X-Men: Apocalypse appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This became a fine transfer.
Sharpness excelled, as even in the widest shots, the film appeared accurate and concise. If any softness occurred, I didn’t see it. I noticed no shimmering or jaggies, and the film lacked edge haloes or source flaws.
After a serious gold orientation to the ancient Egypt scenes, Apocalypse opted for Hollywood Standard Orange and Teal the rest of the time. Within stylistic choices, the hues looked fine. Blacks were deep and dense, while low-light shots depicted appropriate clarity. This was a terrific visual presentation.
Apocalypse came with a strong DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack. With plenty of action scenes, the mix often opened up to give us active information. These used the various speakers to create an involving, effective sense of these situations and circumstances. The elements meshed together well and moved in a satisfying manner.
Given the level of action, I’d be hard-pressed to pick out anything that stood above the rest. I did like the Cerebro shots, as those created a cool level of involvement, and the many action scenes worked awfully well, too. The whole shebang turned into a vivid affair.
Audio quality also pleased. Music was peppy and full, while effects demonstrated good clarity and range, with fine low-end response as necessary. Speech came across as concise and natural. Everything about the mix fired on all cylinders.
As we hit the package’s extras, we open with an audio commentary from director Bryan Singer and writer Simon Kinberg. Both sit together for a running, screen-specific look at story/character areas and connections to other movies/comics, cast and performances, sets and locations, costumes, makeup and effects, editing and music, shooting 3D and related topics.
Veterans of the format, Singer and Kinberg deliver a solid overview of the production. They dig into an appropriate range of subjects and do so in an engaging manner. While I won’t call this a great commentary, Singer and Kinberg deliver an efficient and informative piece.
12 Deleted/Extended Scenes fill a total of 23 minutes, eight seconds. These tend toward character beats, with an emphasis on Scott’s arc.
Given that the movie already runs too long, I think it was good the sequences got cut, and I honestly can’t cite any that I think should’ve made the end product. The mall scene does give us a fun bit, though – it’s unnecessary for the film but it’s still enjoyable.
We can view these clips with or without introductions from Singer. With his thoughts included, the package runs a total of 28 minutes, 11 seconds. Singer provides the expected notes about the cut material and lets us know why he gave the shots the boot.
A Gag Reel goes for eight minutes, 20 seconds. This offers a pretty standard combo of goofs and giggles, with one exception: the silliness often actually amuses. Most gag reels are lame, but this one actually entertains, especially when the actors deliver ridiculous lines while still in character.
Next comes a Wrap Party Video. It takes up four minutes, 46 seconds and shows something not unlike another gag reel, as it mixes behind the scenes snippets with silliness. It’s fairly forgettable.
With Unearthed, we get a six-part documentary. All together, the segments last one hour, three minutes and 58 seconds. We get info from Singer, Kinberg, producers Hutch Parker, costume designer Louise Miingenbach, Legacy Effects’ Brian Sipe, stunt coordinator Jeff Habberstad, additional visual effects supervisor Matt Sloan, visual effects designer John Dykstra, makeup department head Rita Ciccozzi, head SPFX makeup artist Adrien Morot, production designer Grant Major, DP Newton Thomas Sigel, additional visual effects supervisor Matt Sloan, 2nd unit director Brian Smrz, stunt coordinator James M. Churchman, supervising art director Michelle Laliberte, SPFX coordinator Tom Blacklock, editor/composer John Ottman, and actors Lucas Till, Olivia Munn, Nicholas Hoult, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Oscar Isaac, Evan Peters, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Lana Condor.
“Unearthed” examines story/character areas and connections to other movies, cast and performances, costumes, makeup and effects, stunts/action, production design and photography, and general thoughts. While occasionally fluffy, “Unearthed” still manages to cover the film pretty well. It touches on a nice array of domains and gives us useful notes along the way.
In addition to three trailers, we find two galleries. The disc presents “Concept Art” (82 frames) and “Unit Photography” (12). “Unit Photography” lacks much of interest, but I like some of the art.
A second disc presents a DVD copy of Apocalypse. It includes the audio commentary, the galleries and the gag reel.
After the slightly lackluster Days of Future Past, the X-Men series rebounds with the more effective Apocalypse. Despite a sluggish first half, the movie offers enough action and drama to become a winner. The Blu-ray boasts excellent picture and audio as well as a solid set of supplements. Apocalypse becomes a worthwhile superhero adventure.