X-Men: Apocalypse

Ratings: 7.9/10

Film Class: B+

Genre: Superhero Action

Stinger: Yes (post credit) 

To stay "alive", Apocalypse, the supposed first ever mutant transfers his consciousness from time to time, only to be betrayed before his last awakening. However, a chance encounter awakens this granddaddy of mutants, who has the ability to unleash the full potential of any mutants' powers. He usually has four "horsemen" by his side, powerful mutants whom he would recruit to fight for his cause (actually I believe their sole purpose is to protect him during the transfer as he's already so badass)... Only this time round, he intends to annihilate the whole (weak) world, to build a "better one". It's up to a newbie team of X-Men to save the world... 

As can be seen from the trailers, Mystique/Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) are the two main leads among the starstudded cast. I didn't know Mystique was that influential, at least not from the original cartoon series, perhaps the director milked it to be so cos of Jennifer Lawrence, kinda felt like she was reprising her saviour role as Katniss from Hunger Games.

The pacing was slower, compared to its prequel, Days of Future Past, because of all the recruitment work by Apocalypse, but there was a good amount of screen time for each character's development. The plot was predictable (betrayal), and convenient linkages and subtle references to the future outcomes of the dynamics of the X-Men were prevalent - *major spoilers ahead* such as Storm and Magneto working together; the love triangle between Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean Grey and why Professor-X's bald. 

I've wondered how Apocalypse, the all-time favourite greatest villain of the X-Men franchise, the immortal who is able to transcend through time (not shown in movie) and able to grow to huge proportions would be defeated in this movie, and I have to say I was rather disappointed in the ending. It wasn't intelligent, it was pure FIREpower. I guess for such a supervillian, it would either take a dragon or a Phoenix to scorch his existence into obliteration. 

Despite the cool action scenes, the CG was lacking, better than our Singapore's most expensive CGI-made movie (Ah Boys to Men), but pale in comparison compared to Transformers or even Captain America: Civil War. 

The characters were not very likable, there was a flair of arrogance resonating amongst the X-Men, and a super duper cheesy scene stole the limelight - it was equivalent to the dancing scene in Guardians of the Galaxy, only this was way better. Let's just say there was a "Superman", faster than a speeding bullet to save the day...

Expect the usual Stan Lee cameo and the post-credit stinger at the end. Not sure if I got it right, but the stinger was probably leading on to the other mutants created by Col. William Stryker, such as Sabretooth and Omega X? Or perhaps something more sinister is to come...

One of the most confusing part for me was figuring out the chronological order of this movie, after such a long hiatus I kinda forgot which movie came first, similar to the Star Wars Saga. Enjoyable nonetheless, it does do justice to its fans. An absolute cheap thrill, for the apocalyptic zombie-like working adults in this modern time.

(After note: My friend told me that this movie supposedly runs on a different timeline, an alternate reality after the previous installment, days of future past. Now that puts things into better perspective...)