X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), PG-13, ★★1/2

There's more power in that tool, Charles.

The X-Men franchise has gone to another level in ambitious storytelling and young & originated character development that stretches on the borderline of exciting superhero adventure that one can interpret as comic-book fanboy entertainment. The series has matured more or less when the filmmakers try to take the story to the next level giving us more action sequences and emotional depth showcasing each mutant's vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, even though there are fun action sequences throughout the whole movie, the primary vulnerability is in its screenplay riddled with a generic storyline.

The movie starts in the Nile Valley in 3600 B.C. where people are chanting the name of En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse, a powerful god who is brought by the Four Horsemen. The Horsemen transfers his consciousness into the body of a young successor (Oscar Isaac). But, when the citizens of Egypt turn against them all of a sudden, the Horsemen and En Sabah Nur are trapped underneath the rubble even they tried to defend themselves and the successor.

We witness so many character introductions, executed well but take forever for the story to get going. Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) complains that his eyes are hurting and while in the bathroom, he accidentally releases a powerful blast from his eyes that knocks the other kid against the wall. In Berlin, Angel (Ben Hardy) is fighting a more powerful challenger, Nightcrawler (Kodi Smith-McPhee) who can teleport as far as he can but not within the electrical box. Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) comes in and controls the electrical wires and helps Nightcrawler escape. Erik/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is living in Poland under an alias with his family. Scott's brother, Alex/Havok (Lucas Till) takes Scott to Xavier's school, in which he meets Beast/Hank (Nicolas Hoult), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) and Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).

In Egypt, Moira McTaggert (Rose Byrne) discovers an underground chamber that leads to the resting place of En Sabah Bur in which followers chant his name which causes to a rumbling explosion that allows Apocalypse to be fully revived which causes a tremble throughout the continent including Erik's home front. Charles and Hank go to Cerebro to investigate the incident regarding the earthquake in which Charles sees Moira and still in love with her, despite him wiping out his memories. Moira explains that she was investigating En Sabah Nur's history and why he is been given powers to destroy everything in his way. What is his mission now?

Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse.

I give points for the action sequences, humorous dialogue and some of the performances but I'm afraid that this latest movie in the franchise is downgraded to a messy film filled with some plot holes and not much stake. There is too much going on within every story regarding many characters. What was missing is the personal character story and dialogue exchange between Fassbender and McAvoy because in the previous two movies, those scenes were the best parts in both movie, maybe excluding Quicksilver's standout scene in DOFP in which Apocalypse executes again but not as funny or magical. But, also one story that was effective was Erik's "life" with his family which is quite moving and heartbreaking. I wanted more scenes with them.

Most of the performances are fine. James McAvoy is still great and finally embodying Professor X by shaving his head. (It was bound to happen). Michael Fassbender's Magneto is still the most interesting. I was surprised by how well-executed each of the mutant character introductions are and plus Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Kodi Smith-McPhee, Evan Peters, Lana Condor as Jubilee and Alexandra Shipp as Storm deliver exceedingly well. The two performances that are a bit one-dimensional and here it comes, J. Law fans, Jennifer Lawrence seemed bored and a bit uninteresting not taking a stand and just fighting and reciting dialogue that sounds like she wants to move on. It is one of her few uninteresting performances in her resume. Plus, Oscar Isaac is a great actor, but his character just wants to create a better world by destroying the world which does not make any sense and becomes too formulaic for every superhero to fight against. There's very little suspense in his story.

Director Bryan Singer did disappoint me this time as he made two of the best X-Men movies: X2 and Days of Future Past. It seems that he is trying to bring too much onto one chapter of a story that the movie was hard to follow regarding each character. Plus, he had so many characters that he lost focus in the story as to what Apocalypse is. Why was Moira investigating it in the first place? I don't know. Even though it is well done, what motivated Erik want to have a family in another location? I don't know. Why does a certain beloved character make a cameo in the movie? For fan service. Now, this movie is more fun and better than Batman v. Superman but not as well-executed as Civil War. I do not begrudge Singer's enjoyment of making this movie except it allows a bloated production within the story and the character development. I was disappointed by the movie and for Singer. It needed less to become an effective X-Men movie at the very least.

**1/2