Why X-Men’s Apocalypse is scary
Let me be clear about 2 things:
1. X-Men: Apocalypse is an okay movie. It’s not going to set the world on fire; at least, not beyond the movie screen. It should do well enough, but there is one big reason why it isn’t a great film… Or maybe there are several small reasons, but the one that I am concerned with is the villain.
2. That means that this discussion will have spoilers. If you haven’t seen X-Men: Apocalypse, bookmark this page and come back to it afterwards. I mean, sure, you already know the ending of the film, but still, it’s the principle of the thing.
Discussion follows after the ad…
1. X-Men: Apocalypse is an okay movie. It’s not going to set the world on fire; at least, not beyond the movie screen. It should do well enough, but there is one big reason why it isn’t a great film… Or maybe there are several small reasons, but the one that I am concerned with is the villain.
2. That means that this discussion will have spoilers. If you haven’t seen X-Men: Apocalypse, bookmark this page and come back to it afterwards. I mean, sure, you already know the ending of the film, but still, it’s the principle of the thing.
Discussion follows after the ad…
I did mention SPOILERS!
Apocalypse is the main villain of X-Men: Apocalypse. He is overpowered with mutant abilities. He can turn people and things to dust instantly. His main motivation is to rule the world. No one mutant is able to stand up to him. Professor X gets crushed in his own mind. Mystique is throat slammed like a rag doll. And worst of all, in the back of the mind of anyone watching the film is “Why doesn’t Apocalypse dust everyone that isn’t Professor X and then steal X’s power?” Because, yes, that would lead to a very short film and a very unhappy ending.
So instead, the film goes through about 2 hours of build up with this villain who has the most passé motivation ever and should be able to bring about his wishes with a flick of his finger, and in the end, the big battle winds up being stupidly mollifying without having anything creative about it. At least, Batman versus Superman tried to end its battle between superheroes in a creative away. Yes, it failed, but at least it was creative. Instead, this overly powered villain is attacked from all sides and awakens the Dark Phoenix to finish him off. As a villain, Apocalypse is not interesting (Seriously, to rule the world? Why? Especially if you are going to cleanse everyone from the face of the planet. What is there left to rule, and what does that mean to a god?), not compelling and not scary. You know how everything is going to end the moment that Apocalypse recruits Magneto, who has changed sides more often than the Italians.
Apocalypse is scary because of what he means for Thanos. I know they are 2 different universes, that Disney has done a better job with its films than 20th Century Fox has and that Disney Marvel has been on a roll. It has 4 movies that have grossed over $1 billion dollars each with the latest being Captain America: Civil War, and its other films haven’t slacked off too much in the revenue department. These movies have been so well done that other superhero movies pale in comparison. None of that history matters because of who Thanos is.
Thanos is an overpowered supervillain who wants to rule the universe. Reportedly, his motivation is that he literally courting death who turned him down for a date. He figures if he rules the universe, she would be impressed enough to go out with him. None of that has been revealed in the short clips movie-goers have seen. Maybe, he wants to rule the universe because he can and he is so short-sighted that he doesn’t realize there will be no place to go from there. (Though that could be an interesting storyline, “What do you do after you control the universe?” Maybe let it go and see what happens?) Of course after so many movies and plans, short-sighted is not a way to describe Thanos.
That leaves Disney Marvel with the problem of how to defeat Thanos in a way that movie goers haven’t seen yet. A super powered beat down where everyone joins forces and throws everything at him, just isn’t going to work. As Apocalypse has shown, just throwing stuff at the bad results in a terribly boring fight sequence that doesn’t make much sense for a god with quick healing and the ability to turn people to dust. What makes this problem bigger is that Thanos will presumably have the Infinity Stones (not related to the Rolling Stones, even if they seem infinite) at the final showdown. He will be able to control every facet of everything. In that case, the only things that should be able to stop Thanos are – himself, his love for Death or some being that we haven’t met, yet who exists outside of space and time. Still if Apocalypse is any measure of how things are going to go down, the ride might be enjoyable, but the letdown could lead to exactly what Thanos wants – the destruction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And for fans, that has got be at least as scary as a real apocalypse.
Apocalypse is the main villain of X-Men: Apocalypse. He is overpowered with mutant abilities. He can turn people and things to dust instantly. His main motivation is to rule the world. No one mutant is able to stand up to him. Professor X gets crushed in his own mind. Mystique is throat slammed like a rag doll. And worst of all, in the back of the mind of anyone watching the film is “Why doesn’t Apocalypse dust everyone that isn’t Professor X and then steal X’s power?” Because, yes, that would lead to a very short film and a very unhappy ending.
So instead, the film goes through about 2 hours of build up with this villain who has the most passé motivation ever and should be able to bring about his wishes with a flick of his finger, and in the end, the big battle winds up being stupidly mollifying without having anything creative about it. At least, Batman versus Superman tried to end its battle between superheroes in a creative away. Yes, it failed, but at least it was creative. Instead, this overly powered villain is attacked from all sides and awakens the Dark Phoenix to finish him off. As a villain, Apocalypse is not interesting (Seriously, to rule the world? Why? Especially if you are going to cleanse everyone from the face of the planet. What is there left to rule, and what does that mean to a god?), not compelling and not scary. You know how everything is going to end the moment that Apocalypse recruits Magneto, who has changed sides more often than the Italians.
Apocalypse is scary because of what he means for Thanos. I know they are 2 different universes, that Disney has done a better job with its films than 20th Century Fox has and that Disney Marvel has been on a roll. It has 4 movies that have grossed over $1 billion dollars each with the latest being Captain America: Civil War, and its other films haven’t slacked off too much in the revenue department. These movies have been so well done that other superhero movies pale in comparison. None of that history matters because of who Thanos is.
Thanos is an overpowered supervillain who wants to rule the universe. Reportedly, his motivation is that he literally courting death who turned him down for a date. He figures if he rules the universe, she would be impressed enough to go out with him. None of that has been revealed in the short clips movie-goers have seen. Maybe, he wants to rule the universe because he can and he is so short-sighted that he doesn’t realize there will be no place to go from there. (Though that could be an interesting storyline, “What do you do after you control the universe?” Maybe let it go and see what happens?) Of course after so many movies and plans, short-sighted is not a way to describe Thanos.
That leaves Disney Marvel with the problem of how to defeat Thanos in a way that movie goers haven’t seen yet. A super powered beat down where everyone joins forces and throws everything at him, just isn’t going to work. As Apocalypse has shown, just throwing stuff at the bad results in a terribly boring fight sequence that doesn’t make much sense for a god with quick healing and the ability to turn people to dust. What makes this problem bigger is that Thanos will presumably have the Infinity Stones (not related to the Rolling Stones, even if they seem infinite) at the final showdown. He will be able to control every facet of everything. In that case, the only things that should be able to stop Thanos are – himself, his love for Death or some being that we haven’t met, yet who exists outside of space and time. Still if Apocalypse is any measure of how things are going to go down, the ride might be enjoyable, but the letdown could lead to exactly what Thanos wants – the destruction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And for fans, that has got be at least as scary as a real apocalypse.