X-Men: Apocalypse Movie Review

Reviewed by Lynn Barker on May 27, 2016

Rating:

Can the X-Men save the world from an ancient mutant in X-Men Apocalypse? As new young mutants join the others, will they be drawn to evil or to good? Check out Kidzworld’s movie review.

By: Lynn Barker

In X-Men: Apocalypse, an ancient mutant who can transfer his consciousness and powers into another has been trapped below ground for thousands of years. When he is awakened, he starts recruiting his sidekicks. Which young mutants will be on his team? (NOTE: We do not give away the ending but if you wish to know zero about the film until after you have seen it, Don't read the following synopsis.)

Ancient Egypt

The powerful mutant En Sabah Nur (Oscar Isaac), who rules ancient Egypt, is about to change bodies to preserve his immortality. Some of his worshipers betray and try to kill him but his posse, The Four Horsemen, also mutants, protect him and make sure the transfer takes place. They are killed but he is buried alive in the collapse of his pyramid.

Apocalypse, the original and most powerful mutant, embarks on a path of global destruction

1983- Cairo

It’s the era of Pac Man and shoulder pads when CIA operative Moira MacTaggert sees him awakened by more modern worshipers. Sabah Nur (Apocalypse) needs some new besties so he starts by recruiting his modern Horsemen… first pickpocket Ororo Munroe (Storm played by Alexandra Shipp).

Psylocke and Storm are two of Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen

Berlin and New York

In Berlin, Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) finds mutant fight champ Angel (Ben Hardy) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) forced to fight at an underground club. Raven uses black marketeer Caliban to safely transport Nightcrawler to Professor Charles Xavier's (James McAvoy’s) mutant school in New York. There Alex Summers (Havok, played by Lucas Till) brings in his younger brother Scott Summers (Cyclops) whose power has been freaking him out. Scott meets Xavier's protégé Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) who is afraid of her telepathic and telekinetic abilities.

Cyclops and Jean are in the midst of an epic battle to save the planetCourtesy of 20th Century Fox

Meanwhile, Elsewhere

Apocalypse recruits Caliban’s enforcer Psylocke (Olivia Munn) and finally a worse for wear Angel to be Horsemen. Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is living happily undercover with his new wife and their daughter in Poland. When he has to reveal his powers to save a co-worker, he is turned in and authorities accidentally kill his family. He is so heartbroken and angry that he becomes the final Horseman.

Psylocke is a powerful telepath and trained ninja assassinCourtesy of 20th Century Fox

Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr / Magneto

Apocalypse Needs Xavier

Apocalypse hacks into Xavier's mind while he is using the mutant-locating computer Cerebro and forces all global superpowers to launch Earth's entire nuclear arsenal into space to facilitate his world takeover. He and his Horsemen arrive and kidnap Xavier. Alex accidentally destroys the mansion but Peter Maximoff (Quicksilver played by Evan Peters) arrives looking for Magneto for personal reasons and uses his super speed to rescue the mutant students. One of the mutants dies in the blast.

Raven / Mystique, Moira MacTaggert, Xavier, Havok, Hank McCoy / BeastCourtesy of 20th Century Fox

Captured and Caged

William Stryker’s (Josh Helman) forces grab Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Mystique, Quicksilver and Moira thinking they were involved in the attack. They are taken to the Weapon X facility and locked up. Scott (Cyclops), Kurt (Nightcrawler) and Jean secretly follow and free them with the help of secret government experiment Wolverine whom Jean telepathically helps.

Cyclops, Beast, Quicksilver, Raven, and Jean Grey

Final Battles

Erik uses his powers to control Earth's magnetic poles, causing widespread destruction and mass casualties across the planet. Apocalypse wants to transfer to Xavier’s body so that he can also have his amazing abilities to find and hear everyone on Earth and easily locate mutants. Will he succeed? Which mutants will stay on his team and which will join the good guys and use their unbridled powers to the fullest to save the day and form the new X-Men?

As usual, stay through the credits for an additional scene that tips off a coming Marvel film.

ApocalypseCourtesy of 20th Century Fox

X-Men: Apocalypse Trailer

Wrapping Up

X-Men: Apocalypse is long but fast-paced and packed with maybe too many characters to fully develop. Leave it to Quicksilver again well-played by Evan Peters, to provide fun comic relief as he whizzes at superspeed to rescue mutants…. a dog and a pizza from a huge blast. On the flipside, Michael Fassbender will tear your heart out in a scene involving the loss of his new family, a real tear-jerker.

Erik/Magneto has the power to manipulate magnetic fieldsCourtesy of 20th Century Fox

Oscar Isaac is fine as the baddie but Apocalypse seems quite the cliché all-bad, all the time villain without interesting motivation or character development. It is fun to see all the new young mutants as they try to control their newfound powers then just let them roll with no control when a final battle requires it. Xavier’s attraction to Moira is “cute” as he fumbles when around her and the ending sets us up for more new X-Men action with the new brood.

NightcrawlerCourtesy of 20th Century Fox

Family seems a central theme in the film as Erik loses his only to realize that the X-Men are his family. The newbies also realize that each one, alone is an outcast but, together, they are a tightknit family. We’d say three and a half but, under our system, we go four stars.