Teenage mutants, as well as veteran ones all come together to face down the greatest threat known to them, in the name of ancient Egyptian god in the ninth installment of the superhero franchise, X-Men: Apocolypse.
Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshiped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disappointed with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto, to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven with the help of Professor X must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.
Director Bryan Singer continues to steer the ship of the best comic superhero franchise not currently under the Marvel banner. Golden Globe nominee Oscar Isaac joins the party as the all-powerful Apocolypse, who poses one of the strongest threats the vaunted team has ever seen. From the inception of the comic series, the theme of the franchise has always been the mutants struggle to be accepted by society. Tired of his “children” hiding their abilities, Apocolypse desires to destroy the current world order and build a new one in his image.
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are back, respectively as Charles Xavier and Eric Lechner, who still have the utmost respect for each other but remain on opposite sides, philosophically. As the primary leaders are distracted with Apocolypse’s challenge, younger X-Men step to the forefront led primarily by Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), who mobilizes the troops to suppress the threat.
Since the rebirth of the comic superhero franchises, this group has always been my personal favorites because of the complexities of each character, as well as the very transparent way it deals with race and cultural differences. While not as accomplished as First Class and Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocolypse is a solid and entertaining story that fails to deliver on its lofty promise.
Grade: B
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