Oh X-Men. You do torture me. I'm living a painfully internet-free lifestyle at the moment, but there have been a few pages of interesting discussion here that I've been itching to contribute to. (Wall of text incoming)
What kind of persuasion power does Apocalypse posses? The fact that there is debate about it on here is proof enough that his power-set was poorly explained in the film. I don't really buy the “drugged up” angle, especially if Charles' experiences are anything to go by. He is briefly over-come during the Cerebro sequence, because Apocalypse took over Cerebro. Stated clear as day in the film. Charles is briefly lost in the commotion before begging to be separated from the device. Later, Apocalypse gives him the same power boost as the horsemen in order to deliver a speech to the world. There is absolutely no sign of him being corrupted by it. Charles switches up the speech toward the end as an act of defiance. There was no influence there.
Furthermore, to say the horsemen's silent roles in the film is an indication that they were in some sort of trance sounds pretty fishy to me. A convenient way to explain away yet another set of under-developed mute henchmen, perhaps. The film presents these four characters as very easily seduced, and the ones that turn back do so just as easily. A great shame too, because that is four major characters flushed down the toilet all at once. Lets takes a look at each one, just for fun...
Magneto gets the most material because he is Magneto, because he is Michael Fassbender, and because Fassbender is 1/3 of the core cast contractually obliged to this “trilogy” (more on that later). Ironically, he is just as under-served by this film as the other three despite having more screen-time. I say this because his material is a bunch of rehashed woe that exists solely to get him on the evil team again. Needless to say I agree with those who said another set of dead family members was unnecessary, adding nothing to the character, merely fogging up an already perfect tragic backstory. Fassbender can act the hell out of suffering, don't get me wrong, and I can imagine a scenario where this storyline could play nicely, it just isn't this.
The only remotely interesting thing Magneto does in this film is ultimately fight for good. Sadly, it comes about too late, after too much destruction, and a few flip-flops too many. Erik was living a peaceful existence when this film opened, and all it took was a damn workplace accident to make him a murderer again (yeah I know Apocalypse awaking caused that factory incident, but lets not pretend an earth-quake or a simple mistake couldn't have had the same effect.) I didn't leave this film thinking Erik had turned a corner. I left wondering what will cause his next violent mood swing. As a result, the brief, light conversation between him and Charles at the end of the film rung false. You don't just walk away all smiles and banter after what happened.
[To those who were also left cold by Magneto in this film... How would you have felt if it was the death of Erik's wife and child that caused him to shift toward good in the movie? He holds himself responsible for their death, never aligns with Apocalypse and joins the X-Men early? Would a different response make the familiar story beat feel justified? Food for thought.]
Next up... well... If I was to dedicate two paragraphs to each remaining horseman I would have officially spent more time on those guys than the film-makers did so lets wrap them up quickly. Angel, Psylocke and even Storm may as well have been names on a dartboard. Angel was picked because of his history with Apocalypse in the comics, not that any of the meat from those stories was brought over with him. Psylocke was literally chosen to make up the numbers, picked by Kinberg after a google search. Storm was a horseman because they thought it would be interesting to introduce a hero in a villainous role. She gets a mini arc about being bad for a little bit and then deciding not to be bad any more. That's about as deep as her story goes. Will her villainous origin make any impact on future stories? Doubtful.
Our poor Ororro has never really had a fair shake in this franchise. Many question the casting of Halle Berry, and while I'd agree she has been pretty terrible in places, I do wonder if she really had all that much to work with. The adorable Alexandra Shipp now wears the mantle, and I'm cautiously optimistic about her in the role. Despite getting the usual Storm treatment (i.e. nothing to do), the actor still made an impression on me. The caution is purely because Kinberg is still around and there is absolutely no reason to think he will break tradition and do something good. It's a sad truth that Storm is just one of many, many characters that is still sorely under-utilised after 16 years on film. Angel and Psylocke were both (continuity demolishing) second attempts at the characters, and for the most part they missed the mark just as badly as the first time around. Great job guys.
This has been quite an epic, but if you're still reading, allow me to pick up on that “trilogy” thing again. I believe the film was wrong-headed from its inception. Apocalypse exists as it is because there is a cast contracted for a trilogy. This isn't a trilogy. Apocalypse is the 6th film, 3rd prequel, and reboot at the same time. That is a cluster***** in the making, and the film groans under the weight of its own context.
There was no way Apocalypse was going to be a more effective “culmination” of the franchise than DOFP if only for it not having all the cast. Why even bother? The film needed to be a fresh start with a new focus and new stories. I know Charles, Erik and Raven were the big names on the call sheet but DOFP paid them off brilliantly. When you think about what we learned about these characters in Apocalypse, was it really necessary beyond what DOFP told us? For instance, Charles went ahead and formed the X-Men, just like he promised in DOFP. He also learned to let go of his control over women, just like he did with Raven in DOFP. It may have been cathartic to see Jean flourish under Xavier's more mature guidance in Apocalypse, but we already know he had changed for the better for the fact that she is alive and well in the future coda. It was time for them all to slide down the roster a little.
Weapon X, Stryker, Phoenix etc. are all too familiar for a fresh start, and it was time to drop all the annoying prequel-schtick, like grand backstories for hairstyles and “cute” meta-dialogue. Finally, it was a mistake to close the film on the costumed team. You open with that. It was the 80's dammit! Stop teasing, it took a whole 20 years to form the X-Men in this continuity.
As much as I don't like Apocalypse, there is no way in hell it is worse than DC's awful, awful releases this past year.
