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"Mutants. Born with extraordinary abilities, and yet still, they are children stumbling in the dark, searching for guidance. A gift can often be a curse. Give someone wings and they may fly too close to the sun. Give them the power of prophecy and they may live in fear of the future. Give them the greatest gift of all, powers beyond imagination, and they may think they are meant to rule the world."
Charles Xavier[src]

X-Men: Apocalypse is the sequel to X-Men: Days of Future Past and the ninth installment in the X-Men film series. Directed by Bryan Singer, the film is set in 1983, dealing with En Sabah Nur, an Ancient Egyptian mutant who awakens from millennia of slumber to take over the world and wrest control of the planet from humans.

The film was released worldwide on May 27, 2016, to mostly mixed reviews, with the story and characters being given negative criticism.

Synopsis

Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-Men: Apocalypse. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel's X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto, to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven with the help of Professor X must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.[1]

Plot

In 3600 B.C., an aged En Sabah Nur is about to undergo a transference into a younger, regenerating mutant's body inside a technologically-advanced pyramid that works off of sunlight. However, some of his followers betray him and attempt to destroy the pyramid. Apocalypse's Four Horsemen defend the god-like mutant, and just as the transference completes, the pyramid collapses. En Sabah Nur is still alive, but trapped in a comatose state due to the transference process being interrupted, as the young mutant's body transforms into a younger version of himself. The opening credits roll, acting as a transition between Ancient Egypt and 1983.

In 1983, a teacher starts talking about the 1973 incident and how mutants were finally revealed and how Erik Lenhsherr attacked the president of the United States at the lawn of the White House. Scott Summers was in class when he goes into the bathroom and he unleashes his eye blasters, causing chaos throughout the bathroom.

In 1983, Moira MacTaggert arrives in Cairo, Egypt and witnesses a group of occult followers chanting for En Sabah Nur to awaken.

En Sabah Nur has finally awakened after so many years. While exploring the modern-day world, he meets a street thief named Ororo Munroe, who is being threatened by a man who she recently stole from, and intervenes by killing off the other men who chased her and literally melted the man into a wall. He later goes to her house and uses her television to 'learn', and is disgusted by the way the world has become and comes to the conclusion that mankind had lost its way through years of conflict and disasters by their leaders. He decides to change the world and recreate it in his own image by letting the strongest mutants and himself rule. By starting to do so, he begins recruiting his Four Horsemen. He increases Storm's powers, causing her to have white hair and making her his first Horsemen, Famine.

Meanwhile, in Poland, Erik Lehnsherr has established a new life with his new wife and daughter, Nina and has renamed himself, Henryk. While working at his job at a steel factory, Erik uses his powers to save a fellow worker from a falling pillar.

Meanwhile, Raven Darkhölme, who has become a pivotal figure within the mutant community and ushering a new era of peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants, investigates an underground fight club in Berlin Germany, where Angel, who possesses a pair of large, feathered wings extending from his back, and the Nightcrawler, a blue-skinned, demon-like man who has the ability to teleport, are forced to fight each other. After injuring Angel, Nightcrawler is rescued by Raven.

Back in Poland, Erik's daughter is apprehended by Polish Officers who expose Erik's true identity as Magneto after a witness saw him use his powers. To protect his family, Erik decides to turn himself in, but Nina, in fear of losing him, releases her mutant abilities, causing a flock of birds to attack the officers. One of the officers, in shock, accidentally fires an arrow that kills both wife and Nina. Magneto is enraged and uses the locket he gave to Nina to murder all the men.

Meanwhile, Kurt is taken to Caliban, a mutant-broker of the Iron Curtain and his assistant, Psylocke. Caliban advises Raven to take Kurt to Xavier's school and informs her about Magneto.

In New York City, teenager Scott Summers' mutant powers manifest, thus he's taken by his older brother, Alex, to the X-Mansion in Westchester County, New York, to learn how to control his new abilities with the aid of Professor Charles Xavier and Hank McCoy. Reluctant at first, Scott joins when he meets Xavier's protege, Jean Grey, who is likewise unable to control her telekinetic powers, and the two develop an attraction to one another.

Back at the Iron Curtain, En Sabah and Ororo, under her alias as "Storm", recruit another follower, Psylocke an American worker at the Iron Curtain for a mutant-broker. Apocalypse later renames Elizabeth "Psylocke", who becomes his second Horseman, Pestilence.

Meanwhile, En Sabah Nur arrives in Berlin to recruit Angel by replacing his organic wings with metallic ones, renaming him "Archangel" and recruiting him as another Horseman, the Horseman of Death.

Back at the factory where he works, Erik reveals his true self to the other workers and is about to kill them to avenge his wife and daughter, but is intervened by Apocalypse and his followers, Storm, Psylocke and Archangel. Apocalypse literally buries the workers under the factory floor with some body parts sticking out.

He takes Erik to the ruins of Auschwitz concentration camp. After some encouragement from En Sabah Nur, Erik destroys the remnants, finally getting some closure. He then promptly agrees to join forces with the ancient mutant (who further enhances Erik's already-immense mutant powers), becoming his fourth and final Horseman of the Apocalypse, War.

Raven arrives to alert Xavier about Erik and brings Nightcrawler to the institute. Xavier and Alex consult with Moira MacTaggert to learn more about En Sabah Nur, unaware that William Stryker is conspiring against them.

While Scott, Jean, Nightcrawler and newcomer Jubilation Lee go to watch Return of the Jedi at the Mall, En Sabah Nur and his followers attack the institute and kidnap Xavier. En Sabah Nur uses Cerebro to force several world leaders to launch Earth's entire nuclear arsenal into space so it can't be used against him. Alex dies in the explosion of the mansion, while Maximoff evacuates the entire student body from the collapsing building.

Stryker arrives and captures Mystique, Quicksilver, Moira and Beast, believing that they are suspects of En Sabah Nur's attack, but Jean and Cyclops avoid capture. They are taken to Stryker's Weapon X facility to be experimented upon, but Jean and Cyclops follow with Nightcrawler's aid. Once inside, Jean discovers Logan, who had been subjected to the adamantium-bonding procedure and is being brainwashed into becoming Stryker's weapon. Jean frees him, and Wolverine slaughters Stryker's soldiers, though Stryker escapes. Logan escapes on his own, while Jean and Scott release his fellow prisoners and reunite with Hank. The X-Men locate En Sabah Nur and his Horsemen in Cairo and head there to stop them and rescue Xavier. They steal tactical flight suits from Stryker's base and head there in a jet built.

At En Sabah Nur's behest, Erik uses his powers to control Earth's magnetic poles, causing widespread destruction across the planet and mass casualties, as he rips everything they built out of the ground. Meanwhile, En Sabah Nur confronts Xavier in the astral plane, intending to possess him. The X-Men arrive and battle the Horsemen. Raven and Quicksilver help Erik to see the error of his ways and he helps the X-Men fight En Sabah Nur. He attacks Raven, and seeing his disregard for her causes, Ororo switches sides to the X-Men. Psylocke escapes the battle, while Archangel is down, causing Apocalypse to be disgusted at his 'uselessness'.

While the X-Men fight En Sabah Nur, Jean ventures into the astral plane and learns from Xavier that En Sabah Nur is weakened after centuries in the same body. Jean and Erik join forces and dismantle Apocalypse's armor, with Jean tapping into the Phoenix Force. Once En Sabah Nur's frail true form is exposed, Jean incinerates him. However, Xavier loses his hair and realizes there will always be threats human and mutant alike and decides to train his students to become the X-Men.

Xavier returns Moira's memories and they develop a relationship. Xavier and Erik reaffirm their friendship though Erik once again departs. Peter and Ororo join the team, but he decides not to tell Erik he's his son yet. Scott, Jean, Hank, Ororo, Nightcrawler, Peter, and Raven, the new X-Men, are given new uniforms by Xavier and prepare for a training session in the Danger Room, facing off against a group of Sentinels.

In a post-credits scene, the abandoned Weapon X facility is infiltrated by a paramilitary team that begins retrieving all data regarding Stryker's mutant research on behalf of the Essex Corporation.

Cast

Cultural References

  • In the final battle sequence, Psylocke comments to Angel to "split them up". This line was exactly duplicated from the climax battle of 1978 martial arts cult film The Five Deadly Venoms where The Scorpion comments to the Centipede to "split them up" (to defeat the other Venoms)

Appearances

Locations

Production

  • According to Bryan Singer, the film will focus the origin of mutants. He stated it will be "more of a X-Men: First Class sequel" that would be set in the 1980s. Filming began on April 2015 in Montreal.[2]

Videos

Trivia

  • Particularly with Psylocke, Nightcrawler, and Cyclops, the outfits and characters' looks were designed to pay homage to their comic book counterparts, differently from past films when the X-Men used standard black leather uniforms. Cyclops' costume is taken from Jim Lee's blue and yellow design in the 90s.
  • This is the first time that the Summers brothers, Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Alex Summers (Havok), appear together in a live-action movie. In the comics, there was another brother, Gabriel Summers (Vulcan), but he has not appeared in any shows or movies, and the filmmakers decided two brothers in a film was enough.
  • In the comics, Mystique is the mother of Nightcrawler, and was forced to abandon him, though this is never acknowledged or hinted at in either this film or X2: X-Men United. However, in an outtake, Jennifer Lawrence ad-libbed a line acknowledging Nightcrawler as her son by Azazel; this take is shown in the gag reel.
  • In the comics, the Age of Apocalypse affected the Marvel Universe immensely and resulted in the deaths of prominent characters such as Peter Parker (who never becomes Spider-Man), Namor, Clint Barton, Thor, Carol Danvers, Frank Castle, Victor von Doom, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and many others. In contrast, Gwen Stacy, who famously dies in the main universe, is alive. The Age of Apocalypse is an alternate reality identified as "Earth-295".
  • Storm is never referred to by name in the entire film, either as Storm or Ororo Munroe.
  • Originally, Apocalypse was to be a space entity, as in the comics, but Bryan Singer found the religious aspect of the character more interesting, and removed the space element from the film.
  • Despite the title, En Sabah Nur is never called Apocalypse throughout the movie. He is only referred to as Apocalypse in the trailer.
  • Apocalypse made his live-action debut in 2016, the 30th anniversary of his debut in the X-Men comics (May 1986).

Music

Song title Artist Location(s)
Countess Bathory Venom

Mystique enters the fight club to see Nightcrawler fight Angel.

Kaltes, Klares Wasser Malaria!

The fight begins. Mystique knocks out a security guard and turns the cage up to full power.

I Ran (So Far Away) A Flock of Seagulls

The Egyptians run away as Apocalypse rises.

25,000 Pyramid Theme Bob Cobert

Heard as Apocalypse flicks through television channels.

Be All That You Can Be Jake Holmes

Heard as Apocalypse flicks through television channels.

Kdo Jsem Progres 2

Mystique visits Caliban, who tells her what happened to Magneto's wife and daughter.

End of Apollo Fred Steiner

Apocalypse wakes Storm.

The Four Horsemen Metallica

Apocalypse recruits Angel.

Knight Rider Theme Stu Phillips

Quicksilver plays Pac-Man and his mother comes down to talk to him.

Symphony No. 7 In A Major, Opus 92: II. Allegretto Ludwig van Beethoven

Apocalypse takes over Cerebro.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Eurythmics

Quicksilver moves at great speed and saves the students as the X-Mansion is destroyed.

The Safety Dance Men Without Hats

Deleted scene: Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler and Jubilee are in the mall.

References

External Links

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