X-MEN : APOCALYPSE : Saturday 21st May 2016.

'X-MEN : APOCALYPSE' which I saw with my 15 year old lad at the weekend is the eagerly awaited ninth film in the hugely successful 'X-Men' franchise and is now on general release with high expectations given how the more recent films in the series have performed. With Bryan Singer back in the Director's chair having also Directed the series opening two films 'X-Men' and 'X2' in 2000 and 2003 respectively, with 2014's 'Days of Future Past' too, it seems that this instalment is in safe and confident hands. In the meantime there has been 'The Last Stand', 'Origins : Wolverine', 'First Class', 'The Wolverine' and this years 'Deadpool'. Counting those previous eight films, the series has so far made US$3.82B from a combined Budget of US$1.08B, with 'Apocalypse' costing US$178M to bring to the big screen. 'Deadpool' has be the most lucrative so far returning US$763M from an outlay of just US$58M compared to 'Days of Future Past' as the next best which returned US$748M from a US$200M outlay. The film Premiered in London on 9th May, was released here in Australia on 19th May and opens in the US on 27th May, and has so far grossed US$115M prior to its US opening, albeit very mixed Reviews from the critics.

And so to this next instalment we see En Sabah Nur, aka 'Apocalypse' (Oscar Isaac) who is the ruler over ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago and the first and most powerful mutant worshipped as a God since time began. He is both immortal and invincible having amassed the power of many other mutants along the way to becoming all powerful. As the film opens we see him in ancient Egypt about to change his body to preserve his immortality, but during the transference process to do so is betrayed by his worshippers and as a result he is entombed alive for centuries. His followers 'The Four Horsemen' are destroyed in the process while fending off those seeking to end his tyrannical reign.

We then fast forward to 1983 and Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) working for the CIA is hot on the heels of a cult who worship the ruins of what they believe is some ancient force buried deep beneath the surface of modern day Egypt but which they have been able to locate and tunnel access to. Reading the hieroglyphics on the visible part of the tomb, they unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that lead to the awakening of Sabah Nur and a resulting earthquake felt half way around the world. When Sabah Nur surfaces he quickly begins to assimilate to the world of the 20th Century and seeks to recruit four new horsemen, realising quickly that mankind has lost its way and forgotten about him. His first recruit is Ororo Munroe, aka 'Storm' (Alexandra Shipp), and then Elizabeth Braddock, aka 'Psylocke' (Olivia Munn), and then Warren Worthington III, aka 'Angel' aka 'Archangel' (Ben Hardy) and finally Erik Lehnsherr, aka 'Magneto' (Michael Fassbender). Supported by his followers each with a unique set of skills which Sabah Nur is able to further enhance and manipulate, he sets in motion a plan to destroy the known world and rebuild it in his image as he desires, and in so doing create a new world order.

Meanwhile, as this is going on Professor Charles Xavier, aka 'Professor X' (James McAvoy) is going about his daily business at his mansion home for gifted children, when he learns that Erik has resurfaced from self imposed exile and a life of domesticity somewhere in a Polish backwater following the events that unfolded at the end of 'Days of Future Past'. Seeking to connect with Erik through 'Cerebro', Sabah Nur is able to hack into the Professors own mind and discover the only power that he does not yet possess, but which he wants and needs to compete his arsenal and realise his dominance over the world. In doing so, and to protect himself, Sabah Nur simultaneously commands all world authorities to launch their nuclear weapons into outer space, so that he can go about his world rebuilding exercise unhindered and free from potential nuclear attack.

Having done this, Sabah Nur and his four newly recruited powered-up Horsemen transport themselves into the heart of the Professors mansion to kidnap him, so that the Professors mind powers can be transferred into that of Sabah Nur. A ensuing explosion destroys the mansion to a big hole in the ground with nothing left but dust and rubble, but not before Peter Maximoff, aka 'Quicksilver' (Evan Peters) is able to remove all inhabitants to safety using his supersonic speed abilities, apart from Alex Summers, aka 'Havoc' (Lucas Till) who was at the epicentre of the blast and perished.

No sooner has the dust settled then William Stryker (Josh Helman) descends and arrests Hank McCoy, aka 'Beast' (Nicholas Hoult), Raven Darkholme, aka 'Mystique' (Jennifer Lawrence), Peter and Moira, and takes them to a secret test and observation facility for interrogation believing them to have been responsible for Sabah Nur's attack. Scott Summers, aka 'Cyclops' (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey, aka 'Phoenix' (Sophie Turner) and Kurt Wagner, aka 'Nightcrawler' (Kodi Smit-McPhee) secretly follow behind to liberate their mutant colleagues, and do so with the help of Logan, aka 'Weapon X' (Hugh Jackman in a brief non-speaking rampaging slicing & dicing killing spree) freed from the confines of a brainwashing experiment within the facility, and at the hands of Stryker.

The final showdown comes in Cairo as Sabah Nur commands Erik to use all the might of his powers to control the two Earth's magnetic poles causing widespread destruction (the Sydney Opera House scene is particularly impressive) and untold casualties. At this point the newly formed X-Men must face off against The Four Horsemen as Sabah Nur begins the process of transferring the Professor's mind into his own body. As Erik controls all they worlds metals to rise up out of the ground, the built city infrastructure, and the seabed, so Quicksilver and Mystique try to talk sense into him, and eventually he relents coming to his senses and seeing the true nature and motivation of what Sabah Nur is prepared to do to get his way, at any and all costs.

With his energy ebbing away and Sabah Nur rising all powerful, the Professor encourages Jean Grey to unleash her full, as yet unrealised, potential on Sabah Nur. She eventually musters the inner strength and determination to do so, resulting in his demise as his mortal form is incinerated into ashes. Archangel perishes in the clash, Psylocke is seen slinking off into the shadows, Storm takes sides with the X-Men realising which side her bread is best buttered on, and Magneto and Professor X kiss and make up. Once the world returns to safety and the widespread clean up operation begins, we see Erik stood floating thirty feet above the ground rebuilding the Professors Mansion by mind controlling the building materials to restore it to its former glory all in an afternoon's work! The Professor asks Erik to stay one more time, stating that he has seen so much good inside his mind, but Erik thanks him and says no, turns away and exits stage right. The new X-Men assemble in a training room, suited up for a mock battle against a number of Sentinels to prepare them for what is to come.

I enjoyed this ninth instalment in the franchise, it looks good on the screen, moves quickly through its 144 minutes running time, the effects are good enough, but in the final analysis it presents nothing we have not seen before, and quite probably served up better (I am thinking last years 'Age of Ultron' - not a dis-similar premise). Being nine films in (including this years 'Deadpool') how much more can be milked from this series I wonder at the cost of seeing huge cities torn to shreds, populations annihilated, and our fragile blue & green planet laid to waste? We have seen it in 'The Avengers' films and it's spin offs, and most recently too in 'Batman v. Superman' but at least the authorities in those films what to keep our heroes in check somehow - but no sign of that from the X-Men world order it seems. We are also introduced to new X-Men here without any real back story or sense of connectedness to them, and many of them serve just to make up the numbers contributing little to the story. At least in the latest 'Captain America' blockbuster we know all the superheroes from previous films and spin offs and can relate to them and they each serve a purpose, have a personality, a life and responsibilities, but with many of these guys there is little to relate to, except that they are good at destroying stuff, wholesale! Watch out for the obligatory Stan Lee cameo, seen here with his wife Joanie, and wait until the final credits have rolled for a closing sequence that segwey's into the next 'Wolverine' film, and the introduction of The Essex Corporation.

  

-Steve, at Odeon Online-