Apocalypse Certified Fresh or Fresh or Rotten? The ROTTEN TOMATOES Thread

[siberia82]

I'm terrified by the overwhelmingly mediocre reviews this movie has been receiving so far. I've been a fan of Singer's X-Men films since the very beginning back in 2000, and now I'm upset and shocked that Singer and the writers may have messed up XMA. I haven't felt this sick to my stomach over a fandom since I heard that Singer was fired from the 3rd X-Men film.

 

[X-Maniac]

So how would you ever know if there is an older film you missed that you might like? Using this theory, I would have never seen Seven Samurai or Goodfellas. Two of my favorite films.

I've just never used RT in that way before. It's an interesting method but, still, I can't be sure I'd enjoy what was highly recommended/rated. Some stuff I might enjoy could be lurking at the bottom of some lists!

I just don't use RT as my 'film guide'.

I'd never seek out older films in that way. (I don't have Netflix or any other film services, nor do I actively try to 'find' films online).

 

[Wolfgangamadeus]

I'm terrified by the overwhelmingly mediocre reviews this movie has been receiving so far. I've been a fan of Singer's X-Men films since the very beginning back in 2000, and now I'm upset and shocked that Singer and the writers may have messed up XMA. I haven't felt this sick to my stomach over a fandom since I heard that Singer was fired from the 3rd X-Men film.

He wasn't fired though. He left to go do Superman Returns.

 

[RoryTate]

As someone who loves the X-Men (Nightcrawler and Rachel Summers/Grey are two of my top three favourite super-heroes), this RT score is actually in line with what I expected from this movie right from the outset. The comic book source material honestly isn't the most endearing X-Men arc to me (unlike say the Dark Phoenix saga or DOFP), and the trailers didn't pique my interest. Mystique was never a popular character in the comics, so trying to give her more focus in the movies is a big risk, and honestly didn't work even in DOFP (which was at least somewhat enjoyable, though I didn't like it as much as most). Wolverine is popular, but a large part of this is his interactions with other characters (Xavier, Cyclops, and others), so without them being well established, the "Wolverine is a loose cannon and dangerous" storyline has gotten old really fast.

I really think Apocalypse as a villain was always going to be difficult to do well, since even the comics made his threat level seems way too varied (sometimes a god, other times a normal human threat). His motivations are also tough to relate to for an audience, unless you present him as a "force of nature" instead of as a real character. Kinda like the antagonists in the "Alien" movies. Who cares about the nuance of the Alien's goals...it's all biology/evolution. Apocalypse should be the same (and not even the comics did that right tbh). A comic book movie without a strong villain is going to have issues right at its core as far as the viewers are concerned.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

Again the % is not the score. That's what most people keep forgetting. You don't think Force Awakens deserves 92%? Would you give the movie a fresh? If yes, then you are adding to the score. RT gives only two options--is the film worth watching or not? Fresh or Rotten?

So fresh could be anywhere from a 5/10 with someone being heavily mixed to someone loving it with a 10/10. The % represents how many critics think the film is worth watching. If you want to know their individual thoughts and why they gave a fresh or rotten review, then read their review.

As of right now 47% of critics believe X-Men Apocalypse is worth watching. And a lot of the "fresh" ones are really mixed as well.

That being said, I far prefer the Pass/Fail binary system. Different scores mean different things to different people. Roger Ebert always used to give Thumbs Down to anything that didn't get at least 3 out of 4. I've seen critics that view a 5/10 as a positive score. I've seen critics that view anything less than 8/10 as a negative score. With a strict Pass/Fail system, there can be zero doubt as to whether a critic recommends the film or not.

 

[Wolfgangamadeus]

That being said, I far prefer the Pass/Fail binary system. Different scores mean different things to different people. Roger Ebert always used to give Thumbs Down to anything that didn't get at least 3 out of 4. I've seen critics that view a 5/10 as a positive score. I've seen critics that view anything less than 8/10 as a negative score. With a strict Pass/Fail system, there can be zero doubt as to whether a critic recommends the film or not.

Agree with everything you said. At the end of the day with films like BvS and even this one apparently, everyone is mixed and it just depends on how much a critic was entertained/forgiving to give that fresh score.

 

[Joeyjojo72]

Oh look. Another serious comic book film is getting lousy reviews from a number of critics. This must mean that Singer simply forgot how to direct a film in the span of a few years.

So let's say this turns out to be a capably made, even good, film and the critics hate it? Are fanboys going to lose it and pretend that everything about this film is crap like they did with BVS?

(Shakes head)

Writing's on the wall. Soon no superhero film will be allowed to deviate from a certain formula. And when every superhero film is super...none of them will be.

There's so much easily refuted nonsense here I honestly don't know where to begin. And now I'm sleepy. Nap time!

 

[First Avenger]

Up to 49! This might actually go up!

 

[Superhero 101]

The vibe i am getting from the film is that if you are a fan of the comics and the x-men movies you will like it. I am sure I will enjoy it. Worst Case Scenario I see the score going to 40's Best Case it can climb to MOS number 55%. IT would be a miracle if it gets to Thor 2 65%

 

[kineticist]

YAAAAS 49% lol keep rising!

 

[Z-man]

Well, this looks disappointing as hell, especially after FC and DOFP were both critically acclaimed.

Spoiler

Funny you mentioned that. In X-Men Apocalypse, after watching Return of the Jedi in the mall scene, the X-kids were debating about which one is the better Star Wars film - Empire or Return. Both Jean and Jubillee then said "we can both agree that the third one is always the worst"! I thought they were taking a stab at The Last Stand, now it applies to them too!

 

[kineticist]

Spoiler

Funny you mentioned that. In X-Men Apocalypse, after watching Return of the Jedi in the mall scene, the X-kids were debating about which one is the better Star Wars film - Empire or Return. Both Jean and Jubillee then said "we can both agree that the third one is always the worst"! I thought they were taking a stab at The Last Stand, now it applies to them too!

the unintentional self drag

 

[kguillou]

There's so much easily refuted nonsense here I honestly don't know where to begin. And now I'm sleepy. Nap time!

You have to admit, we're starting to see a lot of "well what do you EXPECT from a Bryan Singer X-Men film!" vitriol start to pop up. This happens every time a director has a misfire or a film thats not critically acclaimed. All of a sudden all of their prior work in retrospect was crap. People are going to pretend that they were not singing his praises to the Heavens like the rest of us in 2014 when he directed arguably the best X-Men film of them all and resuscitated the franchise.

 

[Mad Ones]

The bad reviews seem barely bad and the good reviews seem barely good.

 

[Superhero 101]

Seriously they seem more like nitpicking

 

[Mjölnir]

You have to admit, we're starting to see a lot of "well what do you EXPECT from a Bryan Singer X-Men film!" vitriol start to pop up. This happens every time a director has a misfire or a film thats not critically acclaimed. All of a sudden all of their prior work in retropsect was crap. People are going to pretend that they were not singing his praises to the Heavens like the rest of us in 2014 when he directed arguably the best X-Men film of them all.

While I haven't criticized Singer for more than not being great with the entire ensemble of characters I think both X2 and First Class are clearly better than DoFP, as the latter had much more logical issues. It also started where it felt like they put the actor over the character with Lawrence/Mystique, which it sounds like they are continuing to do in Apocalypse.

As said, I'm not criticizing Singer for this (especially not before seeing the movie) but I don't think he's been flawless before either.

 

[Sithborg]

It seems to be overwhelmingly mediocre. Which in this day and age = terrible.

Still disappointing, but hopefully not the train wreck people seem to be declaring.

But, it is still very early yet.

 

[zeptron]

This is just sad and pathetic right here

http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/...n-launched-to-stop-disney-from-paying-critics

 

[Sithborg]

god damnit

 

[Greens]

This is just sad and pathetic right here

http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/...n-launched-to-stop-disney-from-paying-critics

Anyone can start a petition.

Wouldn't be surprised if Grace Randolph supported it.

 

[Overman27pj]

As someone who loves the X-Men (Nightcrawler and Rachel Summers/Grey are two of my top three favourite super-heroes), this RT score is actually in line with what I expected from this movie right from the outset. The comic book source material honestly isn't the most endearing X-Men arc to me (unlike say the Dark Phoenix saga or DOFP), and the trailers didn't pique my interest. Mystique was never a popular character in the comics, so trying to give her more focus in the movies is a big risk, and honestly didn't work even in DOFP (which was at least somewhat enjoyable, though I didn't like it as much as most). Wolverine is popular, but a large part of this is his interactions with other characters (Xavier, Cyclops, and others), so without them being well established, the "Wolverine is a loose cannon and dangerous" storyline has gotten old really fast.

I really think Apocalypse as a villain was always going to be difficult to do well, since even the comics made his threat level seems way too varied (sometimes a god, other times a normal human threat). His motivations are also tough to relate to for an audience, unless you present him as a "force of nature" instead of as a real character. Kinda like the antagonists in the "Alien" movies. Who cares about the nuance of the Alien's goals...it's all biology/evolution. Apocalypse should be the same (and not even the comics did that right tbh). A comic book movie without a strong villain is going to have issues right at its core as far as the viewers are concerned.

Very well said.

 

[StormC]

Fans always turn on creators people the moment they disappoint. After DOFP Singer was seen as the savior of the franchise who could do no wrong. After Avengers came out Whedon was the god of the geeks, and then he made a sequel worse than Avengers and he's practically a pariah. Put them on a pedestal, then tear them down when they fail.

 

[zeptron]

Anyone can start a petition.

Wouldn't be surprised if Grace Randolph supported it.

True. But I can see two things happening. One which probably already has.


1. People with functional brains and enough common sense will laugh at this childish behavior.

2. These people could get sued for libel or asked to remove the petition for the same reason.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Spoiler

Funny you mentioned that. In X-Men Apocalypse, after watching Return of the Jedi in the mall scene, the X-kids were debating about which one is the better Star Wars film - Empire or Return. Both Jean and Jubillee then said "we can both agree that the third one is always the worst"! I thought they were taking a stab at The Last Stand, now it applies to them too!

That's hilarious. Talk about backfire.

 

[Wolfgangamadeus]

Anyone can start a petition.

Wouldn't be surprised if Grace Randolph supported it.

She said X-Men Apocalypse was the best X-Men film so wouldn't be surprised in the least.