If Captain America: Civil War was like a reality TV show wherein you enjoy watching personalities clash, X-Men: Apocalypse is a beauty pageant. Aptly set in the 80's, a time when going big was in fashion, the Bryan Singer film showcased mutant power in full volume. One will be in awe as each mutant lavishly parades his/her powers. Mix the power pageantry with the usual story about the triumph of humanity, a.k.a. world peace, as this always work with everybody with a hardened heart, and all you need is the crown.
Sweep the dead bodies under the rug or dump them in the talahiban, the usual dumping place for the bodies of the victims of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines back in the 80's. Moviegoers will still feel good when they walk out the theater. Forget the people who died, forget the dead X-man. We don't respect the dead nor the heroes like we used to do. We will allow a real life dictator to be buried alongside war heroes. The people we root for win, didn't they? The movie ended with rebuilding, anyways. Like when they build over the dead bodies in the Manila Film Center, remember? Oh wait, we try not to remember those.
Apocalypse could learn a thing or two from famous dictators. Storm and Magneto wouldn't be turncoats had Apocalypse charmed them with his vision of a new world. Apocalypse lacks the charm of a powerful dictator. Some dictators have long been dead but still have a strong following. A good dictator knows how to teach his subjects to keep their eyes on the prize. Focus on the good things. Look at the shiny and bright things.
