Yet again the stakes are raised and world-ending plot developments are brought to the fore, all the while seemingly forgetting that the best X-Men films have been those that focus on the core dynamic between the central characters amidst all the CGI mayhem. It is certainly not as disappointing as The Last Stand - the film is enjoyable to watch, and the interplay between the different X-Men is what Singer excels at, notwithstanding the absence of Wolverine to the main story. And yet as the second half of the film kicks into gear, Oscar Isaac’s central villain is largely wasted and both his motivation and powers are rather vague. It doesn’t help that yet again we have a film content to unleash citywide destruction with little context as to the impact and consequences that result. With Fassbender’s far more interesting Magneto also effectively relegated to the villain’s sidekick after a strong start, it’s left largely to the central heroes to hold our attention. McAvoy, Lawrence and Hoult are by now comfortable in their roles and by and large the other actors playing younger versions of characters from previous films acquit themselves well, though Turner will have to do a lot more in the future to convince as Jean Grey. Once again the star of the show turns out to be Peters’ Quicksilver, given more to do here beyond another fun display of his powers. It all adds up to a solid enough entertaining film, but after the fantastic Days of Future Past and with Singer’s involvement, this can’t help but feel like a step backwards.
Review by Simon MasseyVIP 11BlockedParent2016-06-05T21:54:48Z
Yet again the stakes are raised and world-ending plot developments are brought to the fore, all the while seemingly forgetting that the best X-Men films have been those that focus on the core dynamic between the central characters amidst all the CGI mayhem. It is certainly not as disappointing as The Last Stand - the film is enjoyable to watch, and the interplay between the different X-Men is what Singer excels at, notwithstanding the absence of Wolverine to the main story. And yet as the second half of the film kicks into gear, Oscar Isaac’s central villain is largely wasted and both his motivation and powers are rather vague. It doesn’t help that yet again we have a film content to unleash citywide destruction with little context as to the impact and consequences that result. With Fassbender’s far more interesting Magneto also effectively relegated to the villain’s sidekick after a strong start, it’s left largely to the central heroes to hold our attention. McAvoy, Lawrence and Hoult are by now comfortable in their roles and by and large the other actors playing younger versions of characters from previous films acquit themselves well, though Turner will have to do a lot more in the future to convince as Jean Grey. Once again the star of the show turns out to be Peters’ Quicksilver, given more to do here beyond another fun display of his powers. It all adds up to a solid enough entertaining film, but after the fantastic Days of Future Past and with Singer’s involvement, this can’t help but feel like a step backwards.