A generally entertaining, but somewhat flat, film. The plot is just mediocre. Pacing problems aside, there’s just something that never quite clicks with the story. Even though a lot of time is spent introducing the various characters, things still feel rushed. And as the movie continues on, the characterizations don’t get any better. Despite the fact the Storm has been one of the essential characters throughout the X-Men film series, here she does very little. Aside from the beginning of the film, she has barely any dialog and doesn’t even have much to do for any of the action sequences. In fact, all of Apocalypse’s Horseman are pretty one note. Only Magneto truly gets to shine. Michael Fassbender does most of the dramatic work here, and puts forth a moving performance. Luckily, humor becomes the film’s saving grace. Nightcrawler, Quicksilver and even Professor X all add some levity to the dark storyline. There are really no great action scenes and even the anticipated Horsemen vs X-Men anything too memorable. In the end, it’s Quicksilver who steals the show with another amazing super speed-filled moment that is just a lot of fun. There are a couple of concepts taken directly from the X-Men mythos that will be gratifying to the fans. The effects are surprisingly inconsistent, with quite a bit of poor CGI work. The movie gets quite brutal at times, and pushes the envelope with the carnage, so it may be too much for very young children to watch. There is a post-credit scene, but unless you’re extremely well-versed with X-Men lore, you will probably be left scratching your head about what you just saw.
**1/2 out of *****