X-Men: Apocalypse Reviews- 12 Early Reactions You Need To Know

When it was announced that X-Men: Apocalypse's review embargo was going to drop well in advance of the film's release, it was assumed that it was a statement of confidence by Fox. They surely knew that the response was going to be positive, because the alternative - of fans festering on almost three weeks of poor reviews - was out of the question.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what has just happened.

Somewhat fatally, the film has picked up an early review aggregation of just 45% on Rotten Tomatoes - a comparative disaster, considering how closely it pulls it into proximity with Batman v Superman. If the latter is to be considered an unmitigated critical disaster, you have to worry that Singer's sequel isn't far off.

Could it partly be down to proximity with Captain America: Civil War? The release schedule made their close releases look like a bold choice on Fox's part, even before Marvel's latest smashed the box office and delighted critics and fans. Now it just looks like a terrible mistake.

So what can we learn from the first reviews of Singer's trilogy ender? What is the general consensus on the follow up to Days Of Future Past and the supposed launch-pad for the expanded X-Men universe?

12. The Story-Telling Is "Glorious"

To start with a positive - because, unfortunately, there aren't many of them out there - Village Voice takes great pleasure in praising Singer's ability as a story-teller, specifically mentioning his deftness despite the scale of the movie and the genre:

"There€™s a scene during the first half of Bryan Singer€™s X-Men: Apocalypse that is so emotionally resonant, so well-put-together, and so quiet that you might briefly forget you€™re watching a superhero film."

For them, Apocalypse is better than both Batman v Superman and Captain America: Civil War - at least in terms of remembering that it's still a movie...

"After the Everything€™s-a-Metaphor! sledgehammering of Batman v. Superman and the jokey flab of Captain America: Civil War, Singer€™s film feels like something somewhat rare: an actual superhero movie"

The review, thankfully, talks about how different this movie universe is to the other two: as they seek to make costumes more normal and everything darker, there's a more colourful, cartoonish spirit that is balanced well with the melodramatic and the emotional stakes. And it all comes down to Singer's strokes as the creator:

"What makes X-Men: Apocalypse so exciting isn€™t really any one thing but rather its cohesion, its storytelling verve. Where other recent superhero films have struggled to jam-pack their unwieldy plots with characters and incident and meaning, this film nimbly mixes narrative exuberance and emotional depth, flamboyant displays of power with quietly terrifying exchanges. It zips along, combining the highs and lows of a real comic book all the feeling, color, and wonder, even some of the dopiness with gloriously cinematic storytelling."

Unfortunately not everyone shares the same praise...