In the days of Ancient Egypt lived an all-powerful being who's treated as a God by his enslaved disciples. During one such event in which he transfers his power and mind to a man who can seemingly withstand pain (owned by Oscar Isaacs), he and his Four Horsemen are attacked, leaving the being stuck in hibernation until an accidental reboot of the system in the mid 1980s -which is already experiencing much change following the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past a decade prior. Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) has had to go against her 'mutant and proud' stance for the sake of staying hidden after being considered a mutant saviour, and now goes about saving captured mutants from the likes of wrestling rings; Charles Xavier and Hank McCoy (James McAvoy and Nicholas Hoult respectively) have gone back to running a school for gifted children with much success; Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) has managed to find himself a new life with a wife and daughter in Poland; and even brief helper Peter Maximoff (Evan Peters once again) is looking for a mini family reunion after finding out who his father is. And with new students such as Scott Summers and Kurt Wagner (Tye Sheridan & Kodi Smit-McPhee) learning to come to grasp with their powers, the return of Apocalypse, and in turn his four new Horsemen (Fassbender, Olivia Munn's Psylocke, Alexandra Shipp's Storm and Ben Hardy's Angel), and his belief of building a brand new world means that the majority of the old X-Men team, alongside the newest members, must team up to face the world's impending doom.
With so many characters, new and old, and a variety of different plotlines left in their wakes, one of the best things to say about X-Men: Apocalypse's story is that it's not only bogged down with having too much going on – including an extended sequence featuring the majority of the key players roaming around a cleaner set of X2: X-Men United for the sake of squeezing an obligatory cameo that's since been ruined by the film's marketing campaign – but also by having such a basic and disinteresting primary storyline that takes up its long and at times tedious 140 minute runtime. And whilst the standard action beats that are littered across that time do amount to at least some enjoyment for the basic moviegoer, they aren’t exactly memorable save for a two-peat redo of the infamous 'Time in a Bottle' scene from the previous major X-Men film. Add a selection of ill-fitted cuts to characters that seem to be running at different rates of time and a few too many moments of sequel-baiting, and it makes for a story so convoluted in its characters and stories that it forgets to make its main one any interesting.
Perhaps the most disappointing thing of it all is, in fact, its visual detailing and direction. Bryan Singer has proven himself in the past to be able to handle both good visuals and strong control of his ever-expansive cast of characters, but here he appears to be struggling on both accounts with barely any noteworthy shots and a few choices that could be deemed unnecessary. And with special effects work that somehow looks as bad as the original movie did all the way back in 2000 (which had barely a third of this movie's budget, presumably spent on fixing Apocalypse's colour palette following fan outcry when he was initially purple) and a selection of costumes that seem more uncomfortable than anything, and it makes the film's basic aesthetics come across as being quite the step back for a franchise that 20th Century Fox should really be pushing everything for – especially when considering they managed to save themselves from the franchise low-points that started a decade ago.
With so many characters, groups and stories going on here, it seems that the best place to start with the cast is with James McAvoy's Xavier, who's well and truly at home with the role by this point. He's given a chunkier role here than in the previous film, and echoes of Patrick Stewart can be glimpsed here and there, but certain elements of his character are often swept under the wheelchair until the film rolls on by and the screenwriter remembers that he mentioned something earlier. Michael Fassbender shines best when he's in Poland, but his dour approach to everything after only begins to feel repetitive over time, and it's clear that he's starting to get a little tired of the role when he can't be bothered to look convincing while he's flying in the air. Perhaps the most bored of all is in fact Jennifer Lawrence, perhaps being her most expressive when her character's life is on the line and ultimately failing to bring about much that made her first two appearances – especially that in First Class - as memorable as they were. Nicholas Hoult is probably the most invested out of the core four, but considering how often he gets overshadowed by practically every other cast member it does leave much to be desired; especially such scenes with Mystique which show some level of promise but ultimately fail to realise. Evan Peters is as fun as he was before, but perhaps it proves that less really is more as some may find him irritating over time; a returning Rose Byrne is mostly there to set the characters on their way and to play around slightly with the Charles/Moira dynamic; Lucas Till gets a larger role than in Days of Future Past and does a fine enough job; and Josh Helman as Stryker is...well, as he was before, but more stern-faced.
As for the newcomers here, Oscar Isaacs as the titular Apocalypse looks very uncomfortable in the clunky Power Rangers-esque costume and seems to be struggling to remain as expressive as he usually is amongst the heavy make-up. And as a character who isn't written all that well over than being an evil god-like being, it’s only really commendable for being a non-Magneto villain. The remaining Horsemen of his are a little lacking too, with Olivia Munn getting the biggest loss with an interesting back-story hidden in there that's pushed aside for potential sequel-baiting. Tye Sheridan makes for a fine and perhaps even more charismatic iteration of Cyclops, but can at times come across as a little obnoxious; Sophie Turner as Jean Grey shows promise, even if parts of her character depend on forgetting the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (and the idea of a Jean/Logan romance, because the age difference is incredibly prevalent); Kodi Smit-McPhee does a better job here than he did back with Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Lana Condor is sadly nothing more than an extended cameo as fan-favourite Jubilee with probably only five minutes of screentime.
There's a tongue-in-cheek moment midway through X-Men: Apocalypse that comes a bit out of nowhere where four of the newbie characters exit a theater playing Return of the Jedi and one of them remarks on how "the third one is always the worst". It's played for laughs obviously, but it can't help but feel more like an early apology from the makers about the state of the film you're watching. While by no means the worst of the series, it's probably the worst in a good few years and seems ready for its own mini-reboot akin to its previous failures, thanks to a cast of characters that can't be managed properly. Wittier than past films it may be, and with a few good performances sprinkled on the top of the poorly-rendered cake, it can perhaps be best described as being less of a smart superhero action film that fans and audiences have had the pleasure of witnessing with the more recent Marvel ventures and more of a mind-numbing experience that's not painful but isn’t all that fun either. And with a post-credits scene showing signs of the series never ending, it feels like what we really need is a break from the continuity-breaking antics of the mutant race. 5/10.
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