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Rating: Null/10 (9 June 2016)

Critics have not been too generous with this latest addition of X-men's prequels, sequels, reboots and spinoffs. The dissatisfactions expressed have generally been valid: too crowded, insufficient character development, usage-fatigued mega-disasters, unconvincing pseudo depths, among other faults and flaws. One fair question though: what does this movie really want to achieve. Would the modest desire be simply to bring the comic book to the movie screen, as suggested by my summary line? In view of this, rather than reinventing the wheels with the generous space alloted by IMDb, I would simply use it to have a crack at organizing the proliferation of character and events with a view to jocking the potential audience's memory when time comes to see the next instalment (production plan, if any, not yet announced). Space allowing, I'll perhaps add a few words on selected members of the cast.
After the reboot-cum-prequel "X-men: First Class" (2011) came "X-men: Days of Future Past' (2014). This third McAvoy-Fassbender corroboration, "Apocalypse", is more like an alternate sequel to "First Class" than a sequel to "Days of Futures Past". The best support of this view is in the motif-like reference to "a beach in Cuba" (the iconic conclusion of "First Class"), culminating in Xavier restoring the memory of Agent Moira Mactaggert.
I counted a total of 13 significant mutants, which is one more than the number of superheroes in "Captain America: Civil War". But forget the number. In "Civil War" the 12 superheroes are divided into two camps, locked in titanic battle. Here in "Apocalypse", there is no symmetry. Here is how things go.
The chief villain Apocalypse is an Egyptian demigod awakened after 3000 years sleep, as Moira discovers to her horror, to destroy the world. Angel and Nightcrawler, who have had their respective small parts before, are first seen here as gladiators in a fighting rink in Germany. Rescued by Raven, who is a free agent at this juncture, they take separate roads. Nightcrawler follows her to the School for Gifted Children where she intends to rejoin Xavier, albeit temporarily. Angel degenerate into an alcoholic delinquent, but is soon sought out by Apocalypse, who collects also young Storm (and turns her hair white in the course of enhancing her power) and Psylocke (who had such a forgettable part in "X-men: The Last Stand" that I have absolutely no recollection of it whatsoever). Meanwhile, Magneto working in a factory in Poland has his identity accidentally discovered, consequently ending his idyllic life with the killing of wife and daughter by the soldier coming to fetch him. Predictably, he becomes another collection of Apocalypse and, together with the other three, makes up the Four Horsemen in Biblical fashion.
In the School for Gifted Children, Professor X, with Beast as right-hand man and Havok as another assistant, carries out his noble task of education of mutants (and eventually also normal children, as he intimates later in the movie). Upon arrival, Cyclopes (introduced by his brother Havok) recognizes a kindred spirit in Jean Grey, two mutants agonizing over the inability to control their respective power. Then, as aforementioned, Raven brings Nightcrawler. Finally, Quicksilver who made quite an impression in "Day of Future Past" joins the rank, arriving in the nick of time to save all the students from a collapsing and exploding campus (Apocalypse's handiwork, needless to say) – all except one, and no spoiler here. Have you counted 13? Don't bother. I am not counting.
What follows is all but predictable: good ultimately triumphs over evil, with some characters converted from evil to good at least until the chief villain is obliterated. It looks like there is room left for a few words on the cast. If you are kind enough to read on, please have the IMDb cast page ready for flipping back and forth.
McAvoy and Fassbender together anchor and carry the rebooted series and will continue to do so. Lawrence has a key role to play here but there are some suggestions that she will fade out. Entirely as a box-office gambit, we see Jackman in an uncredited brief appearance which, however, is much longer than his two-word-dialogue appearance in "First Class". Hoult and Bryne I suppose will carry on, and likely Evans as Quicksilver. Of the newcomers, the obviously more dominant roles are Tye Sheridan as Cyclops and Sophie Turner (a very familiar face of Sansa Stark if you follow that TV series) as Jean Grey. I have left Oscar Isaac last because I don't think we are going to see Apocalypse the villain again. Still this talented, versatile actor brings to this character a little more than the stereotypic writing calls for.