X-Men 2: X2 Review
by Ram Samudrala (me AT ram DOT org)October 13th, 2003
X-Men 2: X-Men United
http://www.ram.org/ramblings/movies/xmen.html
The recent Marvel films I've seen, which includes /Spiderman/ and /X-Men/, have done a great job of translating the comic book world into a big screen world in a way that still captures the spirit of the comic book. /X-Men 2: X-Men United/ is no different, and that's what makes it an unqualified success.
The effects are imaginative and terrific, particularly the opening sequence which doesn't necessarily involve technical wizardry beyond what we've seen before, but it's incredibly clever. After that, the film essentially is one effect after another, each usually featuring the unique powers of the X-Men: Professor X (Patrick Stewart) who can amplify his powers to visualise all types of consciousness on the planet; Cyclops (James Marsen) whose eyes shine powerful beams of light with a great destructive force; Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) who has great kinetic powers that can manipulate matter at whim; Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) with impenetrable adamantum and great regenerative powers; Rogue (Anna Paquin) who can suck the energy out of you with a kiss; and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) whose touch is cold enough to freeze.
There are also the semi-villains: Magneto (Ian McKellen) who can manipulate magnetic material at whim (which results in a cool escape sequence involving pieces of iron); Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) who can morph into any she chooses; Yuriko Oyama (Kelly Hu) who is like Wolverine v2.0, and Pyro (Aaron Stanford) who can manipulate flame.
And there are the real villains, who are lead by William Stryker (Brian Cox), whose own son is a mutant. Stryker blames Professor X for his inability to heal his son, and transfers his hate to the cause of eradication of all mutants on earth. To do this, he captures Professor X and uses his son to compel X to use the Cerebrus machine to destroy all mutants. Needless to say, only the X-Men can stop him from carrying out his evil task.
The second X-Men film is more sophisticated and has a better story than the first one, which was primarily about setting up the characters. Here, the characters previously introduced are utilised in a comprehensive and cohesive manner, and the newly introduced characters are blended in seamlessly with the story. The music is very good as is the acting. The cast-selection is particularly appropriate. X-Men is definitely worth checking out on the big screen.
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