Average

Rating: 6/10 (3 June 2016)

In no way am I saying X-Men Apocalypse is a bad movie. However, with the glut of super-hero movies done well, this one is definitely in the average category. Apparently, Apocalypse was one of the first Mutants to appear a little more than 5,000 years ago in Egypt. With untold power, he was about to transfer his mind to another when the attempt was thwarted by his minions. It left him buried underneath the Earth until a cult reawakens him. Also discovering this long-forgotten mutant is CIA Agent Moriah MacTaggert (Rose Byrne). When the vault is opened it causes a world-wide tremor that alerts our favorite wheel-chair bound Mutant, Charles Xavier (James McAvoy). They reunite. At the same time, we find Erik/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) living quietly in Poland as a working man with a family. He has a wife and a child. However, he is discovered and local authorities kill (by accident) his new loved ones. His new anger makes him ripe for recruiting for Apocalypse who is seeking new minions. He also adds Ororo Munroe/Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Angel (Ben Hardy), and Psylocke (Olivia Munn). At the same time, other mutants make themselves available to counter the power-mad ancient Mutant. This includes Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Scott Sommers (Ty Sheridan), Night Crawler (Kodi-Smit McPhee), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Hank McCoy/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) who all must band together to stop Apocalypse. The movie has some good things - mostly in McAvoy and Fassbender as Xavier and Lensher, respectively. Both men play their familiar parts with such adeptness and depth - especially Fassbender. Magneto is one of the best Mutant Villains because of his complexity, conflict, and pain. He is someone you can sympathize with, especially with the discovery of his family. Another great aspect are some of the supporting characters, especially Quicksilver who steals about every scene he occupies. He also has a great scene of his endeavor to save a bunch of young Mutants from an explosion. Jennifer Lawrence is probably the best, usurping the role from a quiet, sinister Rebecca Rojmin Stamos. Also, this one (like First Class and Days of Future Past) is wonderfully etched with the time surrounding the events. This time, it is 1983 where we have the musings of Return of the Jedi by the cadre of Mutants. However, as they ponder the points of the finale of the original Star Wars Trilogy, a huge hint of foreshadowing occurs when one of them says "The third is usually the weakest of a trilogy." They hit the nail head on. Not every trilogy ender can be an Iron Man III or Captain America III (and the Mutants could have used the Avengers help in this one). First, there are too many characters and sub-stories to follow. Just like Last Stand, do we need this many main Mutant characters? At a point, it becomes exhausting. And while Fassbender, Lawrence, and Peters are stellar, the rest of the Mutants don't have much depth. Another strike is the use of special effects over story and character. It is too much, especially towards the end with an over- the-top climax and resolution where the CGI distracts from the conflict. Moreover, one really has to know the whole plot line from First Class, Days of Future Past, and even the original X-Men Trilogy. In other words, this one is hard to watch unless you have seen ALL of those previous movies to know how they progress with the story arcs. I'm not saying it is a total washout. It is certainly no Spider Man 3, or even Last Stand, but it fails to deliver the depth, fun, story, and character the two previous installments offered. I still recommend it, just don't expect it to be as entertaining as previous installments.