X-Men : Apocalypse

X-MEN : APOCALYPSE

Director : Bryan Singer

Year : 2016

Genre : Superhero

Rating : **

Bryan Singer brings the superhero prequel trilogy to a close with the crushingly anti-climactic 'X-Men : Apocalypse', a stodgy, underwritten and downright ugly mess of a film that attempts to bring a darker edge to the franchise but ultimately pales in comparison with its two far superior predecessors. Following on from the cataclysmic events of 'X-Men : Days Of Future Past', 'X-Men : Apocalypse' sees James MacAvoy's Professor Xavier and his gifted students face their greatest foe yet, the ancient power-absorbing mutant En Sabah Nur a.k.a Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) who plans to rid the world of both humans and mutants alike and rebuild the world in his own egomaniacal image.

Despite its numerous flaws, 'X-Men : Apocalypse' begins with a great deal of promise, with an opening cage fight recalling the stunning overture to Singer's first 'X-Men' from 2001 as well as an upsetting yet engrossing storyline involving Michael Fassbender's tortured Magneto that really ratchets up the emotional tension of the film. However, as more and more characters are introduced and as more and more plotlines become entwined, 'X-Men : Apocalypse' quickly loses focus and narrative drive. The newer characters including Sophie Turner's telekinetic Jean Grey, Kodi Smit-McPhee's teleporting Nightcrawler and Tye Sheridan's laser-visioned Cyclops are well portrayed but lost amongst the rising chaos of the production while franchise stalwarts MacAvoy and Fassbender are barely given anything to do in their respective roles as the brilliant professor and the metal-bending antagonist. Even Jennifer Lawrence's shape-shifting Mystique falls victim to the overstuffed plot - completely drained of the tragedy that made her so identifiable and empathetic in both 'X- Men : First Class' and 'X-Men : Days Of Future Past'. Topping this cake of incoherency and plot padding is a totally unneccesary cameo from a certain adamantium clawed mutant that may please fans but adds nothing to the story whatsoever.

But the biggest problems the film has lie with it's horribly written, underdeveloped villains. Apocalypse, while well played by 'The Force Awakens' Oscar Isaac under heavy prosthetics, is easily one of the most dull and uncharismatic antagonists Marvel Studios has ever produced while his four horsemen Storm (Alexandra Schipp), Angel (Ben Hardy), Psylocke (Olivia Munn) and Michael Fassbender's aforementioned Magneto are given little in the way of both motivation and purpose. Throughout the duration of this needlessly long film, Apocalypse's nihilistic intentions are never fully explored or even properly explained - leading up to a frankly hideous CGI- heavy finale which sees the major cities of the world mercilessly reduced to swirling vortexes of bloodless dust without any sense of rhyme or reason. 

Unlike Marvel's own 'Captain America : Civil War' which managed to juggle many character arcs and storylines with ease, 'X-Men : Apocalypse' fails on almost all accounts to balance its numerous narrative threads with any sense of clarity or dexterity. It is a sometimes frustratingly complicated affair that in its attempts to add an edge to the series, forgets that superhero movies should also be entertaining rather than soul-crushingly boring. Its not completely without merits - some of the performances are good, there a good few laughs to be had here and there and once again, Evan Peters' nifty Quicksilver steals the show in a wonderfully executed slow-motion action scene that may lack the ingenuity and originality of its 'Days Of Future Past' counterpart but still manages to thrill and amaze in equal measure. However, when compared to what came before it, 'X-Men : Apocalypse' feels unbelievably stale, wooden and recycled - ending this once phenomenal series on an unmistakably disappointing note. As Sophie Turner's Jean Grey says to her fellow mutants upon leaving a screening of 'Return Of The Jedi', "Well, at least we can all agree, the third one is always the worst!"