X-Men: Apocalypse may very well be the best of the X-men series I’ve seen. What made it so good was the clear, simple story that was still full of action, adventure and special effects galore. I loved that the story wasn’t over the top, full of a million sub plots and tons of flash backs that you couldn’t put together until the end. Instead, the story flowed and was kept simple and focused mostly on the current issues. Of course that makes the film a little more predictable but you won’t have a king size headache when you leave the theater. The plot is nothing I haven’t heard before. Between Heroes (the TV series) and Marvel’s, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV series) it seems the “Mutants” are in the same boat all over the universe. They’re considered dangerous and a threat to society, so they must be stopped by any means necessary. In Apocalypse, the plan is to take control of them and use them to help rule the new world, headed up by an ancient “god” named En Sabah Nur / Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) who was resurrected in 1983 after being entombed by worshipers who betrayed him in 3600 BC. Claiming to be the first all powerful and immortal mutant born in ancient times, this god is able to give and take powers from other mutants at random. Some of his powers include telekinesis, telepathy, technopathy, superhuman strength, and size-control. His philosophy is to kill off backward civilizations. In other words, if you’re not modern, you’re history. He feels the world has lost its way without his leadership and wants to rebuild after destroying the present one. Apocalypse meets, recruits and upgrades the power of a pickpocket named Ororo Munroe / Storm (Alexandra Shipp – who can control the weather) as one of his 4 lieutenants. In the meanwhile, Raven Darkhölme / Mystique, (Jennifer Lawrence – a shape-shifter) who is on her own, helping rescue mutants who are oppressed or enslaved, investigates an underground fight club and discovers Warren Worthington III / Angel / Archangel (Ben Hardy – A mutant with bird-like feathered wings on his back and is a champion fighter) and Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee – a teleporting mutant). Raven rescues Kurt and employs the services of Caliban (Tómas Lemarquis – a black marketeer and transporter) to safely transport him to the United States. En Sabah Nur discovers Elizabeth Braddock / Psylocke, (Olivia Munn – Caliban’s enforcer who is a mutant with telepathic and telekinetic abilities). He recruits her as the second of Apocalypse’s horsemen, known as Pestilence. She leads him to Angel who he also recruits, upgrading his wings to metal. He now needs one more recruit to complete his 4 horsemen. He encounters a disgruntled Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto (Michael Fassbender – a mutant with the ability to control magnetic fields and manipulate metal, who becomes the last of Apocalypse’s horsemen, known as War.)
New to the school of mutants, is Scott Summers / Cyclops (Tye Sheridan – a mutant that fires uncontrollable, destructive optic beams and wears a visor or sunglasses to stabilize and contain them). He is also the younger brother of Alex Summers / Havok (Lucas Till – a mutant who has the ability to absorb energy and release it with destructive force from his body).
For you “Game of Thrones” fans, (Sophie Turner) plays Jean Grey a mutant who is scared of her telepathic and telekinetic power, and one of Charles Xavier’s most prized students. Sophie gives a powerful performance in X-men and lends an aura of innocence missing from everyone else. She is perfect in this role.
Logan / Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) makes an appearance in the movie that is unique and adds a bit of comic relief at just the right time. Peter Maximoff / Quicksilver (Evan Peters – a mutant who can move, think, and perceive at supersonic speeds). Quicksilver also has a secret everyone is going to want to know about.
As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven with the help of Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X, (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction. I urge you to see this sequel as it is loaded with surprises, twist and turns and is just down right good. There are many more mutants and much more to this story. I know I’ve given you lots of spoilers but it’s a needle in a hay stack compared to the what’s left to see.
I really like this Sci-fi series, set 97 years after a nuclear war destroyed all humans on Earth. Fortunately, some humans escaped the annihilation on a spaceship that they now call home. Unfortunately, the spaceship housing humanity’s lone survivors is running out of food, oxygen and a stable environment. Because of the radiation levels, they believe Earth will not be inhabitable for another 100 years but because of their dire needs, they send 100 juvenile delinquents to Earth ahead of time in hopes of re-populating the planet. In other words this faltering spaceship holds the last of mankind. Because of the limitations on the ship, there are many restrictions in place. If you are caught committing a crime which can be defined as having more than one baby or saving a life by giving the patient more than the regulated amount of blood or being in an area of the spaceship you’re not designated to be in, the penalty is death — no negotiations. Instead of a president, they have a chancellor played by Isaiah Washington.
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