JASON RANTZ

Get psyched for X-Men: Apocalypse

May 27, 2016, 12:11 PM | Updated: 3:36 pm

Professor Charles Xavier and the X-Men team have the biggest and baddest villain of them all to deal with in X-Men: Apocalypse: G0d. Or something like that.

They take on the world’s first mutant, Apocalypse (played by Oscar Isaac). Whether or not he’s actually G0d is left to the viewer to determine but he’s laid dormant for hundreds of years. Once he wakes up, he wants to destroy the world so that only the strongest mutant survives.

He recruits his version of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse” which includes a teenage Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and, of course, Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who continues this complex character development of trying to be good, but keeps getting pushed to the dark side.

Overall, this is a strong installment of the X-Men series.

I particularly love origin stories and you get to meet the bulk of the X-Men characters as teenagers. Tye Sheridan plays Cyclops, Sophie Turney plays Jean Grey, and Kodi Smith McPhee plays Nightcrawler (he’s my favorite character; you may recall he’s the star of my favorite film of 2015, “Slow West”). You get the return of Evan Peters as Quicksilver and of course, my pretend brunch buddy, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique.

They manage to fit in every character under the sun and not overwhelm you; in fact, there’s probably room for more X-Men. This isn’t an easy task. These types of ensemble casts can be too much, not giving any individual character enough of the storyline. But they pair up rather effectively and fans of any individual X-Men character will be satisfied.

The action sequences are fantastic. You expect that. But they also manage a good mix of humor with the action (not quite as “knowing” and over-the-top as what you find in “The Avengers”). When dealing with the X-Men characters on camera, the film feels like a logical continuation of the past films which didn’t always have the same directors.

The one thing that I don’t think worked was the Apocalypse character. The opening sequence of the film didn’t seem to fit. It didn’t feel like an X-Men movie and a lot of the sequences with him felt almost like a different movie. The film also takes places in the 1980s. They don’t make much of the time period than they have in the last X-Men.

Still, if you like the X-Men series, you’ll love this one. Is it as good as the last two installments of the series? No. But as Hollywood summer blockbusters goes, it’ll meet your expectations.

Jason Rantz on AM 770 KTTH
  • listen to jason rantzTune in to AM 770 KTTH weekdays at 3-7pm toThe Jason Rantz Show.

Jason Rantz Show

Jason Rantz

Image: Seattle Police Department officers arrest a woman caught driving a stolen car full of stolen...

Jason Rantz

Rantz: Activists to harass cops with Seattle Police complaint campaign

A Seattle Police complaint campaign by activists amounts to little more than harassment. But it could backfire, generating sympathy for cops.

1 hour ago

Image: A Boeing 737 Max 10 airliner taxis past a hanger on the flight line before its first flight ...

Jason Rantz

Rantz: It’s time for Washington to worry about Boeing surviving

Boeing controversy after controversy, plus bad press, threatens the company's future. Washington should be very worried right now.

1 day ago

Image: Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters dur...

Jason Rantz

Rantz: Trump ‘bloodbath’ controversy is the latest media invention

When President Donald Trump used the term "bloodbath," the media became unhinged. He wasn't talking about violence, but the auto industry.

1 day ago

...

MyNorthwest Video

Video: KTTH Roundtable: Will TikTok Be Banned?

A local mystery was solved in Los Angeles (with a surprising end result) and Jason Rantz and Bryan Suits tackle the arguments behind the TikTok ban. Listen to The Bryan Suits Show weekdays from 6 a.m. – 9 a.m. on AM 770 KTTH or on-demand wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen to The Jason Rantz […]

3 days ago

Inset: Headshot of Seattle Police Department (SPD) Captain Deanna Nollette; Primary photo: An SPD v...

Jason Rantz

Rantz: Officer suing Seattle police for gender discrimination accused of gender bias

Seattle police officers said Captain Deanna Nollette, who sued the department for gender bias, is "notorious" for mistreating female officers.

5 days ago

Kim Wyman...

Bill Kaczaraba

Is ex-Secretary of State Kim Wyman running for that office again?

Rumors are spreading that former Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman is running for that office again.

5 days ago

Get psyched for X-Men: Apocalypse