X-Men: Apocalypse

Time-spanning X-teams may have stopped the apocalypse in Days of Future Past, but director Bryan Singer ups the ante here by pitting Professor X's student mutants against a god-like immortal called Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac). It's 1983 and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) has opened his school for gifted youngsters, Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) is out rescuing mutants from persecution and public enemy Magneto (Michael Fassbender) lives a secret life of married bliss. However, the status quo unravels with the entrance of "first mutant" Apocalypse, who lives up to his name by setting out to cleanse the Earth of human rule, forcing young incarnations of Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Jean Grey to battle his minions (including Magneto). Inevitably, like so many superhero spectaculars, a climactic doozy of a battle and city-wide CGI destruction is the predictable result. Thankfully, Singer knows how to marshal his sizeable cast while "old hands" Fassbender, McAvoy and Lawrence keep the sprawling storyline on point. As in Future Past, Evan Peters delivers more scene-stealing delight as Quicksilver, in a sequence that shows off his superspeed to a life-saving tee, and there's a ferocious cameo from a familiar hirsute hero. In contrast, poor Oscar Isaac, a fine actor, seems straitjacketed by his villainous attire, coming across like Power Rangers villain Ivan Ooze instead of the ultimate X-Men foe.