The year is 1983 and Charles Xavier, wearing a fetching mauve sweater and looking as if he’s been watching too much Miami Vice, is busy tutoring a new generation of gifted children. And that’s what X-Men: Apocalypse is really all about – building for the future, ensuring several more X-Men movies can be made. Approached squarely on those terms, it’s a lot of fun, and new cast are likeable and take well to their iconic roles. But if you’re expecting a more direct continuation of First Class and Days of Future Past, like I was, you might be a touch disappointed.

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A decade has passed since we last saw Xavier, Magneto, and the rest. For some little has changed in that time. Xavier and Beast are taking in and teaching more gifted kids who can't find a place within society. Meanwhile, Magneto has begun a new life under an assumed identity. But this peace is shattered when an ancient force – Apocalypse, who many believe to be the world's first mutant – awakens and wishes to destroy the world. After the time-travelling convolutions of Days of Future Past, Apocalypse is refreshingly simple and straightforward. But this simplicity of plot also extends elsewhere, as the depth and complexity of DOFP and First Class is stripped away.

Both of those movies invested considerable time in establishing and elaborating a few key relationships. At the centre of it all, of course, was the problematic friendship of Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender), but the pair barely share a scene together here. That fascinating relationship, which so neatly condenses the wider mutant predicament, is put on hold, and as a result the movie inevitably loses some of its emotional weight and complexity.

It’s a shame as both actors obviously still have plenty to offer in the roles. McAvoy has matured wonderfully into an inspirational teacher. There’s a great scene in which dozens of students, including Jubilee, hang on every word he says, while Fassbender enjoys one incredible scene early on which exposes the character’s mix of menace and pathos. It’s a stark reminder of just how good Fassbender is, but it’s not long before he’s recruited by Apocalypse and transformed into little more than hired muscle.

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But this also extends to other characters, too. Beast and Mystique, who have shared a complex relationship of late, are equally marginalised. History, it seems, is being shelved in order to give the young room to grow. Fortunately, the new generation of X-Men are likeable, well-cast, and share decent chemistry. In fact, I could’ve spent much more time in their company, exploring the dynamics of this fledgling team. Even though screen time is at a premium in Apocalypse, director Bryan Singer finds enough time to at least set up Cyclops and Jean in greater detail. Apocalypse's acolytes fair less well. Storm has enough to do, but Psylocke and Angel are once again wasted on the big screen.

Undoubtedly it’s a returning character who steals the show: Evan Peters’ restless Quicksilver. Although I’m not entirely sure what Quicksilver has been doing in his mother’s basement for the last ten years, his action set-piece is by far the best scene in the movie. It not only perfectly conveys the extent of his abilities but also something about his personality, too. Elsewhere, the action is much more standard, with even the world-ending finale paling in comparison.

This has something to do with the choice of villain. Apocalypse has great potential as an antagonist, unfortunately the movie uses him more as a catalyst – as a means of bringing back establishing characters from their new lives, as well as fortifying the next generation of gifted mutants. He fails to develop into a meaningful antagonist in his own right. Oscar Isaac is perfectly fine as the ancient mutant, capable of delivering a series of ominous speeches, but for a character heralding the end of the world, he carries surprisingly little menace.

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Maybe it's because most of his screen time is spent recruiting his four horsemen and overseeing their fabulous makeovers. He speaks at length about despising the super powers (the US and USSR), about how humanity has erected ‘false gods’, but there’s little talk about the world he wants to create. I get that Apocalypse wants the world to end, but I’m not entirely sure what he wants to do with it. Or maybe it's because the armageddon he eventually unleashes feels so impersonal. You see capital cities being leveled – millions are surely killed in New York and Sydney as you see them crumble – but it feels empty, observed from a distance. There's a lot of destruction in Apocalypse, but very little consequence or tragedy. At times it almost feels like the X-Men are battling away in isolation, rather than saving the world.

Apocalypse also feels disconnected from the time in which it is set. Recent X-Men movies have done a fantastic job of subsuming historical events into their plots, including the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War, so it’s a real shame Apocalypse doesn’t take more advantage of its vibrant 1980s setting. Mullets and leggings, and a couple of songs aside, this story could’ve played out in any era.