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The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous--from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one)--with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first installment. But that's just a minor quibble--X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. --Robert Burrow
Dr Jean Grey (Famke Janssen, Goldeneye) reaches extraordinary new levels using her powers of telepathy alongside weather-manipulator Storm (Academy Award winner Halle Berry, Monsters Ball), life-force zapper Rogue (Anna Pacquin, Buffalo Soldiers), laser beam Cyclops (James Marsden, Disturbing Behaviour) and the cool Ice-Man (Shawn Ashmore). United with further newcomers including the iron claw-clad Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu, The Scorpion King) and fingertip firestarter Pyro (Aaron Stanford), X-Men 2 contains the most spectacular array of super-hero powers you have ever seen!
X-men 2 begins without much progress from the first film, as Magneto is still a prisoner of the government. Magneto is being systematically tortured into revealing all the secrets that both he and Xavier have. An attempt is then made on the life of the US president, which is the ticket for the psychotic Stryker to launch a full-scale war on the mutant population. The school is attacked, and much of the rest of the film focuses on the attempts of the X-men to regroup, and to stay alive. An uneasy alliance forms between the X-men and Magneto's acolytes, as they fight to save themselves from extinction.
Although the effects are thankfully subservient to the script, this simply illustrates how good the script must be, because the effects are simply amazing. The Nightcrawler sequence is absolutely phenomenal, and makes one wonder exactly how the humans have any chance whatsoever of fighting any one mutant with well-developed powers. I particularly enjoyed the fight between Wolverine and his female nemesis. Special mention must also go to the music - I have never heard Mozart choreographed so well to the action in any film.
I hope there are many more X-men films in the pipeline. There is decades of good comic book material for the producers to use, and one can only hope that they continue making films of this quality. I have found that it is possible to watch this film several times, which makes it an ideal DVD purchase. The film should also be capable of being enjoyed by a wide selection of the population - it's not just for comic book geeks, folks!
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