"X-Men: Apocalypse" caps off the trilogy of X-Men films that featured "X-Men: First Class" as well as "X-Men: Days of Futures Past." Overall, "Apocalypse" does nothing to really make itself stand out from the prior two films, as it relies a lot on things that went well in the prior films.

It certainly was not a standout film, but that is not to say it was a bad movie. There were certainly elements of the film that were enjoyable. Then there are the things that could certainly have been handled better, and the things that simply leave you scratching your head. At the end of the day, it sits at the bottom of the pile when compared to the other superhero films released this year.

Let's take a closer look at some of the highs and lows of the film.

Evan Peters' Quicksilver

Can Evan Peters do more movies please? He stole the show in "Days of Futures Past," and does so again in "Apocalypse." He was my favorite part of the movie, as he was the highlight of almost every scene he was in. Peters has a comical attitude about himself that makes every line he says hilarious, and his delivery is spot on.

Let me touch on his big scene, where he needs to save everyone from Charles' School for the Gifted as it is being blown to pieces. You know he is arriving on the scene as things begin to slow down, and then we see him come on screen eating a Twinkie. He then proceeds to jump into action and save everyone (I should say almost everyone, but more on that later) from the exploding mansion.

Set to the song "Sweet Dreams" by Eurythmics, it's a play on his big scene from "Days of Futures Past," but on a bigger scale. Like that scene, this one was my favorite scene in the film. While in general I did not like how much the film went back to things from prior films, I am certainly glad they made sure to keep a Quicksilver scene set to the sound of some fun music. It simply fits the character and is truly enjoyable.

Quicksilver's purpose in the film was he was on a mission to find his father, Magneto. During the big final battle, he has a chance to tell Magneto he is his son, but chickens out. That is my only complaint with the character, as it would have given Magneto the true motivation he needed to turn on Apocalypse. But with Quicksilver ending the film as a true member of the X-Men, it leaves them something to use in a future film if they choose.

Magneto

I truly enjoyed Magneto's arc throughout this film. He starts out living in Poland with his wife and young daughter, with a fake identity. He is in hiding because of the events that happened 10 years ago in the last movie. It is clear he is enjoying his new life, away from being a bad guy, and truly in love with his new family.

But sure enough, tragedy strikes after his true identity is revealed. His wife and daughter are killed, and it sets Magneto back to his old ways. It leaves him in a vulnerable state when Apocalypse arrives, and he agrees to join the quest to destroy the world. He is also able to tap into his powers like never before under Apocalypse's teaching.

Then comes his betrayal of Apocalypse, after seeing Mystique and Quicksilver suffering at the hands of the big blue guy. Now clearly family means a great deal to him, which is why I feel Quicksilver revealing himself as Magneto's son would have been the best route here. But one could argue he sees Mystique as family, and seeing her being choked to death is enough to make him turn. This does bring me to my biggest complaint on his character, however.

How many times is he going to go from good to bad, to good to bad and so on? We start the film actually happy for the guy, enjoying life with his family. Then he is set on a path of destruction because he loses his family, but is once again flipped to the good side come film's end. This is a common theme in these movies. He leaves this film appearing to be on the side of good, but if they do make more films, look for him to be back on the side of evil, where he typically should be. I understand having a guy performing villain-type actions we can sympathize with because he is doing it for reasons that make sense, but you can only go to that well so many times.

Apocalypse

Apocalypse would have been so much better if he was a two-film villain. There was simply too much backstory and character introduction going on in this film to fully flesh out Apocalypse's true plan. The whole thing just felt rushed, and the character suffered as a result. His powers were pretty darn cool, but his plan not so much.

This film centered around the introduction of the younger versions of characters we have known from the older films when they were older, such as Cyclops, Jean, Nightcrawler and Storm. With all of that backstory, along with having to set up Apocalypse himself, there was not enough room for plot. If we were introduced to Apocalypse in this film, and have him recruit his horsemen, while having the team fight another battle instead, they could have made an entire film of Apocalypse and his plan to destroy the world in a movie with much less focus on introductions.

And his desire was to destroy the world and build a new one. So first thing he wants to do it get rid of all weapons, thus sending all the world's nukes into space. Now if he wanted to destroy the world, wouldn't he just use them? Then he is relying on rebuilding a new world with the remaining survivors. How does he know anyone will even make it?

Bottom-line is, there were too many flaws in the plan and how they went about it. He was simply the wrong villain for a film introducing so many characters. He was probably my biggest disappointment in the film, even though I enjoyed some of his powers.

The young mutants

Overall, I was fairly pleased with the younger version of the mutants we have come to know in their older forms. Of the four, only one I wish they had taken a slightly different direction. But let's start with the positive.

I thought Nightcrawler was very well portrayed, and I left wanting more. He was underutilized in my opinion, but in such a crowded film, that is to be expected. He was a highlight every time he had a line or had anything to do. He is not used as much as I wanted in the final battle, but it at least leads to a funny moment when he pops back up.

Storm was given a decent backstory, as we learn where she comes from. We understand why she would side with Apocalypse in the beginning. But once again, she is not really used in the final battle, and overall does not really get much of a chance to showcase her powers in the film. That was a common theme for three of the four horsemen, with Magneto and Apocalypse being the heavy lifters for Team Bad Guy.

Her switch to the good side is also not very well explained. During the final battle when Apocalypse is starting to finally fall, and Magneto has joined the good guys, we do see her off on the side watching. It seems here she comes to the realization she made the wrong decision. But it just seems like the easy way out to get her on the team at the end. I would have liked to have seen this better executed.

Jean was clearly set up to be the big player of the four going forward. She was the main hero in defeating Apocalypse, as she finally released all of her powers. The bird-like shape of her energy burst at the end was likely a sign that they will likely try the Dark Phoenix storyline in the future. Sophie Turner did a fine job in portraying the character, and I look forward to seeing her in future installments. It was a little weird seeing Sansa Stark with superpowers, however.

Cyclops is the one I have the biggest complaint about of the four. In the beginning, he is clearly upset by the onset of his powers. Then later in the film comes the death of his brother Havoc, when the mansion exploded. Now he does show a moment of grief and sadness, but he seems to get over it fairly quickly. Given the emotions he portrays earlier in the film, I wanted to see some anger behind his actions to avenge his fallen brother. After that scene, there really isn't much mention of Havoc's death, and that is a shame. It really could have been the catalyst behind Scott's transition into Cyclops.

Wolverine cameo

I will never complain with an appearance of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. After being set free by Jean, he helps out our young heroes by laying waste to every soldier he comes in contact with. His actions help lead the way for Jean, Scott and Kurt (Nightcrawler) to free our other heroes.

This essentially sets up a slightly new backstory for Wolverine. He still got his metal claws from Stryker, but how everything went down and how he got out have now changed. My only question that is not answered here is how he came into Stryker's possession. At the end of "Days of Futures Past," Wolverine's body is recovered from a lake. Now while it was Stryker's body, we are left to believe it was actually Mystique. So it is left a mystery that probably won't be answered anytime soon. Wolverine is last seen running into the snowy forest, not to be seen again in the film.

Underused Horsemen

Psylocke and Angel are the largest victims of the large cast. One character I left wanting to see more from, one I have no desire to see again (and do not have to). Psylocke is portrayed as a bodyguard type, with no real good bone in her body. But she is fun to watch fight. For the few times she gets into the action, she is fun. The problem is, that does not happen very often. We last see her getting out of dodge as Apocalypse is being defeated.

Angel on the other hand had nothing appealing about his character. We are given no real reason as to why he is fighting in Berlin. Then he is given new upgraded wings by Apocalypse. From there, he is rarely used. He is eventually killed in a plane that crashes to the ground. That should be the last we ever see of Angel, thankfully.

Do they age?

This trilogy began in 2011, and it took place in the 1960s. Each film jumped about 10 years, with the second one taking place in the 1970s and this one in the 1980s. So about 20 years pass from the time we first meet these characters until now. But the problem is, they all look the same, having aged five years at the most.

This is the problem with doing so many time jumps. By jumping 10 years each time, there needs to be some aging seen. They could say mutants just do not show aging, but that would not work since we have now been introduced to younger versions of several characters.

The core - Mystique, Charles, Hank (Beast)

Mystique and Beast play the roles of mentors/teachers in this film. For that reason, they take a back seat on many of the bigger action pieces. Neither of them really have any moments of note. It is a little disappointing, but it's what'll happen in an film with this many players.

Charles had a slightly smaller part than usual in this one, but was still a crucial player. He was integral to Apocalypse's big plan, which we already know was a bit off. James McAvoy always does a solid job portraying Professor X, and overall I have no real complaints with his character in this one. Also, it was nice to see the origin of how he became bald, which came when Apocalypse tried to transfer his consciousness into Charles' body.

Post-Credit Scene

The post credit scene was a bit of a mystery. Some men in suits showed up to the location where Wolverine laid waste to a bunch of men. While the dead bodies were being cleaned up, the men in suits retrieved a vial of what I am assuming is blood, that is marked Weapon X. They place Wolverine's blood into a briefcase that has at least two other vials of different colors. I do not remember exactly what colors the others were, but I believe they were purple and green.

Then we see the outside of the briefcase, which says "Essex Corp." This is a reference to X-Men villain Mr. Sinister. So all we really know is that he is coming down the road. The question remains, in which film will he appear? The next "Wolverine" film is the most common guess. "Deadpool 2" cannot be ruled out, but I would say unlikely. And finally, the next installment of the X-Men films if there is one.

Bottom-line

In the end, I was more impressed with the characters than the plot. The villain was a downer, but he was only a one-film deal, while characters like Jean, Quicksilver and Nightcrawler will return if there are more movies. That gives me hope if they go in that direction. Now that the backstory is out of the way for all of them, the next one can build on these characters. So while this film suffered a bit as a result, with the right story and villain, a future film could be very entertaining.

Grade: 6/10