In this third, energetic instalment of X-Men pre-history we encounter a dynamic (albeit somewhat sprawling) cohort of mutants both old and new. While this gives for a lively and thrilling performance, it at times lacks in-depth characterisation and the same sense of genuine threat observed in X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The irony of this is rich given the titled villain ‘Apocalypse’ – a reincarnated uber-mutant – is played with such marked apathy by Oscar Isaac that one is left wondering whether the world was ever in any true danger at all. The viewer can’t help but wonder if this was simply another case of Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) kissing and making up in a fashion that has become the quintessential determinant of good-guy victory in Singer’s X-Men films.

The film begins with a flashback to 3600BC, the moment when En Sabah Nur, the world’s first mutant – who is coincidentally able to absorb the regenerating powers of others once he feels death encroaching – is encased within a tomb in Cairo following a failed assassination attempt. Flash-forward to 1980 (although the time period is only ever really indicated through the token Regan portrait and offhand comment by a young Storm: “Welcome to the 80s”), and we see that he has been awoken by a cultic group who associate a Second Coming-type utopia, whereby the powerful mutants will rule over the weak, with his long-awaited return.

Having moved forward ten years from the previous X-instalment, the first part of the film is an enjoyable game of catch-up. Mutants appear to fare no better in the public conscious than they did when Magneto attempted to assassinate JFK. Having evaded the law, Magneto has assumed a life of mundanity in Poland and has a wife and daughter, while Charles, Hank and the rest of the crew remain at Xavier’s School for the Gifted, clinging onto that fallible glimmer of hope that one day mutants can be accepted as civilians rather than freaks. Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) finds herself inconspicuously lurking around East Berlin, where she incidentally saves ‘Nightcrawler’ (Kodi Smith-McPhee) from being killed by ‘Angel’ (Ben Hardy) – one of Apocalypse’s later henchmen.

However, this all-too-familiar set up is livened by the reintroduction of mutants once-forgotten, such as Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp) and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), as well as the reappearance of Quicksilver (Evan Peters). Just as in Days of Future Past, it’s Quicksilver who provides one of the most highly entertaining episodes of the film. In typical fashion, he saves the entirety of students from Charles’ school as it burns in the flames ignited by Apocalypse and his entourage.

Unfortunately, many of the other characters introduced appear wholly two-dimensional, the only interesting thing about Psylocke’s (Olivia Munn) persona being her Dominatrix-like costume, while even Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), typically a crucial human counter-weight and indispensable in victory throughout, seemingly plays an irrelevant role. Although she herself witnesses the revival of Apocalypse and informs Charles, the later-revealed removal of her memories by Charles prevents little emotional connection between them until the very end.

Paradoxically, the general inaction of the first half is in many ways more engaging than the superficial appearance of inevitable doom in the latter half. The final battle of good and evil is ultimately between Apocalypse and everyone else (as Charles and Raven once again remind Magneto of his true self – which he seems prone to forgetting). The threat of Apocalypse is no match for the likes of the good-guy mutants we all know and love who, together, can combat anything - apparently even the end of the world.

While X-Men: Apocalypse makes for exhilarating viewing, and is in no way boring, it definitely lacks the lustre and novelty of First Class and the intriguing plot of Days of Future Past. Although, perhaps we can forgive Singer on account of the fact that he managed to explain Charles’s baldness and included a scene in which a half-naked, rabid Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) goes on a rampant killing spree. I mean, what’s not to like about that?