Movie Review!!!

X-Men Apocalypse is the ninth film of the X-Men movie series. Its opening weekend worldwide brought in $265.8 million dollars. This is a low, first weekend count compared to 2016’s comic films Batman V Superman, Deadpool and Captain America: Civil War. The director of the X-Men film Bryan Singer, is back again to display his vision of the famous super team. Lots of comic fans have mixed opinions on Singer’s work. He can make superpowers look amazing on screen but his cinematic story timelines for the characters don’t match the origins of the comic books or previous films he has created in the series. Star Wars for instance, is a film series that is connected together in a big story that flows. The X-Men films series had that same potential because of its comic book popularity, but because of its notably changes, X-Men films are the least favorite in Marvel’s cinematic universe. Let’s find out what threw fans off with this film.

Apocalypse
According to the comics, Apocalypse is a known warrior that outranked all humans because of his incredible strength and size. What defined him as mutant was being born with grey skin, blue lips and nails. No one knew what Apocalypse mutant powers were exactly until he merged himself with Celestial technology. In the post credit of X-Men: Days of Future Past, young Apocalypse is shown building the pyramids with telekinesis, with his four horsemen observing in the background. At this point in time, it was obvious that Apocalypse has yet to merge with the technology of the gods. In this film, Apocalypse was explained as a mutant who amassed his great powers by transferring his conscious mind in different mutants over time, especially superpowers that suits his needs. He later discovered that its Jean’s power is what he needed instead of Xavier because she holds the Phoenix Force. If Apocalypse was the first mutant, how did he collect powers over his early reign on Earth? This is very different from the comic origins. Days of Future Past and Apocalypse didn’t match up with each other on how the character was brought to the big screen. Some would agree that Apocalypse natural size could have been similar to Xerxes in the film 300. Apocalypse was portrayed by actor Oscar Issac. What was your take of Apocalypse on the movie screen?

Angel/ ArchAngel
This film will be the second appearance for the hero Angel. The vision for this character was lackluster and outside his natural cinematic timeline. Angel’s first appearance was with X-Men: The Last Stand. His story was shown as a young boy trying to hide his mutation from his father by attempting to cut his wings off. When Angel got older and couldn’t hide his wings much longer, his father encouraged the removal, but Angel developed a change of heart. At the end of the film, Angel is enrolling himself in Xavier’s school. In X-Men Apocalypse, Angel is also in his teen years as a caged fighter. His left wing was damaged during his fight, then later upgraded by the power of Apocalypse. What’s off about this is in the comics, Apocalypse tricked Angel in believing he could turn him human but instead enslaved him as a horseman. The process for his enhancements was a very painful, torturous procedure. Angel developed a blue hue to his skin which resembles his master Apocalypse. Why is Angel in his teen years in both films? If the cinematic timeline of X-Men Apocalypse is set before The Last Stand, why is Angel still a teenager? And why wasn’t he introduced in X-Men: First Class as an original X-Men along with Ice Man?

Nightcrawler/ Mystique
This will be the second time comic fans have enjoyed Nightcrawler on screen. Nightcrawler was introduced in X-Men 2 as a tool for William Stryker before his was rescued by the X-Men. Also in this film, he has no knowledge of the X-Men , especially with Storm, Jean Grey or even Mystique. In X-Men Apocalypse, it’s a younger Nightcrawler who is saved from cage fighting by Mystique then later becoming one of the X-Men. What throws the cinematic timeline off is since Nightcrawler is meeting his new friends for the first time in Apocalypse, why does he have no knowledge of them in X-Men 2? In the comics, Mystique is Nightcrawler’s mother. This is a result of Mystique’s affair with Azazel, who was introduced in X-Men First Class. Is it possible Nightcrawler was conceived between the First Class and Apocalypse timelines since it was 21-year difference? In Days of Future Past, Mystique came across Trask’s files of mutants that were killed and experimented on. Azazel was among the lists. How was this immortal teleporting demon captured and even killed by humans??

Havoc/ Cyclops

There were obvious changes when bringing these two brothers to the big screen. According to the comics, Scott Summers is the older brother between himself and Havoc. In this film, Scott was introduced as the younger brother and was brought to Xavier for treatment by Havoc. In the comics, these brothers lost their parents in a plane crash and from that crash, Scott lost the ability to control his optic beams from an injury to his head. In this film, Scott Summer began to develop his powers while in regular public school. Also, their parents were alive and well, then even allowed Havoc to bring Scott with him to Xavier. What was confusing about the cinematic timeline in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Scott Summers was captured by Sabretooth along with mutants for William Stryker. During his capture, Scott was shown already equipped with ruby quartz lenses. How could he have gotten them if he has yet to meet the Professor? Scott was also later found and led to freedom from Stryker’s base by an older Xavier. This made no sense in the cinematic timeline because Xavier was a older, bald and walking when he rescued Scott. With Havoc, why did Bryan Singer fail to show fans that Havoc could absorb cosmic energy as well as fire optic beams and even fly?? Is Havoc really dead or will his character miraculously reappear in future X-Men films?

Jean Grey/ Wolverine
Jean Grey is among the X-Men once again, with a younger version portrayed by Sophie Turner. Hugh Jackman also made his return as Wolverine for this movie. What was confusing in this movie with Jean Grey was her previous younger form in X-Men: The Last Stand. In the beginning, Xavier and Magneto is visiting her as a child, trying to figure out the extent of her powers. Also, Xavier and Magneto could have been in their mid 40’s in that film, but in X-Men Apocalypse, Xavier and Magneto was not together as friends and they were in their early years while Jean was an older teenager. Jean Grey in this film displayed her inner power as the Phoenix, while in The Last Stand, Jean Grey experienced the Phoenix Force for the first time as an adult. Also, what threw comic and cinema fans way off was Jean releasing Wolverine from the Weapon X Program. In any flashbacks shown during the X-Men series or even X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Logan is shown escaping experimentation on his own. Why was this changed? Was Bryan Singer trying to create a way on how Logan built his attraction for Jean Grey??

Jubilee
Last but not least the cameo for Jubliee. Throughout the X-Men films, Jubliee has made small appearances notably in the first X-Men film and X-Men Apocalypse. If you pay close attention, Jubliee is a student in both films. If she was a student in the prequel films, why is she still a student and not an X-Man? Will she ever graduate or stay a student cameo?

Justice League generated $93.8 million on its opening weekend and to date, has grossed $657.9 million worldwide. Justice League is a continuation of the story started with the film Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Even though the Justice League was highly anticipated for DC Comics, it slowly grossed through the month of November compared to Dawn of Justice. This film is based on the comic stories Death and Return of Superman and Justice League: Origin.

There were many changes made to those two comic stories when entering the live cinematic realm. In the comic Justice League Origins, Green Lantern was the among the starting six members of the League. In the film, AquaMan took place of the Green Lantern with great results, slating a solo film release in 2018. Also, in Justice League Origin, the team coincidentally converged together because of the worldwide invasion by Darkseid. In JL 2017, Bruce Wayne went on his search for the metahumans that was discovered on the computer files of Lex Luthor. With the loss of Superman, Bruce needed a force to save the planet from a pending invasion. After gaining some knowledge of the Mother Box, the technology was then used to resurrect Superman. In The Death of Superman comic, Superman was rejuvenated in the Fortress of Solitude and even wore the iconic black kryptonian suit that fans wanted to see. There was a glimpse of this suit in Man of Steel when General Zod was explaining to Superman the purpose of the Codex. The Flash and Cyborg made their first appearance in the cinematic realm as well. With what we see of Cyborg, would Iron Man or Ultron be match for him? How about the Flash? Do you think the CG used to display his powers are better than Quicksilver in the X-Men movies?

Batman is technically the leader of the Justice League, even though Superman is the most powerful member. At the ending of the film, Bruce decides to use the old Wayne Manor as a base for the League. Is this idea made to replace the Watchtower concept, or will The Tower appear in future films? In JL 2017, you can see different versions of Batman which stemmed from various sources. Elements from the game Arkham City, was seen in the beginning scenes with Batman baiting in the Parademon. During the battle against the Parademon army, Batman wore the batsuit similarity worn in Arkham Knight. Comic fans felt the presence of Owlman when Batman wore his goggles. JL 2017 is the third film Ben Affleck‘s Batman has appeared without his own solo film. There are rumors back n forth whether or not Ben Affleck will continue his role as the Dark Knight. How much different do you think the Justice League movie would have been with the Christian Bale Batman and Christopher Nolan??

During his time on the kryptonian ship, Lex Luthor learned of the universal worlds stored in its computer archive. Here he probably learned of Apokolips and the owners of the mother boxes. Knowing that S.T.A.R. Labs has a mother box in possession, Lex more than likely informed Steppenwolf of this in the deleted scene “Communion“. Not only this, but Lex summons could also have been another way to destroy Superman in case his monster failed. In the ending scenes of Batman V Superman, Lex informs Batman of Steppenwolf’s future approach, where he ultimately does. What’s interesting in Steppenwolf’s first failed invasion, he retreated Earth on his ship along with his advisors. In his second failed attempt, boom tubes were the mode of transportation to Earth. Also, during Steppenwolf’s defeat, a boom tube was activated on his location, instantly teleporting him and his Parademons back to home base. Is it possible that Darkseid sent the boom tube himself to recall his general from ultimate defeat? Was it fitting to bring Steppenwolf to the big screen before Darkseid? What’s also interesting about the boom tube is that it looks and functions very similarly to the BiFrost Bridge used in the Thor films. Does Asgard and Apokolips share more similarities with each other with only the difference being good and evil?

During Stepphenwolf first assault on Earth, The Green Lantern Corps fought alongside the forces of the planet to put a halt to the general and his forces. These Green Lantern officers perished in battle, sending their power rings in the universe looking for worthy replacements. The cameo of the Corps gives fans a glimpse of the next super force to join the Justice League. Ryan Reynolds portrayed Hal Jordan in the 2011 film. Will Hal Jordan’s character return to the cinematic universe or will a different Earth Lantern like John Stewart or Guy Gardner take place among the super team? After the Justice League is completed with a Green Lantern, will Darkseid come to Earth himself to face the League?

Just like Batman V Superman, Justice League also had scenes deleted from the theatrical version. Many of these deleted scenes were visuals fans saw in the collection of previews for the movie. With the loss of these particular scenes, fans started a petition to have Zack Synder create a director’s cut to complete the story. Batman V Superman proved to be a greater film when sold as an Ultimate Edition, so why not have a director’s cut from the beginning? With a budget of $300 million, fans expected this film to bring silence to the recent Thor Ragnarok, but instead fell short by $200 million. Zack Synder left his masterpiece because of the death of his daughter and his vision was carried on by Joss Whedon, who is known for working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Question is, with such low rated reviews, will Justice League have another film in the works? If so, will Jack Synder return and direct once more? What will become of the DC Cinematic Universe? Do you think DC Comics will ever stand a chance against the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

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MOVIE REVIEW!!!

Captain America: Civil War is the biggest film among the character’s two films: The First Avenger and The Winter Soldier.This film brought in $678.4 million on its first weekend possibly because Civil War felt more of an Avengers film, with for the exception of Thor and The Hulk. Their absence from the film can only suggest that during this cinematic battle, they were on Asgard, a spoiler for the upcoming film Thor: Ragnarok. This Civil War film is based on the comic book stories leading up to Captain America battling with Iron Man. What makes this year in comic films exciting is iconic characters in battle with each other thus introducing new characters into the cinematic universe. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is another film in which the iconic characters of DC Comics battle on screen, also heavily based upon comic stories. The cinematic version of Civil War shows how a team of heroes can be split apart by governmental influences and personal loyalties to friends. Which side did you choose? Which live battle sequence did you favor between Dawn of Justice and Civil War?

Black Panther‘s feature in this film is his big introduction to the cinematic universe. 17 years ago, Wesley Snipes had set his sights on bringing the Black Panther to the big screen. Since its derailment, Wesley’s success for Marvel Comics came with the Blade film series. Actor Chadwick Boseman portrayed the African Prince of Wakanda. His costume design was superior, able to withstand high-caliber bullets without flinching. Could his costume be much stronger than Iron Man’s? The Black Panther’s fighting style and physical feats brought the warrior in a live action sequence perfectly. Battling both Captain America and Bucky took little effort for the warrior. Black Panther was able to damage Captain’s shield with his Vibranium claws and Thor couldn’t dent the shield with his own hammer. Black Panther has his own solo film, released in November of 2017. Was Civil War a perfect introduction for Black Panther or could fans have waited for his solo film?

Spiderman also made a big appearance in this film. Spiderman is portrayed by Tom Holland this time around and is played as Iron Man’s understudy. Fans were able to see Spiderman in action with other heroes other than himself. His adolescent behavior and physical feats, much like in his other films, were a crowd favorite. Iron Man created a new version of Spiderman’s original costume, but with new enhancements, notably the new mechanical eyes on his mask. In the comics, Iron Man created the Iron Spider Armor for Spiderman and not his famous red and blue outfit. Since we have seen this original version of Spiderman’s costume many times in other films, would Spiderman’s entrance in this film have been even monumental if his armor was create instead? Will Tony Stark appear in Spiderman’s upcoming film? Will Tom Holland take the crown as the new Spiderman?

Another crowd favorite was the return of Ant Man in the cinematic universe. His solo film became a big success for Marvel Comics and his cameo in Civil War help bridge his on screen appearance until his next solo film. In Civil War, Scott learn to manipulate his suit even further thus creating Giant Man. It is confirmed that the Avenger films are leading up to the Infinity War Movies. Ant-Man was not apart of the comic book series Infinity Gauntlet, but will this be one of Marvel’s many changes by including him?