I left this movie with strangely mixed feelings and every time I tried to define exactly how I would describe the film to someone else, I found myself hedging every positive statement with a "but..."

I liked it. BUT... it didn't leave me with the same excited feelings that the other X-Men films did when I left the theater (Yes, that includes the much-maligned X-Men The Last Stand)

I thought the action was cool, even amazing in some parts. BUT... it takes a LONG time to get to the action.

I liked the direction they took the story. BUT... it's a lot of story (see the action item above). As a comics fan I didn't mind because I like the characters already and enjoy spending time in their world, BUT... I don't know if the average fan will enjoy the long stretches of exposition. It's a story that I think fits the continuity they've created in the films... however it is not the "Age of Apocalypse" storyline or really any particular one I recognized from the comic series.

Having said all that... it's not a bad movie. It's certainly not the worst entry in the X-Men film canon. I think it's box office take may suffer by being the third big superhero movie released in 2.5 months after "Batman v Superman" & "Captain America: Civil War". I love superhero movies and I just think I might have enjoyed this one more if it were released in February or August.

---------------------
SOME SPOILERS BELOW


Other random thoughts:

Weird to think that it's Poe Dameron underneath all the Apocalypse makeup. You'd NEVER know.

I was excited to see Psylocke join the movie-verse but I'm confused with how they used her. Who was she? For what she ACTUALLY does in the film (SPOILER--pretty much nothing other than a bit of fighting), why have her at all?

I kind of wish the arrow that (SPOILER) Erik's (SPOILER) would have been fired intentionally. I think it would have made his choices after that a little more relatable (at least he didn't have to watch his family burned alive in a house like he did in the comics, I guess)

Apocalypse didn't do much. He could crumble people & buildings with no thought but he needed all the others to do stuff? For as powerful as he was, he didn't seem to try very hard.

They keep upping the destruction levels in these movies... the Golden Gate Bridge (X3), the football stadium (DoFP), what felt like half the world (Apocalypse). Where can you go after this, blowing up the entire planet Earth?

A few fun easter eggs for fans: seeing Jubilee, Caliban, Blob, a funny joke about X3, a couple of nods to X2, & Mystique's outfit at the end of the movie.

--SPOILER--It was cool to see Wolverine in his "Weapon X" phase. Wish they hadn't given that away in the trailer though. Would have been more fun as a complete surprise. His whole scene is quite bloody, but it does give a possible explanation for Wolvie's attraction/connection to Jean.