X2 - X-Men United (Widescreen Edition) (2003)

The first X-Men film was a necessary sacrificial lamb. With so many characters, good and bad, and each character having all their own ongoing multiple storylines and backgrounds and yadda yadda yadda, the first flick chopped all the excess fat and brought the comic book to life in a very realistic and engrossing world...However, it did have its flaws as well as a flat climax that felt like merely a prologue for future X-Films rather than a memorable first entry (though still better than most comic book tripe nevertheless).

X-2 one-ups all of that, though...Everyone from the first is back for more and even some newbies hitch a ride. Nightcrawler has been made into a gem of a character by Alan Cumming. The opening sequence with him involved in an assassination attempt is awesome and unrelenting. Pyro was always a silly "goofy-villain-with-bad-costume" in the X-books but he's much more compelling as an angst-ridden teen fighting temptation from the dark side of mutant powers, kind of like Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode 2, but in this film it doesn't make you the moviegoer roll your eyes or consider suicide. There's a brief cameo from Colossus, another goodie mutie who will no doubt have a bigger and highly anticiapted role in the inevitable (and very welcome) X-3...

All the other charaters from the original are even better here and it's hard to give all of them equal playing time in such a movie, but in the end everyone knows the real title of these movies: "Wolverine and his Amazing Friends." Got it? Get used to it. Hugh Jackman as Wolvie is so good that it should be illegal to play a comic character that well. Absolutely criminal. Quick, someone call the acting police and give Michael Jai White a copy of X1 and X2, tell him that's how to play a badass. Then laugh at him for ruining "Spawn" anyway.

Needless to say, the plot is a foregone conclusion here and it's all just an excuse to -gasp- develop the characters. What? A popcorn movie with unobtrusive character development? Yep, that's X-2 alright; and it's all a hell of a lot of fun...

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In this highly enjoyable sequel, the warring parties from the first instalment are forced into a partnership of necessity to battle against an army scientist, Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox), who is determined to wipe all mutant life. To this end, in an excellent opening sequence, he coerces a teleporting mutant by the name of Nightcrawler into an attempt on the President's life with the purpose of turning both the public and the oval office against mutant kind.

All the favourite X-people from the first instalment including Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen), Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Storm (Halle Berry), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Cyclops (James Marsden) and Famke Janssen (as Dr Jean Grey). In addition they are joined by three very noteable additions, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), Pyro (Aaron Stamford) and Yuriko Oyama (Kelly Hu). Although Sabretooth and Toad are missing in action from the first movie they're not exactly missed (because lets face it they aren't the most exciting X-characters anyway)!

One of the things I most enjoyed about X2 is how much more there was than the first movie. More action, more humour, more X-Men (and X-children) a longer running time, and in particular, more Halle Berry, more Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Famke Janssen, looking even more glamorous, more alluring and displaying more X-powers (as Dr Jean Grey) than she did in the first movie.

That said, the film is still dominated by two actors; Brian Cox (one of Scotland's finest actors) who makes an excellent villain as Colonel Stryker and Australian actor Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. For it is their personal conflict and previous history that encapsulates the battle between good and evil that is at the heart of this sequel. However, they are ably supported by all the previously mentioned cast members and the addition of the excellent character Nightcrawler, played by another Scotsman, Alan Cumming.

Kudos must also go to scriptwriters Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris and Director Bryan Singer, who was much criticised for the lack of action in the opening movie of this very profitable franchise. Dougherty and Harris have injected some subtle humour mainly absent from X-Men and Singer (with help from Editors John Ottman & Elliot Graham) has done well to seamlessly cram it all into 130 minutes, whilst still managing to keep to his promise of a darker sequel. Although critics may argue that much of the intelligence and thought-provoking elements from the first movie are much diluted X2 is still one of the finest comic book movie to date and exactly what X-fans were looking for in a sequel. Not only does X2 pave the way for a summer of superheroes, with The Matrix Reloaded and The Hulk imminent, but it also sets us up for the inevitable X3, although this is going to be hard to top.

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What follows is a superhero movie on par with "Spider-Man" and the best parts of the "Superman" and "Batman" series. "X2" is a too busy and farfetched, but it keeps twisting, and it features a great villain in Col. Styker (Brian Cox) a military scientist bent on erasing the mutants from the Earth. In theme and approach, "X2" is similar to the second and best installment of the "Star Trek" series, "Wrath of Khan" -- "X2" features a large sacrifice from a major character, and serves as a launching pad for future installments. Just about anything could happen in "X3," and that's a testament to how well this movie is structured. Every important mutant is still on the playing field.

After the Nightcrawler attack -- a spectacular, dizzying assault through the hallways of the White House right to the president's desk -- "X2" sends its characters in various directions. Stryker, who has the president's ear, convinces the chief that the mysterious mutant school run by wheelchair-bound Xavier (Patrick Stewart) could be behind the attack. The real source is a nifty twist, but Stryker nonetheless storms the school while Xavier is away visiting his imprisoned enemy/friend Magneto (Ian McKellen).

Though human, Stryker is as formidable as either Xavier or Magneto -- he has methods of coercing mutants, putting him in position to rid the world of them through Cerebro, a special tracking machine only Xavier can use; how Stryker tricks Xavier into using it is one of the movie's best secrets. Because Stryker means to destroy the mutants for good; Magneto sets aside his grudge match with Xavier to save both their hides, hence the title.

Stryker also holds the key to the identity of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the steel-knuckled, mutton-chopped tough man of the mutant school. "X2" has a full plate of characters, but Jackman's the star; Wolverine does most of the fighting, and serves as a romantic possibility for X-woman Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), a telekinetic with growing strength and X-girl Rogue (Anna Paquin), whose powers were coveted in the original movie, but not worth much this time.

Also onboard is Storm (Halle Berry) who finds and connects with a confused Nightcrawler, and bad-girl Mystique (Rebecca Romejn-Stamos) whose shape-shifting gifts bust Magneto out of prison and hack into Stryker's computer for his master plan.

Singer strains to offer every mutant decent screen time, which spreads "X2" a little too thin in the middle; one mutant that figured prominently in the first movie, Cyclops (James Marsden), mostly tags along in the sequel. Despite the generosity, Cox and Jackman return the forefront again and again as Stryker and Wolverine size each other up. Cox, actually, has played a similar role once before in the terrible Keanu Reeves vehicle "Chain Reaction;" what seemed cartoonish about his military monster in that movie works just about perfect here. Jackman has a look about him that fits the part, and he's surprisingly funny to boot -- the throwaway lines of David Hayter's script are one of "X2's" prime pleasures.

There aren't as many action sequences as you'd expect -- the canvas is so big, a good part of the movie is spent just leaving and arriving -- and none match the opening Nightcrawler attack, but there is enough for a fight junkie to appreciate. And though there's a bit of social commentary mixed into the movie's fabric, "X2" is nothing less than a fantasy. There's a climax, so to speak, beyond the climax, and then another climax beyond that, which is annoying, but it sets the table for a major transformation of Jean's character. Singer obviously has his options wide open for the third installment, which will presumably pit good and bad mutants against one another again. "X2" ends with Magneto having gained a precious new weapon for round three.

For what it does, "X2" does it very well. Singer is clearly serious about not letting the franchise descend into camp as "Batman" and "Superman" eventually did -- there are dumb moments, but they're quickly forgotten. It improves on the original and improves the chances of the series at the same time.

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