6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
With the emergence of the world's first mutant, Apocalypse, the X-Men must unite to defeat his extinction level plan.
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar IsaacAction | 100% |
Adventure | 92% |
Sci-Fi | 78% |
Comic book | 70% |
Fantasy | 69% |
Supernatural | 3% |
Period | 2% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Does it even matter anymore which timeline, arc and/or universe X-Men: Apocalypse is a part of? In a franchise so stuffed to its gills with characters, individual storylines, ping ponging eras and actual completely different outcomes for various characters (depending on which timeline is being detailed), it may simply not be feasible any longer to try to get everything to make “sense”. That may be one reason why parts of X- Men: Apocalypse seem almost like yet another reboot of The Mummy (maybe with just a hint of Darth Vader thrown in for good measure), with an ancient Egyptian mutant resurrected in the 1980s and havoc of course therefore being wreaked. X-Men: Apocalypse had its own “end of the world” (or at least end of the franchise) traumas when it was released to critical assessment that was less uniformly enthusiastic than many of the previous X-Men films had enjoyed, and at least part of that reaction may be due to the fact that at this point in the franchise’s history, there are so many competing stories that watching any given X-Men outing is like experiencing the cinematic equivalent of ADHD. Despite that somewhat frayed ambience, there’s no denying that X-Men: Apocalypse has a lot of exciting elements, and it’s also clear that director Bryan Singer has lost none of his passion for the franchise, one he’s credited with resuscitating with X-Men: Days of Future Past. And in fact X- Men: Apocalypse can be seen as a sequel of sorts to that film, using its story set in the 1970s as the background for events that take place around a decade later. Before that can happen, though, the film indulges in some Egyptology, with a prelude that introduces this film’s arch- villain, the supposed “Patient Zero” of mutant-dom, En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac), a superpowered baddie who has all sorts of special talents, but who is nonetheless unable to attain immortality, something which forces him to transfer his consciousness into new, younger bodies at regular intervals. Such a ritual is in process as the film begins, but evidently the rank and file Egyptians, or at least a renegade group of them, are having none of it, and they attempt to interrupt the transfer before it’s complete. That leaves an apparently moribund En Sabah Nur buried in the wreckage of a pyramid that experiences an implosion worthy of a Las Vegas hotel being decimated to make room for something grander. Of course, En Sabah Nur isn’t quite dead yet (to purloin a phrase), and his “awakening” several millennia later is a major spark setting the end of the world conflagrations aflame as the film continues.
X-Men: Apocalypse is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.40:1. This is a typical effects laden extravaganza that has generally superb detail levels, with an understanding that some of the ubiquitous CGI tends to look at least a little soft at times when compared to the overall sharpness of the rest of the imagery. As with many previous X-Men entries, there's fairly standard color grading going on, with lots of cool blues and slates in various sequences, and buttery yellows and ambers in others (notably the early Egyptian moments). Detail levels are occasionally a little less evident in some of these moments, but overall things look great, with even the heavily blue shaded looks at Apocalypse revealing nice levels of detail in facial pores and the weird ridge that runs down his face. While a few passing moments don't have great amounts of shadow definition (several long sequences are intentionally very dark), contrast is consistent and black levels strong. In some of the more normally lit moments, like the brief interlude of happiness for Erik in Poland, the palette is very warm and vibrant looking, something that's repeated in some of the early scenes at Xavier's School for the Gifted. Otherwise, though, this film tends to exploit a lot of cooler tones, with an emphasis on blues, purples and teals. There are no issues with compression artifacts or image instability.
X-Men: Apocalypse features a boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track that provides consistent immersion and some knockout sound effects marauding through the side and rear channels. This tendency is on display from the first sequence, where the magical transfusion of consciousness is attended by some cool panning noises, and then the calamitous destruction of the pyramid features an onslaught of LFE. The low end on this track is repeatedly quite impressive, especially in some of the "magnetic" effects that Erik displays. Big set pieces that include the X-Men's jet offer great swooping pans with some very forceful low end. (There are actually some very fun panning noises in the whirlwind opening credits sequence as well.) Dialogue is very cleanly rendered and always well prioritized, even in noisy sequences that offer a glut of sound effects.
Note: 20th Century Fox provided only the combo 4K UHD/Blu-ray package for review, and I am assuming that the Blu-ray disc in this package is identical to the standalone Blu-ray disc.
- Concept Art
- Unit Photography
In any other franchise, X-Men: Apocalypse might have been better appreciated for juggling so many storylines and characters, but the irony is that Singer set such an incredibly high bar for himself with Days of Future Past that this film was perhaps fated to appear less fulfilling. Still, even with its haphazard careening from character to character and plot point to plot point, there's a lot of exciting action going on, even if there's a similar lack of emotional tether to much of anything. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements, while not overwhelmingly bounteous, are enjoyable as well. Recommended.
2016
2016
2016
Limited Edition
2016
2016
+Fandango Cash & Exclusive Decal
2016
Icons
2016
Deadpool Photobomb Series
2016
Deadpool Photobomb Sleeve
2016
The Rogue Cut
2014
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
2011
Cinematic Universe Edition
2016
2013
Cinematic Universe Edition
2015
Cinematic Universe Edition
2017
Cinematic Universe Edition
2018
2019
2021
2017
15th Anniversary Edition
2004
Icons
2000
1978
2013
2015
2007
2016
2018
Cinematic Universe Edition
2012