MOVIE REVIEW: X2: X-Men United

Fox's 2000 hit, X-Men, gave birth to one of the highest-grossing film franchises ever, and spawned what many consider one of the best superhero movies ever made. Does X2 live up to the hype?

X2 is a 2003 film directed by Bryan Singer and loosely based off of the popular X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. In this film, the staff and a handful of students from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters--otherwise known as the mutant team X-Men--are confronted with a rescue mission after anti-mutant leader William Stryker kidnaps Professor Xavier, assistant Cyclops, and some of the mutant students. In order to succeed against a common threat, however, the X-Men find it necessary to team up with the deeply religious Nightcrawler and the antagonistic Magneto and Mystique. Such a team-up is conceptually interesting and, as an audience member, I found it engaging.

Unlike 2008's The Dark Knight, which benefited greatly from its top-notch performances (which I failed to recognize in my original review in July 2011--several performances, including Aaron Eckhart's and Heath Ledger's, are indeed Oscar-worthy, and I was foolish for thinking otherwise then), X2 doesn't run on performances, but rather its concept and action sequences. X2 does not contain many supporting plotlines, being mostly two hours of a single linear story, so certain characters don't get much spotlight until their necessary, such as X-Men's lead Rogue or character Jean Grey. That said, the primary storyline is, as I said before, engaging. I had fun during the film and in no small part due to the plot. Of the few side-stories are Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman of Les Miserables and The Prestige fame)'s struggle to remember his past and connections with William Stryker, and teen ensemble Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro fighting against mutant oppression from home. Out of the two, the Wolverine plotline was the more interesting one, mostly because the teens were sidelined for a majority of the film's final act.

While the plot is interesting, there are flaws with it. Storm (Halle Berry of Monster Ball and Catwoman fame) is one of the more recognizable X-Men, yet her character is sorely underdeveloped. Perhaps it's because the overall arc of the series is about Xavier and Magneto's relationship since 2011's X-Men First Class, but I was a bit disappointed that she was simply a fretful deus ex machina. Also, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen of Taken and GoldenEye fame), who serves as a major part of the finale, isn't developed enough to the point that we are affected by her actions, and that's a big fault on the filmmakers' part. However, Hugh Jackman and James Marsden display brilliant acting in the final sequence involving her, making the audience know that what she does was impactful--but the screenplay and Janssen's acting should have already done that and the reactions should've been the icing on the cake. For the majority of the film, Professor Xavier is confronted by a shadow of the past--Mutant 143--but Xavier's failures with 143 prior to the film are mostly implied, with not much backstory behind the encounters. The film is two hours, but methinks adding a bit more in order to flesh that part out would have benefited the film greatly. What I'm trying to say is that X2's biggest flaw is that it is sorely underdeveloped.

What I love most about the X-Men film franchise is the theme of intolerance, echoing racism and sexism greatly. If a superhero action film is brave enough to bring these issues forward ahead of the action, I have to give the film big kudos for that. I just find the whole thing fascinating, yet it's also interesting to see how far an opposer to civil rights will go to exterminate a movement. The theme is still relevant today no matter what way one sees things, and it's thought-provoking to an extent. Without a doubt, though, it is the strongest part of the film, leading in perfectly for an epic sequel, a last stand.

While there aren't as many action sequences as one would think, there are some very notable ones. Towards the beginning of the film, Stryker and his army invade Xavier's School, leaving Wolverine and a handful of students to stop them. While a few students are tranquilized and taken away, Wolverine manages to fend off the goons in a truly marvelous fashion. If you like your Wolverine and his claws, you'll definitely enjoy him slicing through each soldier with ease. In fact, this sequence almost guaranteed the film an R-rating--only a few cuts were needed to regain a PG-13--but the way the sequence stands, it's truly a great kickstarter for the film. One of the most famous sequences in the film is Wolverine's encounter with the similarly-adamantium-enhanced Lady Deathstrike. Seeing the two equally matched opponents go at it together--one a man trying to fight the monstrosity he's become and the other a soulless weapon--is truly exciting, and what's even better is Wolverine's expression of sorrow for gruesomely defeating one he relates to--one he is. The sequence is, in fact, so great that it made WatchMojo.com's Top 10 list of best superhero duels.

It's difficult to juggle all of them, but when they're together, the scene's terrific.

So despite some underdevelopment in the character department, X2's relevant themes, strong concept, and action-packed sequences keep it as one of the most enjoyable superhero films to date. Overall, I'd say that X2: X-Men United deserves 3.75 out of 5 stars, or 3 out of 4 (they're the same). I enjoyed it, but it's not quite at the level of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy. My advice is to watch X-Men First Class and the original X-Men film from 2000 beforehand in order to enjoy the film best, so you can better understand the tension between Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique. I felt while watching it that that knowledge made it several times better.

If you've seen X2, what'd you think compared to the others? Are you excited for Days of Future Past next summer? Comment below and let me know, and make sure to check every day for the latest film and trailer reviews.