[Movie] X-Men Apocalypse

[Sierra85]

i've been told to not go see the new x-men because its pretty bleh. seems like whoever was in charge really screwed up storywise.

[s_bushido]

Also, what's the deal with having to explain every character's hair style/color?

They're probably just embarrassed with the source material. "Can't have a black girl running around with white hair, that would be too silly!" Same reason only Psylocke got to wear a costume that looks anything like her comic book appearance (that scene near the end notwithstanding).

[Kokolums]

The reviews seemed pretty bad so my expectations were low but this was actually a pretty good film.

The good:

1. Some pretty well-crafted set pieces for Magneto and Professor X before they meet up again.
2. Comic timing is excellent, especially with Quicksilver.

The bad:

1. McAvoy and Fassbender kinda carry the film. The rest of the cast is uninteresting imo.
2. We've seen Magneto and Professor X's complex relationship played out for 6 films now. Its getting tiring even tho the actors were excellent.
3. Apocalypse isn't a fully developed character. He's doing bad things but we don't get the WHY. Plus he is this big bulky armored guy with a totally expressionless face which makes it actually difficult to care about him. I liked him better stripped of armor in a normal body because at least he could ACT and express himself.
4. For people unfamiliar with the comics, its difficult to understand just what Jean Grey did in that scene towards the end with Apocalypse.

[s_bushido]

4. For people unfamiliar with the comics, its difficult to understand just what Jean Grey did in that scene towards the end with Apocalypse.

Except that they mentioned Jean's suppressed powers multiple times in the movies...and even tried to do something with the Dark Phoenix (though the results were less than spectacular...). But maybe expecting people to put two and two together is giving them too much credit.

[Shadowferal]

4. For people unfamiliar with the comics, its difficult to understand just what Jean Grey did in that scene towards the end with Apocalypse.

This is the thing that I think is killing the movie. Singer seems to be relying on familiarity with the characters that a lot of critics and to be fair, the average movie goer, just don't have.
It's great to note Jean's suppressed powers, but what we wanted was the Phoenix to show up.

[Gemini Soul]

For being a movie named after him, they did a really crappy job on showing Apocalypse origins. IIRC wasn't his base power already immortality like wolverine, gray skinned, and he got the armor and super powers from celestial technology.


Edit:In the post credits scene they showed the guys going in and taking Wolverines blood sample, bet this is related to X-23.

[s_bushido]

Edit:In the post credits scene they showed the guys going in and taking Wolverines blood sample, bet this is related to X-23.

Been a while since I was big into the X-Men comics, so I had to look up what Essex Corp. was referencing. Turns out it's Mr. Sinister. Which could be really cool, since there's a lot of potential there, assuming they don't just go the "blah blah build an army to destroy the world" route yet again.

[Ryme]

I enjoyed it, it wasn't amazing and has nothing on the last few, but it was a decent action flick.

[Shadowferal]

Been a while since I was big into the X-Men comics, so I had to look up what Essex Corp. was referencing. Turns out it's Mr. Sinister. Which could be really cool, since there's a lot of potential there, assuming they don't just go the "blah blah build an army to destroy the world" route yet again.

The only good thing that ever came out of X-Factor was Apocalypse.

When I saw "Essex Corp" I threw up a little. Not happy with it.

[Jetstream]

Y'know what? It was stupid. It was really, really, really stupid.

But it was fun to watch and I kinda don't care? At least it's not X-Men 3.

[sugarfree]

It was decent. But for people saying it is better than Civil War and BvS says more of those films than this one.

I still can't swallow the fact that they are making this a Magneto/Mystique/Xavier soap opera. Three characters you don't directly associate to an X-Men action film, yet here they are.

I cannot make an argument for people claiming they carried the film, when the other characters are not even given a platform to improve. Storm, Scott, Angel, Jubilee, etc. Jean had better exposure, and Nightcrawler had some OK action scenes but everything was really about Magneto and his feats. It's like ENOUGH already, jesus christ...it's all about him.

I hope they don't return in the future films. JLaw has been threatening that she is going to jump ship. Girl, if you can't jump soon enough, I'll push you. Her character is ruining the franchise. Singer and Kinberg need to get their heads out their butts and actually write a film that focuses 80% on:

Scott
Jean
Storm
Nightcrawler
+ any other X-Men kids as long as they're not Xavier

That is not VERY hard to do. No wonder Marvel's been itching to get the license back.

[Kokolums]

Except that they mentioned Jean's suppressed powers multiple times in the movies...and even tried to do something with the Dark Phoenix (though the results were less than spectacular...). But maybe expecting people to put two and two together is giving them too much credit.

I still don't know what she did. I get they were saying she was suppressing her powers. But I don't know what she actually could do and what actually happened in that scene. It was a major WTF? moment.

[s_bushido]

I still don't know what she did. I get they were saying she was suppressing her powers. But I don't know what she actually could do and what actually happened in that scene. It was a major WTF? moment.

She unleashed the Phoenix. That thing inside her that helped her hold back all that water while lifting the Blackbird in X2 and made her go all apeshit in The Last Stand and blow up the professor.

[Dvaldin]

I loved it from start to finish and the audience I sat in with did too.

However, I agree the Magneto conflicted character and also think that the use of Cerebro have both been overdone. Was nice to have Cyclops back. Psylocke's costume is important to that character. As an X-Men fan and comics collected since the 1970s, it lived up to what I expected and it was nice to sit in an audience that felt the same way. But, you know, there weren't that many people who were into the whole thing back in my day, so it's fine if people don't like it now. I'd rather have the fanbase back down to an average amount.

Really, though, as far as the comics I wasn't that into the whole Apocalypse story though I enjoyed the movie...or the apparently upcoming Mr. Sinister either, though I will likely like it also.

What I want to see is The Brood.

[Dvaldin]

Ooops, my mistake. Like I said, I wasn't that into his character.

[Shadowferal]

Ooops, my mistake. Like I said, I wasn't that into his character.

I hated that character. He's a derivative villain in every way.

Singer did say he wants to take the X-Men into space.

- - - Updated - - -

Ooops, my mistake. Like I said, I wasn't that into his character.

I hated that character. He's a derivative villain in every way.

Singer did say he wants to take the X-Men into space.

[Kokolums]

She unleashed the Phoenix. That thing inside her that helped her hold back all that water while lifting the Blackbird in X2 and made her go all apeshit in The Last Stand and blow up the professor.

I get THAT. But I don't know really what the heck it is really. Is it just some deus ex machina plot device? Or was there some reason her power annihilated Apocalypse while everyone else struggled with him?

I mean, if its an all-powerful thing, you'd think the first thing Magneto would tell Apocalypse is that "BTW, there is this mutant with a ridiculously strong power that can basically erase you from existence. If she shows up, just run."

[Shadowferal]

I get THAT. But I don't know really what the heck it is really. Is it just some deus ex machina plot device? Or was there some reason her power annihilated Apocalypse while everyone else struggled with him?

I mean, if its an all-powerful thing, you'd think the first thing Magneto would tell Apocalypse is that "BTW, there is this mutant with a ridiculously strong power that can basically erase you from existence. If she shows up, just run."

The phoenix force first manifested in Jean when they were crash landing on a space shuttle that had a lot of nuclear material in it.(Way back in the late 70s) She was exposed to fatal levels of radiation (She was the only one piloting, dying but she saved everyone else). Jean resurfaced from the ocean "reborn" (the radiation pushed her mutant abilities to their max potential. I believe that was when she was able to tap into this "force." A force that has always been described as one of "Life and death/creation and destruction" Yeah...that seemed vague to me. But it was later shown that there was a hunger to the darker part of that force that wanted to be used. I'll give a comparative statement in a sec...I have to drool some more)



When the X-Men traveled to the Shi'ar worlds, the Emperor tried to use the M'Kraan Crystal (nexus of all realities) to acquire some "ultimate power." The crystal fractured threatening the universe. Phoenix was able to reweave the crystal, repairing it.

First Big pic...X-Men are cosmic (Here she refers to herself as an energy form)

2nd big pic...Almost anticlimactic but it took a lot to get there.
Really can't go any further at the moment.

But if you can grasp the "power cosmic" for the Heralds of Galactus...
Or the "power primordial" that the Elders of the Universe have...

Well, Jean Grey became the ultimate expression in her abilities...and became the Phoenix. (Before her suicide, Lilandra stated she wasn't sure just what the heck Phoenix actually was)

[s_bushido]

I get THAT. But I don't know really what the heck it is really. Is it just some deus ex machina plot device? Or was there some reason her power annihilated Apocalypse while everyone else struggled with him?

I mean, if its an all-powerful thing, you'd think the first thing Magneto would tell Apocalypse is that "BTW, there is this mutant with a ridiculously strong power that can basically erase you from existence. If she shows up, just run."

Yes, it is basically just a deus ex machina plot device until/unless they try to do the Dark Phoenix thing again. The implication in this movie is that there's something in Jean that's more powerful than anything people can imagine, even the oldest and most powerful mutant to have ever lived. And I don't think Magneto knows about Jean in this continuity, given how much Days of Future Past muddled up the timeline.

[Shadowferal]

Yes, it is basically just a dues ex machina plot device until/unless they try to do the Dark Phoenix thing again. The implication in this movie is that there's something in Jean that's more powerful than anything people can imagine, even the oldest and most powerful mutant to have ever lived. And I don't think Magneto knows about Jean in this continuity, given how much Days of Future Past muddled up the timeline.

Yeah, I think their going to skip over the "rebirth of Jean Grey" and simply have her tapping in the Phoenix as some force that she's scared of at first.