X-MEN: APOCALYPSE REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

If it wasn't for Days of Future Past, I'd say that Apocalypse is the best film in the X-Men franchise. It's just as exciting and features one of the best battle sequences between the mutants and Apocalypse.

The film's main focus is on Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) who was the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel's X-Men universe and amassed the powers of many other mutants, became immortal and invincible. Now, upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

Yes, some characters are left underdeveloped but that doesn't make the film terrible. The film's strongest characters come from Charles' team of X-Men including Mystique; Jean Grey (Sophie Turner); Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), also known as Cyclops; Peter Maximoff (Evan Peters), also known as Quicksilver and Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult), also known as Beast. After they learn about Apocalypse's plan to cause destruction to Earth, they immediately team together to save the planet.

Most people will be surprised to see Storm (Alexandra Shipp) side with Apocalypse but due to the events of Days of Future Past, history has been altered. This means that some of the mutants have turned out differently than they did in the previous installments. We are also introduced to a new mutant, Psylocke (Olivia Munn), and she can generate psi-bolts that can stun, injure, or kill others. When we first see Angel (Ben Hardy), after damaging his wings, he is depressed but after Apocalypse improves them, he teams up with him. The fourth member is Magneto, who after Days of Future Past, is now living with his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes causing him to team up with Apocalypse and cause destruction to the world.

McAvoy, Fassbender, Lawrence, Hoult and Peters give performances that are even better than the previous installments they featured in. We see McAvoy's Xavier struggling even more with his ability to read minds, Fassbender's Magneto has become even more vulnerable due to the tragedy he has just witnessed and Lawrence's Mystique shows off her fighting skills. One of the most memorable scenes from Days of Future Past was the sequence that featured Quicksilver using his ability to escape the Pentagon. That sequence is improved when he turns up at the school to find it being destroyed so he swiftly moves around and saves everyone. It's one of the most fun scenes to watch.
After appearing in the latest Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, Isaac shows us what a diverse actor he can be by giving an unrecognisable performance as the evil Apocalypse.

For those hoping for a certain mutant with claws to make an appearance, you won't be disappointed. However, it is short and sweet but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best scenes in the film.

After watching Days of Future Past, I had high expectations for this film. Were those expectations met? Yes. In fact, they were beaten. Director Bryan Singer has successfully created another exciting installment.

8/10