By Ariel Kohane
Arts Reporter
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
I’ve been looking forward to seeing X-Men: Apocalypse for weeks, and it did not disappoint. It was action-packed and had a great story.
Many iconic and lesser-known X-Men were present in the movie, including Professor Charles Xavier (“Professor X”, played by James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner). It also introduced a god-like mutant who calls himself “Apocalypse” (Oscar Isaac).
Apocalypse is the main antagonist of the film. He is known as the father of all mutants, and he is capable of making his disciples’ powers stronger. In order to stop Apocalypse from destroying all of humanity, the X-Men must come out of hiding and use their unique powers to stop him and his cohorts.
The biggest issue that I had with the movie was that I didn’t know anybody’s name, as the filmmakers seemed to expect you to know who everyone was right off the bat, despite the new actors taking on previously established roles. It can be confusing to tell who’s who for those like myself who haven’t read the comic books or seen all of the previous X-Men films.
Have spotty background knowledge did prove to make this movie a bit bemusing, as I didn’t have all the context for the events that were transpiring. I would strongly recommend seeing X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past, at the very least, before watching Apocalypse.
I rate this movie 4.5 out of 5 stars because of its stunning visual effects and compelling story. Magneto, already a complex enough character, gets an exceptional emotional boost that almost brought me to tears.
I also liked the jokes that characters made about their mutations and about the previous trilogy (X-Men, X2, and X-Men: Last Stand). It gives a serious movie an air of humor.
Additionally, the visual technology in this film made the use of powers like Quicksilver’s super speed, Psylocke’s (Olivia Munn) purple energy weapons, and Nightcrawler’s (Kodi Smitt-McPhee) truly amazing to watch.
All in all, X-Men: Apocalypse is a fantastic summer blockbuster that will leave fans waiting for more.
[socialpoll id=”2363424″]
