A Geeky Viewpoint

There is a scene in X-Men: Apocalypse that sums up the movie in a very ironic way.   Scott Sommers / Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Gray (Sophie Turner), Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and Jubilation "Jubilee" Lee (Lana Condor) are exiting a movie Theater after watching Return of the Jedi while discussing whether or not third movies in a trilogy can be as good as others.   How Ironic.

Much like Return of the Jedi, fans will like this film, but it will be far from their favorite and many will have a dozen suggestions on how it could have been made better.

There are a number of solid story arcs through out the film and each character has a unique point of view.  Their stories are muffled by the sheer number of characters and constant action in the film.   X-Men: Apocalypse features a strong cast with a good mix of returning actors and new up and coming actors.    As an audience you never become fully attached to many of the characters on the screen.   Even though they have a unique story most story arcs and characters are not on the screen long enough for us to truly care about them as characters.

In X-Men: Evolution (2000), the animated television show, the central story arc of "Age of Apocalypse" spent 4 seasons  and 46 episodes leading up to the showdown with Apocalypse.   The same story arc in this movie is given just under two and half hours, it just doesn't work.   It is too involved of a story.   The first 40 minutes of the film is made up a series of very short scenes that jump from place to place to place to place at break neck speed that only Quicksilver could appreciate.   Those not versed in X-Men lore may find it difficult to keep up and lose interest in the secondary story arcs.    

There are six true tent-pole super-hero movies this year; Deadpool, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, Suicide Squad, and Doctor Strange as well as X-Men: Apocalypse.   The other five, if just in the trailers, attempt to separate themselves from the pack by taking chances in creating new and different situations for their super-heroes.   You can argue how successful BvS: DoJ was but the other two so far this year were very successful.  X-Men: Apocalypse doesn't necessarily take chances, it is extremely formulaic, even though it is set in 1980's.   As an audience you kind of know what is coming next because that is what the blueprint says to do.

Marvel Studios (Disney/Buena Vista) has a clear advantage when it comes to VX/CGI.   X-Men: Apocalypse being released so close to Captain America: Civil War highlights the disadvantage most studios are faced with today.   The VX/CGI effects looked dated and incomplete in comparison to Captain America: Civil War.   The film felt more in line with X-Men: X-Men United (2003) than it does with X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014).