X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
Dir: Bryan Singer (12A, 130 mins)
Bryan Singer builds on the epic Days of Future Past with the largest X-Men film to date, both in scale and destruction. Set in 1983, and without that tricky time travel business of the last sequel, this has the X-Men doing battle with the world’s first mutant, who has lain dormant since the days of Ancient Egypt and comes in the blue skinned, prosthetic shape of Oscar Isaac. This god like creature believes humankind should be eradicated and it’s up to the X-Men to stop him. Many of the revamped X-Men return; James McAvoy finally goes bald, Jennifer Lawrence is back as Mystique and Michael Fassbender returns as Magneto used by Apocalypse as one of his Four Horsemen. The other goodie/baddies are the winged Angel, a young Storm and Psylocke. Singer continues to ask big questions within the comic book structure about the nature of humankind, and here destroys more buildings than ever before, though hopefully not to Zack Snyder Batman v Superman extremes. It should be another entertaining chapter in a weighty series, perhaps overstuffed with characters, but always tightly controlled by Singer and writer/producer Simon Kinberg. Nightcrawler is back too! Bamf!