[REVIEW] 'X-Men: Apocalypse'

The X-Men franchise has been successfully rebooted with two hits under its belt, but with the third installment, X-Men: Apocalypse, can the winning streak continue?

X-Men: Apocalypse brings us to the 1980s, a few years after the events of Day of Future Past when Professor Xavier (James McAvoy) is still mentoring young mutants at his academy. When a new mutant, Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) arrives, we begin to meet the teenage versions of the future X-Men leaders, including Jean Grey (Sophie Turner). At the same time, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) is saving a fellow blue-hued mutant named Kurt Wagner (Kodi Smit-McPhee) from an underground fight club, while Erik Lehnsherr’s (Michael Fassbender) cover is blown when he uses his powers to save a fellow coworkers life. All these storylines converge when the a new villain Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) arrives on the scene, determined to surround himself with his four horseman, recruiting Erik to his cause, and eventually tap into Xavier’s powers as well.

X-Men: Apocalypse does a great job of balancing the old and the new. We have the old classic characters we’ve become so fond of from the earlier films such as Xavier, Magneto, and Raven, but at the same time, the film allows the newcomers — Jean, Scott, and Kurt — to carry their own weight and to shine as well. Another huge hit is Quicksilver’s scene in which he showcases his incredible super speed, which steals the show yet again.

The misses for the film were Apocalypse himself, who doesn’t quite feel believable as this godlike villain. Another disappointment was how grossly underutilized Olivia Munn’s Psylocke was, with very few speaking lines, which ultimately was a letdown for those were especially looking forward to her seeing her on screen.

While X-Men: Apocalypse doesn’t quite live up to its predecessors, it is still able to tell and interesting story with great characters both old and new. Fans of the X-Men franchise will love it and non fans will still find it thoroughly enjoyable.