Rating: 4/10
As good as an Xmen movie Days of Future Past is, as mediocre as Xmen: Apocalypse could get. Without the exceptional story/plotting of DOFP, Apocalypse sleeps through a lackluster opening 40 minutes, a lack of narration and poor score. The direction were out of place and the action sequence, take away the last 30min are only okay. Painful to watch Bryan Singer apparently sleepwalking his way through a precious Xmen film which is supported by the marvelous original Xmen cast.
DOFP is enticing already in its opening sequence, so much unknown and so tense the ambience. Maybe it's because of the difference in concept an Xmen film that features a main villain is nowhere near achieving that. The film handles Apocalypse unwell, just making him show the audience how powerful he is while everyone already knows he's the most powerful mutant and that's not quite of a concern. Sometimes the score would go wild and deprived Apocalypse of his evilness. Magneto is also kinda ruined in this film. I know he is not just a powerful mutant but is a well-crafted character, and he has his own backstory and notions of some sort. But here his character, his complicity is undermined in the first hour as we watch his family die and Apocalypse recruiting him, he is no longer the controller and is being controlled, which is pretty sad.
At mark 71 minutes, it felt like the movie is so OVER LONG, like the over long monologues Apocalypse give on world cleansing and the diabolical human civilization. Indeed, there isn't much to be told in Xmen: Apocalypse, which possesses a direct and cliched script. Elongating it to a feature length movie, one that features a 2.5 hour runtime, will certainly contains scenes like Magneto's conversation with his daughter who will very soon be killed off. Even the Quicksilver scene, awesome when it stands alone, isn't spontaneously brought up and felt a bit odd when viewed with the rest of the movie.
GOOD THINGS TO NOTE: Film gets a little better after the 2 hour mark, and the finale is awesome, though old school stuff. The mix of humor in all scenes with Quicksilver is a great call, and his increased screen time is something we'd cheer for.
BEST MOMENT: Apocalypse, seeing his imminent death, muttered, "All is revealed." Hands down brilliant reference to Xmen: Last Stand, where Jean Grey's Phoenix Force went rogue, killing all our favorite mutants and almost finishing the world. This line is a great premonition of the tragedy that will happen in the future, making us cherish the scene where everyone is well and young.
