‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Featurette Explains What Apocalypse Is All About (And Why He Wants To Kill You)
By Jacob Hall/May 2, 2016 11:00 am EST
The featurette contains talking head commentary from director Bryan Singer (relaxed, informative), James McAvoy (enthusiastic, charming), and Michael Fassbender (“please let me be anywhere else in the world right now”), who run down what we can expect from Apocalypse. Strangely absent from the proceedings is Isaac himself. Look, all I really want is B-roll footage of Isaac in full Apocalypse make-up dancing like his Ex Machina character. Is that too much to ask?
What I find most intriguing about this featurette is the suggestion that the film won’t treat Apocalypse as a simple-minded supervillain, which would be an easy route for a monstrous-looking guy named Apocalypse. The suggestion seems to be that this ancient being views the Earth of 1983 (the film’s setting) as corrupt and that wiping out humanity is, in his mind, the best possible action to preserve the planet. That’s the kind of thinking that fuels the worst monsters in human history, but it’s also the kind of thinking that makes a villain more interesting. The best bad guys truly believe that they are doing the right thing.
Here’s the official synopsis for the film:
X-Men: Apocalypse opens in theaters on May 27, 2016.
Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
