X-Men: Apocalypse

Movie Name: X-Men: Apocalypse
Year of Release: 2016

Director: Bryan Singer

Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Evan Peters, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Lucas Till, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Olivia Munn, Josh Helman, Lana Condor, Ally Sheedy, Hugh Jackman, Tomas Lemarquis, Carolina Bartczak, T.J. McGibbon

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5

Synopsis:

The "X-Men: First Class" trilogy comes to an end, with the introduction of a new villain, the well known Apocalypse. Director Bryan Singer, working again from a screenplay from the not so reliable Simon Kinberg (he wrote "X-Men: Days of Future Past", but was also responsible for the mediocre "X-Men: The Last Stand", "Jumper" and "This Means War"), tries to bring to life the conflict between the always maligned mutants. The film places us in 1983, 10 years after the events of the last film, with the school for mutants already up and running, and with Magneto leading a quiet life in Poland. Mystique on the other hand, is in Germany saving mutants and trying to discover the whereabouts of Magneto. Without their knowledge, a mutant as old as time, is planning his return and is setting about recruiting mutants to aid him destroy the world, so he can build a new one in his image.
Bryan Singer has become an expert film maker in bringing comic book plots to life, with sufficient depth and ambition, which always makes his films have a bit more of relevance beyond what is traditionally the Marvel formula. Where "X-Men: Days of Future of Past" was a tremendous piece of entertainment with a crackling script, "Apocalypse" sadly suffers from a muddled storyline, that again rehashes some of the themes that prior films have tackled. Magneto falls again prey to a brutal crime that sets him intent on revenge, while the new mutants come to the school to learn how to deal with their emerging powers. The film has enough doses of humor, depth and a level of ease between the characters which makes everything flow comfortably, however there is a level of awkwardness to the story and to the villain's plan that makes this component of the feature look artificial and ultimately devoid of a soul. This unbalance is ultimately what makes this film less compelling than the previous outing from this director and team, but it still has enough elements to make it worth watching.