X-Men 2

2000's smash hit X-Men certainly deserved a sequel (or two, or three), especially with all the cash it made and how the first one ended. Now the X-Men are back together once again, and this time they've got some new friends, including Nightcrawler and Pyro, and as well as some new enemies like William Stryker and Lady Deathstrike (his personal mutant "assistant"/slave). This time the X-Men find themselves locked in an unlikely alliance with Magneto and Mystique (their nemeses from the first film) against an evil military scientist named William Stryker, whose main goal is to eradicate the world of mutants once and for all.

X2: X-Men United is in many ways an improvement over the first film. It's more psychological, it's longer, there's more action, more mutants, more of Wolverine slicing it up and like the first film it's never boring or drags, right from the get-go X2 is fierce and exciting. In fact, X2 is almost the perfect comic book film… almost. The one little, weak link in X2, for me at least, was Nightcrawler. Now, I like the character of Nightcrawler, but I honestly didn't care that much for Alan Cumming, he came off as a bit weak, and kind of "dorky". The character of Nightcrawler really just seems like a huge convenience to the plot; like the scene where he rescues Rogue in the X-Jet, which was oh so very convenient. But the one thing I liked about Nightcrawler, besides that awesome opening sequence in the White House, was his religious side, which I thought was interesting and made me sympathize with the character a little more.

Pretty much everything in X2 works perfectly fine, which I attribute all that success to the amazing cast (Jackman, McKellen, Stewart, Marsden, Janssen, Berry, Paquin, Cox, Romijn), and the fact that the film was written and directed by the same people who clearly knew what they were doing back in 2000, and here they show us once again they still know what they're doing, and they aren't afraid to up the ante and take it up a notch. If you liked the first X-Men there's really no reason at all why wouldn't enjoy or like X2 as much, or maybe even more than the first film. It still has those surprising moments of humor, and plenty of action, maybe even more so than the original. And like the original, X2 sets itself up for a third film; let's just hope it turns out (at the very least) as good as the first two films, if not better.

Not that the first film was bad, because actually I still found it good, well-made fun for all its flaws. It's just that whereas the first X-Men film did feel like the beginning of a franchise that was yet to properly find its feet, it was found with X2. X2 isn't perfect either but still a very good film that is bigger and darker than the first and all the better for it. Again X2 is very well-made, with the dark visual style still maintained yet with a slightly grander look. The photography is beautiful and atmospheric, and the special effects are better here too, they were good in the first that they're slicker, bolder and eye-popping in the way that the first film didn't quite but almost did achieve. Whilst Michael Kamen's score in the first was fine, John Ottman's score here is an improvement being more in tune with the atmosphere and what's happening in the story.

The script is even sharper here and with more depth, the humour and comic one-liners are witty and genuinely funny, they are not cheesy or out-of-place nor are they too much. There is a melancholic tone too that is dark and quite poignant and the romantic elements are sweet but never too soap-opera-ish. The story is where the darker and bigger terms most apply, apart from a couple of parts that could have slowed down and explained themselves more you are glued to your seat almost the entire time and emotionally connect with scenes and characters too. The assault on the White House sequence is exciting and a brilliant way to start the film, and it is true that the climax here puts the climax of the first in the shade, it's not contrived in the slightest and you are biting your nails. X2 does a great job mostly with the characters, where they are more complex and relatable.

Although once again Storm and Cyclops are underdeveloped, otherwise Wolverine is a gritty and identifiable anti-hero, and of the other characters Nightcrawler was most effective. Though once again credit is due for making Magneto much more than a stereotypical villain. X2 is very well played by the cast, with the standouts being Hugh Jackman's charismatic Wolverine, Ian McKellen's menacing Magneto with shades of melancholy, Alan Cumming's camp yet affecting Nightcrawler and Brian Cox who plays Stryker with relish without falling into cliché territory. Also good are Rebecca Romijin-Stamos who continues to be sexy and icy, and her transformation sequences are among the visual highlights of the film and Patrick Stewart still is cool and fun though his screen time should have been longer.

Only three cast members don't quite work, and they were James Marsden who's even stiffer than he was in the first(not helped by his character not been used as well as he could have been), Halle Berry who looks bored and Shawn Ashmore does look awkward at times. Other than a couple of rushed, under-explained parts, a couple of characters given short shrift and a couple of performances that didn't quite make the grade the film is a touch overlength, but the film on the whole is very good and lots of fun in its own right. It compares extremely favourably to the first film and manages to be better than it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

X2: X-MEN UNITED (2003) ***1/2 Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, Anna Paquin, Kelly Hu, Aaron Stanford, Shawn Ashmore, Cotter Smith. Superlative sequel and a boost of hyperactive energy in the franchise's arm in the second chapter of the Marvel Comics' cult classic this time with good mutants teaming with bad to stop a bent human military advisor (hissable Cox) out to wipe out both types at any cost. Far-out special effects, new characters (particularly winning is Cumming as the blue-skinned Night Crawler) and non-stop action packaged with kinetic infectious giddiness. Jackman continues to amaze as the tormented Wolverine, Berry is given more to do as the tempestuous Storm, Janssen's Jane Grey is perhaps the most nuanced in her suddenly advance telekinetic skills and McKellen is well…magnetic as Magneto. Fun tongue-in-cheek screenplay by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris (w/ David Hayter, Zak Penn and director Bryan Singer getting story credits) keeps up with the multi-layered storyline encompassing class welfare, social strata and in general to accept one for who they are and not what they are. Well done!

They've done a hell of a lot right. That's my response to Singer's X-Men films; they're slick, funny, emotive and a real blast to watch. Without overdrawn character introductions and explanations, X2 launches right into seventh gear and doesn't let up.

Admirably, the film allows the majority of its characters a genuinely engaging storyline amongst the bigger picture, and although the story is not without its fault (using Cerebro as a major plot point two films in a row is like building the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi; been there, seen it before) it is certainly worthy of high praise. It's amazing that in just two films we already have a real appreciation for the relationships between such a considerable group of characters, and it is for the continued development of these relationships - and not the cool story line and action sequences - that makes me look forward to another X-film.

I would love to say that it's the casting that makes the films so brilliant - and it's true, the casting is great - but a couple of these characters have been woefully miscast. Iceman stood out for me, bringing an uncomfortable Backstreet Boy vibe to the role, and although his role in X2 is small, James Marsden just doesn't seem to have it in him to hold a commanding and authoritative position among the X-sters as Cyclops. In the first X-film he managed to at least stand beside the Wolverine with some great gags, but he's been left in the gutter for X2, and in the single scene toward the end of the film where Marsden is allowed to genuinely act, his emotional response feels awkward and forced. I am sure he is capable of more than this, and hopefully when X-Men 3 comes around he'll have more to work with. I've never been happy with Halle Berry as Storm, and she looks bored out of her skull in this film. I hope not to see her return.

Thankfully, most of Singer's new cast are admirable. The recast Pyro is great and Nightcrawler is fantastic. In fact, Alan is the only actor in the film who comes close to matching the quality of Jackman's Wolverine and McKellen's Magneto. These wonderful actors all appear to genuinely revel in portraying their characters. Janssen steps her performance up a notch too and it helps the film no end. I really hope to see her in the next film.

Ultimately, there are just a few slip-ups here in an otherwise classy and supremely entertaining film. With such an established canon of characters everyone is going to have their own opinion on how particular character should be portrayed, and for the most part X-2 does the job. Hopefully the bugs will be ironed out and we'll see a sequel of equal or greater quality in a few years. I'm certainly excited at the prospect.

A lot has been said about this movie, as is the case with many recent Hollywood comics adaptations. While I truly respect everyone's opinion, I really don't see the point in some criticisms brought up against this movie.

(Definitely NO spoilers ahead.)

First of all, we must realize that X-men comics have been around for decades. They existed before many of you were born. Still, the producers had to assume that the average audience had little or no idea about the mutant phenomenon, but Bryan singer did a very good job (as always) in the first film, and introduced the audience. Besides, adapting such a story with so many characters to the screen is no easy job, and is also risky, considering it's Hollywood and it must return all those millions. So the mutant phenomenon was well explained, the characters and their abilities introduced, and the plot (which actually had a story, unlike many action flicks) was carried out smoothly. All in the running time of one film. good job.

The second film, however, had to concentrate (naturally) on more characters and a more thorough story. This is why I object (in the title) to people criticising this film for "lack of character development" etc. Many of the characters WERE developed in the first film. If you never read x-men comics, and did not even see the first movie, and see this one right away and still expect the director/writer to spell things out for you, well, you'll be disappointed. "Where did Colossus take the kids during the attack?" someone asked. To hide them somewhere, THAT'S where he took them. I don't think people would like to see the director spell out everything, such as Colossus' inner voice saying, "Well, let me take these kids somewhere beneath this multimillion dollar facility, to hide them from the bad guys."

And the newly-introduced characters were introduced well enough. You see their abilities, you see whose side they're on, you even learn more about their personalities as the movie progresses. What else do you need to learn? Which team he supports?

The highlight of the film was definitely Mystique's transformation scenes, very well done.

The movie had many shortcomings, of course, the pace slowed down more than once, some main characters, especially Cyclops, were almost lost, but the plusses were way more than minuses. Especially Nightcrawler, who almost stole the lead from Wolverine. I must also add that Wolverine is much more violent in this film than the first, much more like the original comic character.

As for the people who complain about the abundance of characters. Well, bad news for you. X-men is not a story of a couple of guys and their girlfriends. There are much more characters, hopefully to be seen in the next sequel(s). Jubilee, Pyro and Colossus were all hinted in this one. Though I'm eager to see Gambit also, I can't wait to see how they will do the Beast. Of course, I can see the "no character development" people asking each other, "Who is Beast?"

In short, this movie does what it's supposed to do: Gives us entertainment, and shows us our favorite characters on screen.