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May 29, 2016

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Home 禄 Sunday 禄 Film

X-Men superheroes united again

By Sandy Cohen | May 29, 2016, Sunday | Print Edition

DIRECTOR Bryan Singer invigorates his latest X-Men film with vintage 1980s charm in an origin story about how the mutant supergroup unites and divides in response to the villain Apocalypse. And while battles between heroes are an X-Men tradition, warring among the ranks has become a superhero trope this season, at play in both Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Captain America: Civil War.”

Like similarly dressed beauties in celebrity magazines, it becomes a case of who wore it better, and that’s an unfair burden on what is ultimately a satisfying conclusion to the rebooted trilogy. Even with an ensemble that includes Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender, it can’t match the magic of the latest Avengers movie, with multiple characters carefully inter-developed over a dozen films.

That’s not to say “Apocalypse” isn’t a fun flick on its own. It has a grand scope, great special effects and doesn’t require knowledge of its predecessors to enjoy. Those who know the characters get even more payoff.

As hinted at during the credits for 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” this film brings on Apocalypse, a super-powered mutant who can transfer his essence from one being to another and was revered as a god when he existed millennia ago. Resurrected in 1983 after centuries of lying dormant, Apocalypse is disgusted at the state of the world. He wants to restore the mutants to their deified status. He magnifies the power of any mutant who sides with him.

Meanwhile, Professor X (James McAvoy) has renewed his focus on his School for Gifted Children, where Scott Summers/Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) are among the students learning to control their powers. The professor’s friend and rival, Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Fassbender), put his mutant powers aside to live as a family man in Poland. But when personal tragedy strikes, he goes on a destructive streak.

Magneto and other disillusioned mutants join forces with Apocalypse. Professor X and his proteges unite to try to stop them. A muscular, mutton-chopped X-Man isn’t part of the fight, but thrills in a brief, shirtless cameo.

Simon Kinberg’s screenplay is guilty of a few lame lines at key moments, but otherwise keeps the story’s movement brisk and backstories clear, though the cast is big and includes several new faces.

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