By: JD Hardin
Captain America: Civil War has been out almost a week, and Civil War has been getting rave reviews all over. Everyone is talking about Captain America. In just over two weeks, FOX will release the next chapter in the X-Men franchise. So where’s the buzz?
Apocalypse was one of the X-Men’s greatest enemies. No doubt, this should be the most epic film in the franchise. So, why aren’t people excited to see the immortal mutant on screen? While Deadpool boasted a measly $58M budget, X-Men: Apocalypse is reported to have a monstrous budget of $234M. We can all agree that Deadpool was an incredible credit to our obsession. What can you buy for four times the price? The public doesn’t seem too interested in the answer. FOX has kept up with their rivals every step of the way. Behind the scenes photos “leaked” on social media, teaser trailer releases, even major press. So why might this movie fall off the nerd radar for the year?
De-Clawed
If I were to ask you who you’re favorite X-Man was, odds are, it wouldn’t be Cyclops, Havok, or Beast. More than likely, it would be Wolverine. It has been revealed that, while Hugh Jackman will be in the film, you shouldn’t expect to see much of the adamantium wielding berserker. Wolverine is the only character to have a part in every X-Men film to date. He’s also the only character to be portrayed by a single actor. The character only had a small cameo in First Class, but this can be excused since Wolverine was not a founding X-Man. Days of Future Past revolved almost entirely around Wolverine. Bryan Singer has stated the reason he won’t be involved heavily in Apocalypse, is due to the fact that he was really involved in the original story arc. It could easily be debated however, that if they are throwing the biggest villain into the film, the meanest hero should be used as well.
Too Much of Too Much
Early reviews state that the time travel we saw in Days of Future Past was just the tip of the iceberg. Time travel can make a plot hard to follow. If you time travel frequently in two films, back to back, the theater may need to provide a chart for reference, and a pencil and paper to take notes. Once the plot becomes too difficult to follow, expect your audience to lose interest rather quickly. According to many of the early reviewers, Apocalypse does just that.
Time travel, to and extent, can be acceptable when properly executed. Just look at Back to the Future. Early reports say that FOX has tried to fit in nearly every X-Men character into the film. Fellow readers will know how extensive the X-Men role call would be. There is such a thing as too much, and FOX appears to be determined to cross that line.
“….it is a movie with way too much of everything except the things that should matter the most—novelty, creativity, and fun.” -Chris Nashawaty, EW
Sharp Cheddar
Most can agree that Joel Schumacher’s 1997 film, Batman & Robin, has held the title of campiest film since it’s debut. Apparently, Bryan Singer is looking to Schumacher for inspiration. Early reports describe it as “the 90’s cartoon in live action”. Batman & Robin tried that very approach and is now regarded by many as the worst film in history. I must admit, when I saw Apocalypse, I was a long way from impressed. As the biggest villain in the X-Men’s rogue gallery, he should be terrifying. He looks hilarious.
X-Men looks like it’s going to have a tough go of things, and FOX needs it to excel after the atrocity that was the Fantastic Four. With Hugh Jackman stepping down after Wolverine 3, X-Men just might continue to fail. If X-Men: Apocalypse fails, it very well may spell the apocalypse for FOX. A reboot of the FOX Marvel universe would almost certainly follow a X-Men flop, but fans have shown no love for cinematic reboots. The removal of Fantastic Four 2 from FOX’s shooting schedule insinuates possible intentions to return it to Marvel. If Apocalypse bombs, and FOX reboots the series, it will likely fail too.
The Nerdery 