X-Men: Apocalypse is right around the corner. However, it seems that this blockbuster hasn’t been getting as much love as some of the other releases this year. While at first this may be puzzling, it kind of makes sense given another big sequel’s track record: Avengers: Age of Ultron.
It’s true it’s not fair to compare two movies (especially when one hasn’t even been released yet!) but there is definitely a subtle sinking feeling entering the atmosphere. Will X-Men: Apocalypse be everything we hoped for? Or, is it just going to be another Age of Ultron? Is that even possible? Well, sort of. Here’s a list of reasons why X-Men: Apocalypse may just be another Age of Ultron.
6. A Black Widow Scenario
This is fairly high on the list because the trailers don’t give us enough information to determine whether or not this is even a possibility. In fact, we’re hoping it isn’t a possibility. But if there was one thing that angered fans more than the basic plot in Age of Ultron, it was the character progression of Black Widow. It was so atrocious, words can’t even fully describe just how angry fans were when her backstory was revealed.
It’s hopefully not likely X-Men: Apocalypse will do the same. But that could just be wishful thinking. We have plenty of strong women entering the scene so anything is possible. Let’s also not forget that Mystique has had an amazing character progression thus far and we’ve seen amazing character progressions go downhill before.
5. Big Battle with a Meaningless Death?
Like all big summer blockbuster films, X-Men: Apocalypse is sure to have a climatic battle at the end. However, will it end up being similar to Age of Ultron where a character will die a seemingly meaningless death? Because no matter how you look at it, Quicksilver’s death was pretty meaningless and was only there for shock value. Will Apocalypse go the same route? Hopefully if someone is going to die it will be more meaningful to further another character. But given the amount of X-Men in this movie, it’s certainly possible we’ll see at least one of them go. Let’s just hope Quicksilver is safe in this final battle.
4. Hugh Jackman Being Added to the Reshoots
While everyone loves Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine and can’t seem to get enough of him, the fact that he was only added during reshoots is rather troublesome. Could this be just to gather more audiences to the theater? Is it just going to be a fun cameo? Are they worried about the plot and overall success of this film? Only time will tell but having a last minute cameo can either be a really great thing or a really bad thing.
3. Followers Being Manipulated By the Villain
One of the biggest concerns of this film is the number of similarities between Apocalypse and Age of Ultron just based on the trailer alone. And there’s quite a number of them. For starters, the Four Horsemen are clearly part of the group of characters that are either being misinformed, mislead, etc. that will ultimately cause at least some of them to change sides. Which sounds oddly familiar to Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch’s switch over in Age of Ultron. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only similarity that seems to be occurring…
2. Similar Villains with Similar Goals
Apocalypse is an ancient mutant who awakens from hibernation after being dormant for thousands of years. Upon seeing the world and what it has to offer, he is disgusted by it and recruits followers in an attempt to purge the world.
Again…this sounds a little too familiar to Ultron and his goals. While we certainly don’t think Apocalypse will have the sarcasm Ultron possesses, we can’t deny the plot of these two movies could potentially be almost identical.
Now, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. While Age of Ultron was a tad bit disappointing, this allows for X-Men: Apocalypse to be more entertaining in the way it tells its version of the same story. There is definitely wiggle room for this movie to come out on top and given the new reboot’s track record, there’s a good chance it will come out on top.
1. It Has a Hard Act to Follow
The main problem and most likely reason why Age of Ultron felt disappointing was due to the simple fact it had a hard act to follow. Avengers Assemble was flawless in terms of its entertainment value and execution. It was being built up for years and it delivered. So anything that was set to follow it was undoubtedly going to be at least a little bit disappointing. And then we go Age of Ultron.
X-Men: Apocalypse has a similar issue. Days of Future Past was perfection. It gave us everything we wanted in an X-Men film and even went so far as to erase the moments of previous films that have been hated so much over the years. It was far from disappointing. And now, X-Men: Apocalypse must walk the same path as Age of Ultron. It has to follow an almost perfect movie. Whether or not it can stay afloat or just be equally disappointing is a mystery and only time will tell just how good or bad the movie really is.
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