[Sculpt]

I have similar thoughts. Even though it seems like a long time since Apocalypse, it's too soon for the Dark Phoenix story, because it's too much like Apocalypse. They need a small cast story. Or a little crossover with superhero group outside the Xmen, like Namor, the Human Torch, or forward timeline to Daredevil, Fantastic 4, Blade, one or all of the Defenders: Namor, Hulk, Dr Strange; or Spiderman. Or do Gambit, or another character.

Xmen 1 was refreshing, had a realistic feel to it.
Xmen 2 lost that a bit, but the story and action were excellent.
Xmen 3 went all-out with a million characters, and obviously the worst.
X-Men: First Class was a breath of fresh air, nicely done and focused.

I thought the Wolverine films were pretty forgettable. Wasn't a fan of the Logan film.

X-Men: Days of Future Past I thought was really good, though, like you said, had too many unnecessary side stories. It's still one of my favorites.

Apocalypse was just ok, again, too many characters, and I was a bit tired of the team-up against the super bad guy thing. I suppose they wanted to keep Apocalypse as larger than life, but he had plenty of small-guy scenes meeting up with soon-to-be Storm. I wished they would have created a real 3-dimensional character in Apoc as a person, complete with his inner thoughts and motivations, rather than visually bringing him in close and personal, but not delivering the goods.

I think they should have focused on flashing back to his Day One beginning, upbringing, who he was as a young man, displaying why he began stealing others' mutant powers... really explain what makes him tick.