Trailerblazing -- X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse -- May 27, 2016 -- directed by Bryan Singer -- starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Evan Peters, Olivia Munn, Rose Byrne, Sophie Turner

Talk about a pleasant weekend surprise. Our favorite mutants are back! After the wondrous First Class and the time travel Rubik's Cube that was Days of Future Past, here is the trailer for what seems to be the darkest film in the new trilogy. This time around, the X-Men confront the very first mutant in existence, the ominously named Apocalypse (Isaac), whose abilities are about to become a genuine challenge for the team. What I have always liked about all of the X-Men films and what I also see in this trailer is the balance between the visuals and the narrative. The filmmakers never allow for CGI imagery to overpower the essentially human tales, fleshing out the principal characters' backstories and peppering the scripts with twists and symbolism. In my mind, this is what separates these two series from many other Marvel adaptations. The Apocalypse trailer shows crazy adventures galore, while hinting at new encounters between ultimate frenemies Professor X and Magneto and showing us Professor X's iconic look. We catch glimpses of Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) -- love those carvings! -- and Psylocke, played by Munn, an actor whose nerd cred is a thing of beauty. We also see Sophie Turner of "Game of Thrones" inheriting the Jean Grey role from the wonderful Famke Janssen. Even though I cannot help still seeing Sansa Stark, it is early days yet and I think that Turner is well cast as the delicately strong telepath. The film looks like another hit for the franchise and the excitement is starting to build. I look forward to paying another visit to the X-Mansion.