Woo, lort. I've been deliveret. I literally JUST got back from seeing this so I'm trying to collect my thoughts and tell you how I felt about it. Unbiasedly I'll admit that the movie had it's flaws, namely CGI (
) and pacing. It kinda reminded me of reading a really packed event, like Avengers vs. X-Men, where there's so much happening so fast and you just want them to take a little more time, but the good DEFINITELY made up for the bad.
First of all, I really liked the opening scene with Apocalypse. As soon as he entered the tomb and I noticed the four people flanking him, I got chills realizing they were his Horsemen, and that scene was an exciting way to kick off the movie, with the tomb collapsing and trapping him. Then we saw Angel and Nightcrawler, and while I loved Nightcrawler in this, Angel was definitely one of the low points of the film. They completely abandoned his backstory, and the wings (
and hair) looked pretty bad. But even that I let go, because while that was nothing like Warren, it
is a new timeline, and Archangel is probably the most iconic of Apocalypse's Horseman, so while that was definitely
not Warren Worthington, it was important that we got to see Archangel. Psylocke's origin was also bastardized, but in her case I'm not gonna complain because she was so fantastically badass, and you could tell Olivia Munn was living for it. And Storm I also loved. Alexandra gave us the accent and I liked how quickly she was able to call upon her powers this go around, and she had attitude (
"Welcome to the 80's."). I had read beforehand that during the big fight scene against Apocalypse at the end that Storm just stands back and watches in fear and that they "ruined her" again (
I personally enjoyed Halle Berry's Storm), but the reason she stands back is because she's conflicted. Apocalypse had done a lot for her, but she also looked up to Mystique. Either way, I didn't expect her to get involved based on what I'd heard, and all I was thinking when they were attacking that sphere Apocalypse was protecting himself in was, ugh, it would be so cool if all of a sudden a lightning bolt struck it and she joined the fight, and of course the Goddess came through.
She reminded me of The Last Stand Storm, which was always my favorite Storm.
I liked the scene where we got to see Scott's powers develop. I owned the novelization of the first movie when it came out and that scene was actually in there, except I think it happened at the prom, but I thought that was a cool nod to probably unintentional continuity. And I thought he was so spot on in his portrayal of young Scott. It was so great not to see him come off as such a boy scout.
Jubilee was basically a glorified cameo, but honestly, I'm just happy she didn't die, because not too long ago I had accepted that she would. I just wish we could have at least seen her take charge and round up the other students when the others were taken away. I'm hoping she'll have a bigger role in the next film, especially since it's gonna be set in the 90's and that's when she was most popular.
I was actually dreading Quicksilver's slow motion scene here, because I was worried it was gonna feel like a forced gimmick since the last one was so popular, but he was perfectly utilized. It outdid the last scene imo. I kinda wish they weren't so ott with his humor, though. It almost seemed satirical at times (
and a little Deadpool-ish), but the audience loved it, so I'm probably alone there.
Not me thinking Moira was Dust at first.
I lived for when she shed that burqa and gave us Indiana Jones. I was worried she was gonna feel useless and that they only brought her back to include more First Class people, but I enjoyed her being back and her romance with Xavier.
I even warmed up to Mystique! At first I rolled my eyes at her whole, "I'm no hero." thing, because I thought that was just their way of trying to make her a reluctant hero since we all know she's supposed to be a villain, but then when they were on the jet and she was comforting Scott and Jean and talking about the original X-Men, and how she wasn't able to save them, and that's why she didn't consider herself a hero, in that moment I found her to be very well written, and because of that I think I was finally able to let go and accept that she's nothing like comic book Mystique, or even Rebecca Romijn Mystique.
I loved Wolverine's cameo as Weapon X. It was actually a lot more than I even expected it to be. I got chills when they entered the room he was caged in and they heard him breathing and Scott asked if it was an animal, and the scene where Jean was able to calm him out of his berserker rage and restore a bit of his memory was such fan service for me. It made me think of Old Man Logan and time-displaced Jean Grey in Extraordinary X-Men.
And to be completely honest when the guards came in after them and Jean used her telekinesis to unlock his cage, the FIRST thing I thought of was Bryce Dallas Howard letting the Tyrannosaurus rex out of her cage to fight the Indominus rex in Jurassic World.
Actually when the movie was over the people behind us complained about them wasting time on Wolverine since Hugh Jackman is leaving the franchise, but imo that's all the more reason to! I'm so happy we got that moment, and the post-credits scene was someone coming to collect a Weapon X DNA sample, so X-23 is coming.
But when I tell you - and I know I previously said this about Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman, and it applied then too - that I had to RESTRAIN MYSELF from jumping out of my SEAT when Professor Xavier and Apocalypse were battling on the astral plane and the Cerebro doors opened and JEAN GREY walked through. The biggest smile spread over my face because I knew what was coming, and I thought we were only gonna get a taste, but she UNLEASHED THE PHOENIX. Homg. I'm hoping to see it again on Saturday JUST FOR THAT PART.
When she was walking on air.
When she spread her arms and burst into flames.
WHEN SHE OBLITERATED APOCALYPSE.
I just cannot believe they let her slay our entire lives like that. It was reparations for the Phoenix storyline in The Last Stand. I also thought Sophie did wonderfully with her American accent because the trailers made me fear that it was gonna take me out of the movie, but I was pleasantly surprised from the moment she opened her mouth. I also loved watching her relationship with Scott blossom, with them bonding over being the two most ostracized students in the school. I really wish they would have kept the mall scene because I loved the little quartet of misfit mutants made up of those two, Nightcrawler and Jubilee.
Now bring on the Phoenix Saga.
) but I have seen several posts from people saying that Sophie stole the show as Jean. 
