X-Men: Apocalypse

Released Year: 2016

Directed by Bryan Singer

Casted by:

James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier / Professor X

Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto ("War")

Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique

Oscar Isaac as En Sabah Nur / Apocalypse

Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy / Beast

Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert

Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers / Cyclops

Sophie Turner as Jean Grey / Phoenix

Olivia Munn as Elizabeth Braddock / Psylocke ("Pestilence")

Lucas Till as Alex Summers / Havok

Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff / Quicksilver

Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler

Ben Hardy as Warren Worthington III / Angel / Archangel ("Death")

Alexandra Shipp as Ororo Munroe / Storm ("Famine")

Josh Helman as William Stryker

Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine

 Story: 

In Ancient Egypt, the being En Sabah Nur takes part in a ritual that will preserve his immortality. During the ceremony, Sabah Nur's followers attempt to destroy the temple. His lieutenants save him at the cost of their lives and Sabah Nur is entombed as a result.

In 1983, Sabah Nur is awakened when Moira MacTaggert discovers a cult worshipping him. Sabah Nur finds mutant pickpocket Ororo Munroe, who can manipulate weather, and kills the men chasing her. Munroe then takes Sabah Nur to her home where he learns everything that is going on in the world through a television, and believes that humanity has lost its way without his leadership and decides to remake it. Sabah Nur then upgrades Munroe and recruits her as a Horseman

In Berlin, mutant Raven Darkhölme discovers mutant champion Angel and Nightcrawler at an underground fight club. Nightcrawler damages Angel's wing and Raven breaks them both free, but Angel escapes on his own, while Raven rescues Nightcrawler. Raven employs the services of underground black marketeer Caliban to safely transport Nightcrawler to Professor Charles Xavier's educational institute in Westchester County, New York. There Alex Summers brings his younger brother Scott Summers whose power has been manifesting. Scott meets Xavier's protégé Jean Grey who is afraid of her telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Elsewhere, Sabah Nur locates Caliban,where Caliban's enforcer Psylocke, after getting a demonstration from Sabah Nur the power she can have, sides with him and leads him to Angel, who has turned to booze, and Sabah Nur replaces Angel's damaged wings with metal ones and recruits him as his third Horseman.

Meanwhile, Erik Lehnsherr is living a happy life with his new wife and their daughter, Nina, in Poland. When authorities attempt to capture him for the incident at the White House, Nina's mutation triggers and she summons birds to attack the authorities, but one of the officers gets distracted and releases an arrow that pierces Erik's wife and Nina and they are killed instantly, to which an enraged Lehnserr kills all the authorities with the coin he used to kill Sebastian Shaw. Sabah Nur meets with the heartbroken Erik, now going by the name Magneto, at the factory where Erik works. Sabah Nur kills all the other workers and takes him to Auschwitz, where he guides Magneto to understand the full potential of his power, allowing Magneto to control all the metal in the Earth. Magneto destroys the camp and joins Sabah Nur as the fourth and final Horseman.

Sabah Nur hacks into Xavier's mind while he is using the mutant-locating computer Cerebro and co-opts his powers to force all global superpowers to launch Earth's entire nuclear arsenal into space to prevent interference. Alex destroys Cerebro in order to set Xavier free, but Sabah Nur and his Horsemen arrive in the mansion and kidnap Xavier. Attempting to stop them, Alex accidentally causes an explosion that destroys the mansion. Peter Maximoff – having learned that he is Erik's son, and hoping that Xavier can help to find him – arrives in time to use his super-speed to evacuate the mansion, but Alex is presumed to be vaporized as he was closest to the blast. William Stryker's forces arrive and subsequently arrest Hank, Raven, Peter, and Moira, under the pretense that they were involved in Sabah Nur's attack in order to experiment on them, and takes them to the Weapon X facility for interrogation. Scott, Kurt and Jean covertly follow and Jean releases Stryker's brainwashed experiment Logan / Weapon X, who slaughters Stryker's soldiers, and before escaping, Jean restores his mind, but at the cost of amnesia. The three then release the others and steal one of Stryker's jets. On the way to face Sabah Nur, Mystique reveals that she and Hank are the only remaining members of the original X-Men team that are still alive, and that she isn't a hero because she couldn't save the rest of the X-Men.

In Egypt Sabah Nur resurrects his temple, destroying several city blocks in the process. He intends to transfer his consciousness into Xavier's body. At Sabah Nur's behest, Magneto uses his powers to control Earth's magnetic poles, causing widespread destruction across the planet and mass casualties. Following a telepathic distress call secretly sent by Xavier to Jean, the others arrive in Cairo, where Kurt teleports inside the temple and rescues Xavier right before Sabah Nur's consciousness can be transferred into Xavier's body, but Xavier loses his hair in the transfer process. Angel and Psylocke find them, but Jean sabotages the plane and Kurt teleports his friends away to safety. Angel is killed in the ensuing crash and Psylocke is knocked out when she hits the ground. Kurt passes out after teleporting his friends due to too much energy consumption. Sabah Nur comes across Angel's dead body and angrily calls him "useless", following which Ororo decides to switch sides after seeing his disregard for his followers.

Magneto is convinced to turn on Sabah Nur after spotting his true nature through a brutal attack on Maximoff in which Sabah Nur traps and breaks Maximoff's leg and Sabah Nur nearly chokes Mystique to death. Xavier manages to save Mystique by engaging Sabah Nur in the Astral plane, and soon is injured after initially gaining the upper hand. Scott and Magneto keep Sabah Nur busy while Hank rescues Peter and Mystique. Jean ventures into the Astral Plane, where a weakened Xavier encourages Jean to unleash the full might of her powers against him. Letting go, Jean taps into the Phoenix and destroys Sabah Nur's astral form and with the help of Scott, Ororo and Magneto, Jean begins to destroy Sabah Nur, with an amazed Sabah Nur's last words being "all is revealed", and he is incinerated by The Phoenix.

In the aftermath, Xavier restores Moira's memories, Peter decides not to tell Erik that he is his son, feeling that it is not the right time, and Jean and Erik use their powers to rebuild the school. Erik rekindles his friendship with Xavier, but turns down Xavier's offer to stay. Mystique leads a team consisting of Cyclops, Jean, Beast, Storm, Nightcrawler, Quicksilver, and after Mystique delivers a short speech to the team, the new X-Men begin training for the battles ahead by having a Danger Room session against the Sentinels with Xavier watching on as the doors to the Danger Room close.

In a post-credits scene, the abandoned Weapon X facility is infiltrated by a paramilitary team that begins retrieving data on Stryker's mutant research, including an x-ray and a blood sample marked "Weapon X", on behalf of Essex Corporation.

 L² Scored: 10/10 

L² Comment: 

I have been so excited ever since I watched this trailer back in few months time & it finally reach the cinema. This time my love one is back at his hometown, so I went to watch this with a friend who is also a hardcore die hard X-Men's fans. :)

The whole movie is awesome, exciting & lots of flashback to talks about how individual mutant's life. McAvoy, Fassbender, Lawrence, Hoult, Byrne & Till reprise their previous characters while Jackman occurred as cameo for Wolverine. Well, there's some critics from me though.... Young Jean is bit chubby, Nightcrawler is too skinny, Quicksilver seems old... Overall i still can accept with all these as the film is damn good.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Released Year: 2013
Directed by Francis Lawrence

Casted by:
Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark
Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne
Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy
Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket
Lenny Kravitz as Cinna
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Plutarch Heavensbee
Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow
Jeffrey Wright as Beetee Latier
Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman
Willow Shields as Primrose Everdeen
Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair
Jena Malone as Johanna Mason
Lynn Cohen as Mags Flanagan


Story:

After winning the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return home to District 12. President Snow visits Katniss at her home. The two make an agreement to not lie to one another, and Snow explains that her actions in the Games have inspired rebellions across the districts. He orders her to use the upcoming victory tour to convince him that her actions were out of genuine love for Peeta, not defiance against the Capitol, otherwise Katniss' loved ones will be killed.

As the tour begins, Haymitch Abernathy, Katniss and Peeta's mentor, warns them that the "show" of their relationship must continue for the rest of their lives. Katniss suggests a public engagement between herself and Peeta, which is carried out and approved by Snow at his mansion in the Capitol.

Returning home, Katniss warns her friend Gale Hawthorne of Snow's threat to kill both their families. Peacekeepers crack down on District 12, and Gale is publicly whipped after attacking new Head Peacekeeper Romulus Thread. Snow announces that the upcoming 75th Hunger Games, the Third Quarter Quell, will feature tributes selected from previous victors. Katniss immediately devotes herself to ensuring Peeta's survival, and recruits Haymitch's help to do so. At the reaping, Effie Trinket draws Katniss and Haymitch's names, but Peeta immediately volunteers to take Haymitch's place.

As they prepare, Haymitch reveals that all the tributes are angry about being returned to the Games and advises a reluctant Katniss to make allies. In the pre-Games interviews, Katniss wears a wedding dress, as ordered by President Snow, but her stylist Cinna rigs it to transform into a representation of a mockingjay. Peeta announces that he and Katniss have secretly married and are expecting a baby, which causes outrage, and the audience of Capitol citizens begins shouting for the Games to be stopped, to no avail. Just before Katniss enters the arena, Cinna is severely beaten by Peacekeepers, as punishment for the dress, and dragged away as Katniss watches helplessly.

In the Games, Katniss allies with Finnick Odair and the elderly Mags, from District 4. The arena's outer force field shocks Peeta, stopping his heartbeat until Finnick revives him. The group flees a poisonous fog, and Mags sacrifices herself so as to avoid slowing them down. When vicious mandrills attack, Peeta is saved by the unexpected sacrifice of a tribute from District 6. The group escapes to a beach and meets District 3's Wiress and Beetee, and District 7's Johanna Mason. Wiress discovers the arena is designed like a clock with regular hazards each hour, but is killed soon afterward by Cashmere and Gloss, the brother and sister tributes from District 1, who are in turn killed by Johanna and Katniss, respectively.

Beetee suggests using one of the hazards, a tree that is struck by lightning every 12 hours, and a coil of wire to electrocute the other remaining tributes. The group separates to prepare the trap, but once alone Johanna suddenly hits Katniss over the head, stunning her, and discreetly cuts the tracker from her arm. Katniss returns to the tree and finds an unconscious Beetee with the wire from the tree attached to a makeshift spear. Unable to find Peeta, Katniss almost attacks Finnick, but Finnick reminds her to remember "who the real enemy is", as Haymitch had advised her prior to the Games. Katniss attaches the remaining wire to an arrow and shoots it into the arena's force field as the lightning hits, causing a power failure that takes down the dome's force field as well as the Capitol's surveillance.

Katniss awakens in an aircraft to find Haymitch, Beetee, Finnick, and Plutarch Heavensbee, the head Gamemaker, who is revealed to be a rebel against Snow. He tells her they are bound for District 13, headquarters of the new rebellion, and that half the tributes were aware of the plan to escape with Katniss, who symbolizes the growing rebellion. They were unable to rescue Peeta and Johanna, who were taken by the Capitol. A distraught Katniss is sedated after attacking Haymitch. She later awakens to find Gale by her side, who reassures her that her family is safe but tells her that District 12 has been destroyed by the Capitol.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Kinda draggish in the beginning of the movie until i fall asleep in the cinema previously. Rewatching the blu-ray version & the same thing happened to me again. It only excites me when the fights begins. Pity Mags the old lady who has to involved in the fight again, but well, somebody needs to be sacrifice right?

Serena

Released Year: 2014

Directed by Susanne Bier

Casted by:

Bradley Cooper as George Pemberton

Jennifer Lawrence as Serena Pemberton (née Shaw)

Rhys Ifans as Galloway

Sean Harris as Campbell

Toby Jones as Sheriff McDowell

Sam Reid as Joe Vaughn

Ana Ularu as Rachel Hermann

Story:

The year is 1929, and newlyweds George and Serena Pemberton travel from Boston to the North Carolina mountains where they plan to create a timber empire. George has already lived in the camp long enough to father an illegitimate child by young Rachel Harmon but Serena is new to the mountains. Upon stepping off the train in Waynesville, George is confronted by Rachel's father, Abe Harmon, who is angry at his daughter's abandonment and is hoping Pemberton will assist them financially. When Serena responds that George will not be assisting them, Abe attacks George with bowie knife. Ultimately George wins the battle and kills Abe. George also meets his business partners Wilkie and Buchanan at the train station and introduces them to his new wife, Serena.

Serena will soon show herself to be the equal of any man, overseeing crews, hunting rattlesnakes, even saving her husband's life in the wilderness. Together, the Pembertons ruthlessly kill or vanquish all who fall out of favor. Meanwhile, Rachel Harmon struggles to take care of her son, Jacob. When Serena learns that she will never bear a child, she sets out to murder the son George fathered without her. Mother and child begin a struggle for their lives, and when Serena suspects George is protecting his illegitimate family, the Pembertons' intense, passionate marriage starts to unravel. In the end, Serena tricks her husband and poisons George and he is left to die in the woods, it is implied that he is finished off by a panther. In an epilogue, an elderly Rachel reads a magazine article about Serena the lumber baron in Brazil, which she shows to her son. Serena is later murdered by a man whom an eyewitness identifies as her husband from an old photograph.

L² Scored: 5/10

L² Comment:

The movie is based on the same name novel of Ron Rash in 2008, love Bradly Cooper, love Jennifer Lawrence, love the sceneries... but how much i love the storyline? Umm... not that much as some part i found it kinda boring actually. One face attracted me in this movie which is Ana Ularu, love this Romanian actress, i must find some chance to watch some of her movie :)

X-Men: Days of Future Past

 Released Year: 2014

Directed by Bryan Singer

Casted by:

Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine

James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X

Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto

Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique

Nicholas Hoult and Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy / Beast

Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff / Quicksilver

Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask

Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm

Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat

Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake / Iceman

Daniel Cudmore as Peter Rasputin / Colossus

范冰冰 Fan Bingbing as Blink

Adan Canto as Sunspot

Booboo Stewart as James Proudstar / Warpath

 Story: 

In the future, robots known as Sentinels are exterminating mutants and their human allies. A band of mutants evades the Sentinels with the help of Kitty Pryde, who has the ability to send a person's consciousness into the past. Pryde's group convenes with Logan, Storm, Professor Charles Xavier, and Erik Lehnsherr at a monastery in China. Pryde sends Logan's consciousness 50 years back in time to 1973 to prevent Mystique from assassinating Bolivar Trask, creator of the Sentinels. Following the assassination, Mystique was captured, and her DNA was used by Trask's company to improve the Sentinels, whose ability to adapt to any mutant power makes them almost invincible. Xavier and Lehnsherr advise Logan to find both of their younger selves for help.

At the X-Mansion in 1973, Logan encounters Xavier and Hank McCoy. Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters has closed after most of the teachers and students were drafted to the Vietnam War. Xavier, a broken man, has been overusing a serum that allows him to walk but suppresses his telepathy. Logan explains his mission and persuades Xavier to help free Lehnsherr from a prison cell beneath the Pentagon, where he is being held for allegedly assassinating President John F. Kennedy. They rescue Lehnsherr with the help of Peter Maximoff, a mutant with super speed.

In Washington D.C., Trask unsuccessfully tries to sway Congress to gain support for his Sentinel program. Meanwhile, in Saigon, Mystique prevents William Stryker from appropriating a group of mutant G.I.s for Trask's research. Mystique investigates Trask's office and discovers he has been capturing mutants to use for his experiments. Xavier, Lehnsherr, McCoy, and Logan fly to Paris to intercept Mystique, who is impersonating a North Vietnamese general to infiltrate the Paris Peace Accords. There, Trask attempts to sell his Sentinel technology to Communist nations. Xavier's group arrives as Mystique is about to kill Trask. Lehnsherr tries to kill Mystique to ensure her DNA cannot be used for the Sentinels, but she jumps from a window. The fight spills onto the street in view of the public, allowing Lensherr and Mystique to escape.

Trask is saved, but the world is horrified by the existence of mutants. President Richard Nixon approves Trask's Sentinel program and arranges an unveiling ceremony. Trask's scientists recover Mystique's blood from the street. Meanwhile, Lehnsherr—who has recovered his telepathy-blocking helmet—intercepts the prototype Sentinels in transit and laces their polymer-based frames with steel, allowing him to control them. At the mansion, Xavier stops taking his serum and slowly regains his mental powers, while losing the ability to walk. Through Logan, Xavier speaks to his future self and is inspired to work for peace between humans and mutants once again. He uses Cerebro to track Mystique, who is heading to Washington D.C.

As Xavier, Logan, and McCoy search for Mystique, Nixon unveils the Sentinel prototypes at the White House. Lensherr commandeers the Sentinels and attacks the crowd, then sets the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium around the White House as a barricade. Nixon and Trask, accompanied by the Cabinet, Secret Service officers, and Mystique (disguised as a Secret Service member), are taken to a safe room. Logan and McCoy try to stop Lehnsherr, but he pits a Sentinel against them and then throws Logan into the Potomac River. In the future, the X-Men make their final stand as a large army of Sentinels attack the monastery. In 1973, Lehnsherr pulls the safe room from the White House and prepares to kill Nixon and his Cabinet. Mystique, who is disguised as Nixon, incapacitates Lehnsherr with a plastic gun. Xavier persuades Mystique to spare Trask and allows her and Lehnsherr to flee. Mystique's actions are seen as a mutant saving the President, leading to the cancellation of the Sentinel program. Trask is arrested for trying to sell American military secrets.

Logan wakes up in the future to find Bobby Drake, Rogue, Peter Rasputin, Kitty, McCoy, Storm, Jean Grey, Scott Summers, and Xavier are all alive. In 1973, Mystique, impersonating Stryker, takes custody of Logan.

In a post-credits scene, a crowd chants to En Sabah Nur, who is using telekinesis to build pyramids as four horsemen watch from nearby.

 L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment: 

Oh no~ i just realized that i did not watch this movie in the cinema last year, what's wrong with me? 

Anyway, the storyline follow according to the comic of x-men in 1981~ i find that the writer is really brilliant and can think of such story... Due to this movie, i get to know x-men better, especially with Kitty Pryde's superpower. I always thought she can only walk through the wall, but never realize she can walk through time as well. This round, poor Storm's character has become much more useless compare to others; and i also wonder whether Fan Bing Bing will continue to come out in  other x-men series or not...

The Hunger Games

 Released Year: 2012

Directed by Gary Ross

Casted by:

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark
Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne
Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman

Amandla Stenberg as Rue
Alexander Ludwig as Cato
Isabelle Fuhrman as Clove

Story:

The nation of Panem consists of a wealthy Capitol and twelve poorer districts. As punishment for a past rebellion, each district must provide a boy and girl ("tributes") between the ages of 12 and 18 selected by lottery (the "Reaping") for the annual Hunger Games. The tributes must fight to the death in an arena; the sole survivor is rewarded with fame and wealth. In her first Reaping, 12-year-old Primrose Everdeen is chosen from District 12. Her older sister Katniss volunteers to take her place. Peeta Mellark, a baker's son who once gave Katniss bread when she was starving, is the other District 12 tribute.

Katniss and Peeta are taken to the Capitol, accompanied by their frequently drunk mentor, past victor Haymitch Abernathy. He warns them about the "Career" tributes who train intensively at special academies and almost always win.

During a TV interview with Caesar Flickerman, Peeta unexpectedly reveals his love for Katniss. She is outraged, believing it to be a ploy to gain audience support, as "sponsors" may provide in-Games gifts of food, medicine, and tools. However, she discovers Peeta meant what he said.

The televised Games begin with half of the tributes killed in the first few minutes; Katniss barely survives ignoring Haymitch's advice to run away from the melee over the tempting supplies and weapons strewn in front of a structure called the Cornucopia. Peeta forms an uneasy alliance with the four Careers. They later find Katniss and corner her up a tree. Rue, hiding in a nearby tree, draws her attention to a poisonous tracker jacker nest hanging from a branch. Katniss drops it on her sleeping besiegers. They all scatter, except for Glimmer, who is killed by the insects. Hallucinating due to tracker jacker venom, Katniss is warned to run away by Peeta. Rue cares for Katniss for a couple of days until she recovers.

Meanwhile, the alliance has gathered all the supplies into a pile. Katniss has Rue draw them off, then destroys the stockpile by setting off the mines planted around it. Furious, Cato kills the boy assigned to guard it. As Katniss runs from the scene, she hears Rue calling her name. She finds Rue trapped and releases her. Marvel, a tribute from District 1, throws a spear at Katniss, but she dodges the spear, causing it to stab Rue in the stomach instead. Katniss shoots him dead with an arrow. She then comforts the dying Rue with a song. Afterward, she gathers and arranges flowers around Rue's body. When this is televised, it sparks a riot in Rue's District 11. President Snow summons Seneca Crane, the Gamemaker, to express his displeasure at the way the Games are turning out.

Since Katniss and Peeta have been presented to the public as "star-crossed lovers", Haymitch is able to convince Crane to make a rule change to avoid inciting further riots. It is announced that tributes from the same district can win as a pair. Upon hearing this, Katniss searches for Peeta and finds him with an infected sword wound in the leg. She portrays herself as deeply in love with him and gains a sponsor's gift of soup. An announcer proclaims a feast, where the thing each survivor needs most will be provided. Peeta begs her not to risk getting him medicine. Katniss promises not to go, but after he falls asleep, she heads to the feast. Clove ambushes her and pins her down. As Clove gloats, Thresh, the other District 11 tribute, kills Clove after overhearing her tormenting Katniss about killing Rue. He spares Katniss "just this time...for Rue". The medicine works, keeping Peeta mobile.

Foxface, the girl from District 5, dies from eating nightlock berries she stole from Peeta; neither knew they are highly poisonous. Crane changes the time of day in the arena to late at night and unleashes a pack of hound-like creatures to speed things up. They kill Thresh and force Katniss and Peeta to flee to the roof of the Cornucopia, where they encounter Cato. After a battle, Katniss wounds Cato with an arrow and Peeta hurls him to the creatures below. Katniss shoots Cato to spare him a prolonged death. With Peeta and Katniss apparently victorious, the rule change allowing two winners is suddenly revoked. Peeta tells Katniss to shoot him. Instead, she gives him half of the nightlock. However, before they can commit suicide, they are hastily proclaimed the victors of the 74th Hunger Games.

Haymitch warns Katniss that she has made powerful enemies after her display of defiance. She and Peeta return to District 12, while Crane is locked in a room with a bowl of nightlock berries, and President Snow considers the situation.

  L² Scored: 10/10

L² Comment:

 Love this movie, its something similar like the Japanese film "Battle Royale". This movie is originated from Suzanne Collins' novel The Hunger Games as well. Overall the movie met my expectation no matter in the storyline, characters and the twist as well. I wish to read the novel and hoping to see the next movie soon :)

X-Men: First Class

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Casted by:
James McAvoy as Dr. Charles Xavier / Professor X
Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr / Magneto
Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw
Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkholme / Mystique
January Jones as Emma Frost
Rose Byrne as Dr. Moira MacTaggert
Zoë Kravitz as Angel Salvadore
Caleb Landry Jones as Sean Cassidy / Banshee
Lucas Till as Alex Summers / Havok
Edi Gathegi as Armando Muñoz / Darwin
Jason Flemyng as Azazel
Álex González as Janos Quested / Riptide
Story:

At a German concentration camp in occupied Poland in 1944, scientist Dr. Schmidt[6] observes young Erik Lensherr bend a metal gate with his mind when the child is separated from his parents. In his office, Schmidt orders Lensherr to similarly move a coin on a desk, and kills his mother when the child cannot. In his grief and anger, Lensherr's magnetic power manifests, killing two guards and destroying the room, to Schmidt's delight.

At a mansion in Westchester County, New York, young telepath Charles Xavier meets homeless young shape-shifter Raven. Overjoyed to meet someone else "different" like him, he invites her to live with his family.

In 1962, an adult Lensherr is tracking down Schmidt to take revenge. In England, Oxford University graduate Xavier is publishing his thesis on mutation; Raven, now his foster sister, lives with him. In Las Vegas, CIA agent Moira MacTaggert follows US Army Colonel Hendry into the Hellfire Club, where she sees Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Azazel. After Shaw threatens Hendry, Azazel disappears with the officer; moments later Hendry is in the War Room, advocating that the US install nuclear missiles in Turkey. Shaw later kills Hendry, revealing himself as Schmidt and demonstrating the energy-absorbing mutant power that has de-aged him.

MacTaggert, seeking Xavier's advice on mutation, convinces him and Raven to join her at the CIA, where they convince Director McCone that mutants exist and Shaw is a threat. The unnamed "Man in Black Suit", another CIA executive, sponsors the mutants and invites them to the CIA's secret "Division X" facility. Xavier locates Shaw, arriving in time to stop Lensherr, who had attacked Shaw, from drowning as Shaw escapes. Xavier brings Lensherr to Division X, where they meet young scientist Hank McCoy, a prehensile-footed mutant whom Xavier inadvertently outs as a mutant. McCoy, developing a bond with Raven, promises her he will find a way to normalize their appearance. Xavier uses a mutant-locating device, Cerebro, to find and recruit mutants for training to stop Shaw. He and Lensherr find stripper Angel Salvadore; taxi driver Armando Muñoz, who takes the code name Darwin; Army prisoner Alex Summers, who calls himself Havok; and Sean Cassidy, who dubs himself Banshee. Raven takes the name Mystique. She also dubs Charles "Prof. X" and Erik "Magneto."

When Frost meets with a Soviet general in the USSR, Xavier and Lensherr capture her. Meanwhile, Azazel, Riptide and Shaw attack Division X, killing everyone but the young mutants and offering them the chance to join him. Angel accepts; when Darwin tries to fight back, Shaw kills him. With the facility destroyed, Xavier takes the mutants to train at his family mansion. McCoy devises protective uniforms and a stealth jet. In Moscow, Shaw compels the general to have the Soviet Union install nuclear missiles in Cuba.

During the Cuban Missile Crisis, US President John F. Kennedy institutes a blockade to stop a Soviet freighter from moving the nuclear missiles to Cuba. Shaw, wearing a helmet that foils Xavier's telepathy, accompanies the Soviet fleet to ensure the missiles arrive, trying to trigger World War III and achieve mutant ascendency. Raven goes to seduce Lensherr, who convinces her to embrace her nature as a mutant. Later, McCoy offers Raven his cure for her appearance, but she refuses. The cure backfires on McCoy, rendering him a leonine beast. Though ashamed of his new appearance, he pilots the mutants and MacTaggert to the blockade line. In an ensuing battle with Shaw, Lensherr takes the helmet for himself, allowing Xavier to immobilize Shaw. Despite Xavier's objections, Lensherr kills Shaw by forcing the Nazi coin through his brain, thus avenging his murdered mother, and displays his body to the mutants.

Fearing the mutants, the fleets fire their missiles at them. In a struggle, Xavier keeps Lensherr from destroying the fleets with the missiles, but when MacTaggert fires at Lensherr, a deflected bullet hits Xavier in the spine. Lensherr, remorseful, leaves with Mystique, Angel, Riptide and Azazel. A wheelchair-bound Xavier and the mutants return to the mansion, where he intends to open a school. MacTaggert promises never to reveal his location and they kiss; at the CIA later, she says she has no clear memory of recent events. Lensherr, in a uniform with the helmet and calling himself Magneto, breaks Frost from confinement.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

A shame that i have actually miss this spectacular movie in the cinema few months ago. This is a movie which explain to us how professor X & Magneto came from; how they defeat their enemy; how they become enemy from friend; how mystique become the x-men's rival.

Using a bunch of tv series actors & actresses is a smart choice as they are much more cheaper than those blockbuster superstar. Somemore they are much more fresh and young. Really love this movie especially the sexy Emma Frost.

Anyone has the X-Men's comic or cartoon?