In the 1980s, the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive by bringing destruction to the world.In the 1980s, the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive by bringing destruction to the world.In the 1980s, the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive by bringing destruction to the world.
- Awards
- 1 win & 19 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAlthough not in the movie, Sir Patrick Stewart jokingly informed Bryan Singer that he would be willing to play Mystique, should Jennifer Lawrence "start playing up." He said: "I am so ready to be naked, painted blue, and the world is ready for it too."
- Goofs(at around 44 mins) When Apocalypse collects the information of the current world from TV, a picture of the Big Buddha in Hong Kong is shown. The construction of the Big Buddha started in 1990, and finished 1993.
- Quotes
Charles Xavier: The world's already begun rebuilding its arsenals.
Erik Lensherr: It's human nature, Charles.
Charles Xavier: I still have hope.
Erik Lensherr: [wry laugh] Oh, yes. Hope.
Charles Xavier: I was right about Raven. I was even right about you.
Erik Lensherr: What about the rest of the world? Doesn't it ever wake you up in the middle of the night? The feeling that one day they'll come for you, and your children?
Charles Xavier: It does indeed.
Erik Lensherr: What do you do when you wake up to that?
Charles Xavier: I feel a great swell of pity for the poor soul that comes to my school looking for trouble.
- Crazy creditsSPOILER: There is a scene at the end of the closing credits: Men from Essex Corporation (run by X-Men villain Mister Sinister, aka Nathaniel Essex) arrive at the Weapon X base and collect samples of Wolverine's blood. This leads into Logan (2017).
- ConnectionsEdited from The Wolverine (2013)
- SoundtracksGlory Of The Trumpets
Written by J. Bronshire
Arranged by Isaac Jenkins
Courtesy of APM Music
There are lot of plot threads to follow. Fortunately or unfortunately it does not require much inferring or complex thinking to follow the story. It is very simple and it is in its simplicity that it loses out on the richness of character than past xmen movies had. Our characters are all reduced to two dimensional archetypes each with familiar story arcs. So familiar in fact that the whole movie is a pastiche of plot points taken from past xmen movies. Eric is the grief stricken blood knight who goes evil with vengeance when tragedy strikes, again. Scott jean and Kurt are the inexperienced loners who have to work together to overcome their challenges, a little like pyro, Bobby drake (ice man) and kitty pryde (shadow cat) in X-men 2. Mystique replaces wolverine as the badass wanderer who is thrown into a leadership position to guide our young loners. Xavier is once again captured and the X-men's home base is compromised, again like X-MEN 2. Powerful mutant with delusions of godhood and a gang of loyal followers is Apocalypse this time replacing magneto's role in the first 3 xmen movies. Call it homage or call it cliché, I feel that this story manages to toe the line between familiar and fresh. The familiar elements gives us a sense of the revolving nature of conflict, that history repeats despite the best intentions. The fresh elements of course add new facets to a film which could have otherwise been a complete bore, thanks to the slow burn nature of the plot which mostly sees both good guys and bad guys gathering their key players for the final showdown. Those who can appreciate a slow build up would love this while those who need their immediate action fix would be left disappointed.
Divisive might be the best word to describe this movie. When the action does come, it is a special effects spectacle of mutant powers on display where everyone.......pretty much stands around shooting things at each other. Oh look, the villain is getting the upper hand! Let's shoot more! Where physical stunts and fights come, they are a thrill to behold except the dated wire work which feels artificial. Interspersed between these divisive battles are particular scenes of movie magic. Quicksilver (last see in DAYS OF FUTURE PAST) returns and we get to see the full extent of his powers once again only on a larger scale. And at least this time he has a purpose in the story other than being a just a miraculous attempt. But as mentioned earlier his motivations are touched on but not explored. His character is simplified into yet another archetype.
Beneath the visual spectacle, the movie under utilises its cast of characters. Ty Sheridan's Scott Summers could have been great as the new audience surrogate, going from meek bullied loser to taking his first steps as confident leader of the X-Men. Instead he is also shoved into the background after his introduction. Kodi-smith mcfee's more feline looking Nightcrawler is also another intriguing character sidelined. Instead we get more Charles Xavier and more Eric playing out their character drama like star crossed lovers. Don't get me wrong, they are fantastic actors, especially Michael Fassbender completely nailing the tragedy of Eric's character arc. But their story came to a decent close in the last movie and this one just feels like more of the same.
Apocalypse himself is a villain that is as equally divisive as the movie itself. On one hand, it seemed that the creators were going for the "all powerful but frail" type of villain ala emperor Palpatine of Star Wars. The snake-like menace that Oscar Isaac exudes through his sinister delivery is betrayed by a design that borders on corny. Oversized platform boots, plastic looking Armour and an ill defined set of powers all downplay the threatening presence of the villain. His motivations could have been much deeper. A commentary on modern commercialism replacing the religions of old perhaps as the new "cult following"? Or a criticism of humanity's arrogance and self glorifying nature? Maybe even a critique on how common folk are quick to idolise mortal "false gods" of the influential and powerful? No, no and no. None of that thematic depth here. Apocalypse is merely your Saturday morning cartoon variety villain who wants to destroy the world to rebuild in his image.
It is not a bad movie per se. Visually stunning, an easy-to-follow plot and well cast characters set to a script filled with witty dialogue that does not overdo the comedy. The acting is professional and the music by John Ottman is a grand thematic continuation of But for a grand finale it pales in comparison to films like X-MEN 2 by glossing over its deeper themes of social commentary especially, in the treatment of mutants as an allegory to prejudice against social minorities. It lacks the urgency, high stakes tension and emotional depth of DAYS OF FUTURE PAST and the chemistry among the cast is no where near XMEN FIRST CLASS. I would place it as a middling entry into the X-men franchise that succeeds in opening the doors to a whole new generation of X-men movies.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- X-Men: Apocalipsis
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $178,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $155,442,489
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $65,769,562
- May 29, 2016
- Gross worldwide
- $543,934,105
- Runtime2 hours 24 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1