It was only a matter of time until the phenomenally successful superhero franchise from Marvel Comic Books would crash-and-burn. That time is here with the ninth film in the X-Men series. The storyline is loaded with too many characters and the staple of eye candy cannot cover up the emptiness at the heart of the drama. For avid fans, the most thrilling sequence is when Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) comes thrashing down a series of hallways stabbing and slashing all the villains in his path.
Who are these villains? Followers of Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac), the ancient Egyptian mutant god who has been resurrected in 1983 with a crusader's mission of getting conflicted mutants to join him and end the reign of humankind by turning their own destructive weapons against them. He manages to enlist Magneto (Michael Fassbender) who is in a vengeful mood after the deaths of his beloved wife and child at the hands of some bigoted men. Also joining him are Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Psylocke (Olivia Munn), and Angel (Ben Hardy).
Standing by the besieged Professor of the mutants, Charles (James McAvoy), are Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), a loner; June Grey (Sophie Turner) with immense psychic powers; and a band of younger X-men attending the "School for Gifted Youngsters."
The outcome of the battle between Apocalypse with his dastardly yearning for power and Charles with his goodness is predictable. The endless hand-to-hand battles mixed with the exploding buildings comes across as a sign that nothing is really happening in the drama to merit our undivided attention. Bryan Singer directs, and the only inspired thing about his work in X-Men Apocalypse is his choice of John Ottman's original music.