X-Men: Apocalypse Revisited

     When I reviewed X-Men: Apocalypse back in 2016, my overall impression of the film was that it was "more uneven and disappointing than bad." Over time, my estimation of the film has eroded even more. As I mention in my original review, the only character to get much development is Magneto and his initial arc is really contrived and redundant. Erik doesn't really need more motivation to assert the superiority (as he sees it) of mutantkind. Indeed by the end of Days of Future Past, he appears just as devoted to this cause as ever. It really makes no sense that he would go into hiding and try to live a normal life, as he does in this film. After his family is killed by the superstitious villagers he basically becomes consumed with hatred and, after meeting Apocalypse, sets out to destroy humankind once and for all. The second arc he goes through, being redeemed by Charles and the X-Men, who remind him of who he is (or something), is even more rushed and unconvincing. This is really my core issue with the movie. The series has always been driven by character growth, and this installment is severely lacking in that department.

     It also plays a little like an X-Men greatest hits album. There is another Quicksilver rescue scene that attempts to top the one from Days of Future Past but it ultimately feels less exciting and creative and is, overall, lacking in tension. Once again we deal, briefly, with Wolverine and the Weapon-X program and it is incredibly intrusive and only serves to delay the development of the plot. They even recreate, word for word, the conversation between Charles and Erik at the end of the original X-Men. We also revisit Auschwitz in a scene that is so miscalculated and insensitive to Jewish history that I'm honestly surprised it made the final cut. Portraying Magneto as a holocaust survivor was a good way to emphasize the civil rights allegory and was one of the original movie's better ideas, but having Magneto destroy the remains of Auschwitz in a fit of rage seems to me to a gross appropriation of a powerful cultural symbol for a cheap emotional moment.

     In summary I no longer think that X-Men: Apocalypse works as a film and especially not as a sequel to Days of Future Past. It has some good moments and is certainly better then The Last Stand, but it's a mediocre piece of work overall.

Score: 6/10