X-Men: Apocalypse

Next summer is my 40th birthday. Really ? Yep, 40 years old and i have bigger tits than Sharon Stone, so i feel pretty good about myself. I actually was thinking about a theme, for the birthday party. Why not let everyone dress up as X-Men characters ? That sounds awsome. If we could throw in my friend Tony dressed up as Christer Åberg ( the swedish guy who have his own sex school on Youtube ), that would be even more wonderful. Because everyone knows you can´t mix it better, than getting X-Men and Christer Åberg together. Speaking of X-Men, it is incredible how many films we had so far, based on X-Men characters, including the spin off films with Wolverine. I think one reason why people enjoyed seeing X-Men on screen, is that these comic book characters have some really interesting personalities, with superpowers included. I suppose that i see them all as unique in different ways, but i have to say that Hugh Jackman as Wolverine have always been my favourite X-Men character. Ever since he showed up in the first X-Men film, back in the year 2000, you could tell that he was the right choice for this character. His acting abilities, and his screen presence was always crystal clear. The first 2 films were both directed by Bryan Singer, and the critics praised him for taking the X-Men seriously, making comic films look good on the big screen. Since the franchise proved to be very popular, more films were coming out. When director Bret Ratner picked up after Bryan Singer, to make X-Men: The Last Stand, you could tell that he had a different vision of X-Men. Some fans were still pleased with the results, while others did not like his vision, as much as they enjoyed Bryan Singer´s films. It is always hard to pick up something as big as the X-Men, after a legendary director have managed to make 2 great films in the past. I would say it is ok, but perhaps the weakest film of the series. But everything changed, when Bryan Singer decided to return to the X-Men world, with a prequel, to the other films. The title is X-Men: First Class, and we got to see how the mutants developed themselves, through the mansion at Westchester County. Professor Charles Xavier continued his work to help students feel secure about their special gifts. This was actually a really good prequel, but the sequel called X-Men: Days Of Future Past turned out to be even better. If you have not seen Days Of Future Past yet, means you have broken the 10 Commandments, where it says :- You shall see X-Men: Days Of Future Past, or youre going to hell. Serious words, but true. Now director Bryan Singer is back, with the 5th film of the X-Men films, that he have directed. Since he already have given us great films in the past, does he deliver once again, or is this one not as good as the previous ones ?

In Egypt, a long long time ago, the very first mutant known as En Sabah Nur ( Oscar Isaac ), have ruled the people of Egypt. One day he is betrayed by his worshippers, who entomb him alive. Until the year of 1983, En Sabah Nur awakens to revenge on everyone, and plan to destroy the world. Known as Apocalypse, he recruit pickpocket thief Ororo Munroe / Storm ( Alexandra Shipp ), upgrading her power. Apocalypse travel to find more recruits, so he locate Angel ( Ben Hardy ) in Berlin, nowdays doing cage fights. Apocalypse upgrade Angel´s powers also, if he joins to help him complete his mission. Alex Summers / Havok ( Lucas Till ) discovers that his younger brother Scott Summers ( Tye Sharidan ), is manifesting his mutation of shooting optic beams. Alex brings Scott to the Westchester Mansion, so he will try and control his optic beam, with the help of Professor Charles Xavier ( James McAvoy ). Meanwhile, with the help of CIA Agent Moira MacTaggert ( Rose Byrne ), Professor Charles and Alex find out how bad the situation is around mutant Apocalypse. If they don´t stop him and his mutant army, the world we know will no longer exist.

Looking back at all the other X-Men films, we had some really big highlights, and i have to say that most films deliver. Considering that the film X-Men: Days Of Future Past was the strongest film of the series, X-Men Apocalypse have a lot to live up to. I don´t want to compare all the films too much, because they take place in different time periods, and have different plots, but i feel that the latest film still manage to give us entertainment value. Perhaps this film is not as strong, as the 2 films X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days Of Future Past, for different reasons, but from a X-Men universe perspective, i feel that there are positive vibes here. One of the biggest reasons, why i enjoy X-Men:  Apocalypse, is the evil character Apocalypse. His egyptian look, and his major powers, feels both welcome and interesting. The scenes where we get to understand his background, as the mutant known as En Sabah Nur, is also interesting. We also get to see Apocalypse, putting a team together of mutants, that reminds me a little bit of Captain America: Civil War. If you have seen that film, you know there are 2 sides fighting against each other. This is also going on in X-Men: Apocalypse, but for a completely different reason. So is there anything bad to say ? Well, one detail i probably would have wanted to be stronger, is the chemistry between the mutants. In previous films, especially in X-Men : First Class, you felt a connection between the students. You do feel some connection in this latest film, but somehow it feels like they just make it a bit too easy. With that said, there are scenes where they get a chance to show their mutant abilities, and you suddenly feel pretty pleased. The acting is of course great, with actors included from the previous films. One man who can never do wrong, especially as Magneto, is of course Michael Fassbender. I have always loved him as an actor, and he always give each role a depth, filling it with passion. We all know that Jennifer Lawrence would deliver again, so there is no doubt about her performance as Raven. James McAvoy as younger professor Charles Xavier makes you smile, because he also know how to make a character in his own way. Director Bryan Singer is well known for his hard work behind the camera. And he have directed 4 of the X-Men films, and this latest one makes it the 5th one. He knows this world of mutants, and he knows how to make comic book films look great. I would not say that X-Men: Apocalypse is his best X-Men film, actually his other films have been stronger. This does not mean he have failed, because i feel that he still manage to give X-Men the strength that a film like this needs. The action scenes looks great, the CGI effects also looks great, so he knows what he is doing. Could it have been stronger ? Yes, but at the same time, i still enjoy what i see. If you love comic books, and massive action scenes, this is the film for you at the cinema. Got to start planning my X-Men Party, you never know if the real Christer Åberg shows up to get the party started.

Rating: DDD