Customer Reviews

X2

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just an FYI - the choral music behind Nightcrawler's attack on the White House is the "Dies Irae" from the Mozart "Requiem" (K626). The translation from the Latin is "Day of Wrath, that day will dissolve the earth in ashes as David and the Sibyl bear witness. What dread there will when the Judge shall come to judge all things strictly." A fantastic use of this amazing work.

First things off, this soundtrack is better than X-Men 1,(although I REALLY liked the music from the first movie) and none of the themes are brought over from the first movie which is bad or good depending on if you liked the first movie's score.
As you probably noticed Michael Kamen has been replaced by John Ottman(who was originally supposed to score X-Men 1) and with it comes a new style to the score. While Kamen used lots of techno, Ottman goes to traditional orchestra and lots of chorus.

Like I said there are no themes brought over from the first movie which I loved but Ottman makes up for it with a FANTASTIC X-Men theme, which can be heard in the first track. I would have enjoyed it even more however if Ottman brought over the Brotherhood theme from X-Men 1 along with Magneto's and Mystique's theme but it's excusable because of just how much better Ottman puts up his music into heart pounding moments of triumph. GREAT SCORE AND SOUNDTRACK
Curiously absent though is the music from the first scene in the movie when Nightcrawler attacked the White House, I was looking forward to listening to it but it wasn't included, what gives.
BUY IT!
-Written by Max Folkman

Before I get started, I must confess, I loved the soundtrack to the first movie so this isn't meant to bash it, but most of the music from it was completly disjointed and didn't have much of a melody. I feared the same would be true of the sequel's score until I saw John Ottman attatched as composer. I had been a fan of his work before and I knew that if anyone could bring the kind of grandiose score that X2 needed, it would be he. Luckily, he doesn't dissapoint. Gone are the overt and often abrasive electronic sounds of the first score, Mr. Ottman opted for a more traditional orchestra approach instead. The album kicks off with Suite from X2, which, if I'm not mistaken, was the music used for the closing credits. (Don't quote me on that, though.) It begins with the wonderful main theme for X2 which sounds much better than the original X-Men theme, and then from there it takes us through some of the other themes from the movie, then returns at the end to the X2 theme. The one problem I had with this album was that the tracks were out of order from their place in the film. I've yet to understand why, since the mass adoption of CDs, soundtracks are still arranged in strange ways. However, this turns out to be a non-issue since the flow of the album seems to work better this way. All of the tracks seem to naturally flow from one to the next, despite being out of order. This makes for a wonderful listening experiance. I can't really say much more about this album, it's just wonderful. Some of my friends have said, "Why do you think it's so great. It doesn't sound like a traditional superhero soundtrack?" Well, to them, I answer, "The X-Men aren't really superheroes. They are a minority fighting bigotry and oppression...they just happen to be a comic book team." So, enough rambling, go buy it. ;-)

Rating this score, I completely agree with the customer who said before that, "as you probably noticed Michael Kamen has been replaced by John Ottman(who was originally supposed to score X-Men 1) and with it comes a new style to the score. While Kamen used lots of techno, Ottman goes to traditional orchestra and lots of chorus". Although I liked the first score as well, this one sounds better. Beggining with the main theme. John Ottman did in fact a wonderfull job. Mark my words: this score is not to be missed. Not at all. I also enjoyed the Nightcrawler attack to the White House theme. It's for sure one of my favorites on the entire movie, next to the main theme, of course. So, my friends, don't forget to listen to this superb work of art from Mr. John Ottman. And naturally buy a copy for yourself. You won't regret!!!

I was rather dissappointed to hear that Michael Kamen was being replaced for the score to the sequel of X-Men, but I was interested in hearing the score from someone else, as well.

Overall, John Ottman's score is neat. It has its key moments like the first and sixth tracks. Ottman enrolls heroism and wicked music to the score, plus the use of the chorus which Kamen uses only here and there. This soundtrack is also quite longer than the first and has a memorable theme. But he doesn't have the excitement that Kamen had. Most of these tracks are a bit subtle and don't give a great feeling of action or excitement (most of the first track, too). Besides that, Ottman's ending is weaker compared to Kamen's.

In Kamen's score, he provides plenty of excitement yet only one track that is really soft. Kamen's themes were also perfect for each scene and character that I won't forget, and his ending is magnificent. From Ottman, he gave quite a few like the main theme, the mansion attack, and Wolverine's past memories. But when it comes down to Wolverine fighting with Lady Deathstrike, it doesn't generate that feeling of a good fight, despite how creative it is with clashes of metal. Even so, I love the themes from the first, including the main, moreso than the second's (despite that Ottman's score was very nice). And Kamen knows how to press the buttons when it comes down to X-Men. However, Ottman is very passionate in his score the whole way, especially through an orchestral type (and this movie). Although, Kamen is passionate in his own way, particularly at the end of the first.

I find that between the two, Kamen is more suitable/appropriate to X-Men. He has a certain touch to them that makes me feel like this is the X-Men, and it gets you caught up in the moment. It's a distinctive style that fits the persona of the X-Men. But I can't ignore that in a way Ottman could be better suited to X2, because it is different from the first movie.

Superb soundtrack.
For all those interested, the White House sequence featured "Dies Irae" by Mozart.

Without a doubt, the best version out there of Mozart's "Requiem in D minor, Sequenz III - Dies Irae" is the version featured in the "Amadeus" soundtrack, by Sir Neville Marriner. When I first saw the film, I had a flashback to 1985, to the first time I listened to my "Amadeus" cd!

As for the score itself, the motifs are not quite as "catchy" as those featured in X-1. HOWEVER, Ottman's "color" is much more classic and full (less techno than Kamen's).

This score will grow on you.... trust me!

Ottman delivers a solid hour of score on this album. The action cues, thematic development, and overall cohesion are all major improvements over Kamen's score for the first movie. This is easily my favorite score of the X-Men trilogy.

While Michael Kamen provided a last minute replacement score when John Ottman was busy with other projects that was mainly electronic in nature with a minimal orchestra, John Ottman provides an orchestral score that is everything that the first X-Men score was not. However, Ottman managed to provide a sound that honored the original Kamen score, only with more thematic presence.
There are several themes in the score. The first is the main theme for the X-Men, which is an upbeat march for brass, which is largely featured in "Suite from X2" and "We're Here to Stay", while bits and pieces of the theme are interweaved throughout the score. The most prominent theme in the score is Jean Grey's theme, which is an awe-inspiring theme complete with chorus and full orchestra. It is my favorite theme in the score. As Ottman explains during the creation of the score on the DVD, there are also motifs for Nightcrawler, Pyro, Magneto, and Mystique, in which samples of them can be found in the first track. Nightcrawler's motif can also be found in "Finding Faith", Pyro's motif can be found in "Playing with Fire", Magneto's motif can be found in "Magneto's Old Tricks", and Mystique's motif can be found in "Sneaky Mystique". "Mansion Attack" is a 7-minute action cue which features dynamic brass writing, percussion hits, and piano strikes.
The only minor difficulty with some of the music is that it can take a while for it to get going in parts, as lots of it is "filler" music. But, once the thematic material and the action music are present, they really take off. With the additional work of editing the film, Ottman managed to multi-task, creating a great score for a great film. Ottman did not return to score the third X-Men film, due to his work on Superman Returns, so John Powell provided that score.

AS great as the first X-Men movie was, one of the weakest points was its score by Michael Kamen. While Kamen has written some beautiful and excellent scores, his X-Men work just didn't fit the bill. A classic hero motif was underused and elctronic rattles and bangs paved the way of the score. In John Ottman's score for X2, the bangs and rattles have been reduced and a largely orchestrational score installed instead. Ottman's hero motiff is by far one of the best in the super-hero score community. It ranks right up with Williams' Superman fanfare as well as Elfman's Batman Theme. The biggest complaint I have for this score is that it is not in order. For me that is really annoying and does reduce what is in affect a great score. I really wish that amazon would give .5's instead of straight numbers. Overall, Ottman's score successfully captures the heroic qualities of the X-Men as well as the heroic sacrifice of Jean Grey and the traitorous decision of Pyro. Its an excellent score.