
Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame plays the younger version of Jean Grey here. It’s quite a powerful role and she has given a decent performance. James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence are brilliant. James in particular is topnotch with his expressions.
Bryan Singer’s regular John Ottman takes care of the music department. The sound work occasionally gives a thumping feel but at times you find it is a little noisy too. Tom Siegel, another name that you commonly find in Bryan’s technical crew sheet, takes care of the cinematography. Like said earlier, visuals are the backbone of X-Men and if not for his camera work, the overall output would have gone for a toss.
Instead of beating around the bush with too many characters, had the director concentrated more on the story line, X-Men would have worked big time.
