Episode 51 - Logan Movie Review & More

Team POPX breaks down the newest in the X-men / Wolverine franchise with the climactic finale. Putting an end to iconic roles played by Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart. We will discuss what worked, what didn't and share some insightful hidden nuggets from the film.

Episode 17 - X-Men : Apocalypse Reviews & More - Spoiler Alert

This week, guest co-host Carlos Phoenix joins us on an in-depth discussion about the all new X-men : Apocalypse film released by FOX. Spoiler Alert!!! We share our favorite moments from the movie, and things that didn't work so well. We also throw out some Easter Eggs from the movie in case you missed them. We share some news coming this week of a recent Doc Savage film, Captain America and the "Hail Hydra," fiasco, MegaMan gets a reboot celebrating his 30th and Disney announces an all new Cars 3 with a new character.

X-Men : Apocalypse Spoiler Free Review

Who is Apocalypse, and what exactly is his beef with mutants? Looking back historically in Marvel Comics, we find En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse is considered the first mutant ever in the X-men story lines. He's also an immortal and made his first appearance in X-Factor #5 in 1986. The character has appeared in a variety of formats including video games, television cartoons and now in the brand new FOX X-men franchise successor.

Let me start this review by getting something off my chest. I have no clue what the critic reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes are gathering when writing about these comic book movies? The ratings began in the low sixty percentile in Europe, and as the film opened in North America, X-Men : Apocalypse began to gradually decline to it's current 47% rating. I honestly think these film critics have never read a single comic book in their entire lives and have no clue what the heck it is they're watching on the silver screen. Now, if this movie could be rated by seasoned comic veterans who understand the story arcs and history of X-men, perhaps maybe, just maybe we could get a film properly reviewed. I personally do not agree with Rotten Tomatoes ratings, their methods of film review and how easily they could influence someone from not seeing a really entertaining and easy to follow film like X-Men : Apocalypse. My verdict as a well versed comic enthusiast, go see these types of movies for yourselves, and make your own decisions before resorting to a web site with mundane "bought off" critics who write what they're paid and told to write.


The film delivers an array of emotions including drama, heartache, laughter and epic battle scenes. Apocalypse has a very clear motive, although the geniuses over at IGN couldn't figure what his main intent of the whole film was. Without spoiling too much of the film, I will say this: if you listen closely to the conversations between Apocalypse and Xavier, you'll find out what he really wants to do on Earth. He's Apocalypse, the bringer of death, the reincarnating mutant and the false prophet all wrapped up into one.

On a side note, I do feel his role could have been more expanded to show his true cosmic powers abilities, but his role, played by Oscar Isaac, was slightly dwindled to more of a catalyst role rather than an antagonistic villain. There was more time spent rounding up the four horseman, which could have been key moments to show his true cosmic dominance and tyranny. I also feel that we could have easily had more Angel and Psylocke on screen, with previous adaptations essentially wasted. Though their roles are somewhat mediocre here, they are still entertaining to watch. But true fans of Psylocke in the X-men franchise all know how much of a icon she truly is; same can be easily be said for Angel.

Wolverine's cameo was one of his best yet. Fans will be delighted to see Hugh dawning the adamantium claws again and going slash-crazy. What's really fun about this particular scene is how much of a backstory we get from the previous Wolverine solo films. Great tie in!

One of my favorite aspects about this film was definitely the throwback to the 80's Easter Eggs. I won't give them away, but a fun challenge would be to see if you can spot as many 80's references as you can. There's so many, and probably because of the throwback to the 80's aspect of this film, it's yet again another reason why I enjoyed it immensely. There's also a truckload of comic references, pop culture jabs and the like, be sure to have an open ear to see if you can catch any of them.

My final thoughts is definitely go see this film if you're a fan of the previous X-men films, you won't regret the movie ticket, and do yourself a favor, don't rely on the reviews you see online about this or any other comic film. Chances are, the critic writing those words of spewing hate have never had the pleasure of holding and reading a comic book a day in their life; so obviously they have no clue what they're talking about. Stick around the end of credits to see an end scene linking a new villain and new story arcs for the next film in the franchise. If you're confused by the end scene credits, listen to this week's upcoming podcast, Episode 17 to get all the details and explanations.

#GetchaGeekOn
-Joe Burke (POPX host)