If the intention of the first X-Men movie was to set the stage for a whole new environment in which the superheroes and villains could roam about, consider the second, the dazzling X2: X-Men United an opportunity for them to explore that environment. This time around, we're a little more familiar with the eclectic range of super-powers the mutants possess and we can jump right into the proceedings without a whole lot of exposition. If anything, the first and second films complement each other as two parts to a whole, and then to top it all off, the ending sets the stage for an inevitable third installment to a trilogy (provided you're familiar with the storyline from the comic book).
Many of the original cast members are back, including Patrick Stewart as team leader Professor Xavier, Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Anna Paquin as the tragic Medusa-like Rogue, and Ian McKellen as Magneto. The movie opens with an assassination attempt on the president by a new mutant named Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming). Bound by the will of a new villain Stryker (Brian Cox), Nightcrawler is snapped out of it by Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry), who decide to take him back to Professor X when they realize he was not acting of his own accord. Meanwhile, Magneto has devised a way to escape from his plastic prison with the help of the shapeshifting Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). When Stryker leads an attack on Xavier's headquarters, he commandeers the Professor's mental observation chamber and begins a quest to seek out and destroy all of the mutants on the planet. The attack forces the X-Men to partner with Magneto and his minions in order to try to save all of mutant-kind.
There's nothing more rewarding than seeing a movie get a book adaptation (or, in this case, a comic book adaptation) right. Not only is X2 faithful to the characters in the long-running series, but it is actually able to depict their mutant super-powers in a believable way. The special effects are quite realistic and of far better caliber than the dreary video game mess of Spider-Man, for example. I "Marvel" at the look of the action sequences in particular, where one mis-step could take you right out of the story. This never happens though, and whatever budget director Bryan Singer was awarded to make this picture, it all shows. In addition, he bounces effortlessly from subplot to subplot without losing the viewer or sacrificing a trim pace, and keeping a strong throughline for most of the running time.
The cast isn't always the best it can be, mostly because they must now share screen time with many others. Of the newcomers with more screentime (Kelly Hu as Deathstrike, Aaron Stanford as Pyro, Cumming as Nightcrawler, and Shawn Ashmore as Iceman), Stanford's character is given the most depth. There's a great scene where he comes out of the superhero closet to his parents that reminds us that many of the X-Men are not just mutants, but teenagers too, complete with a whole other set of anxieties. Hugh Jackman is a great casting choice as the volatile Wolverine, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen play great adversaries, and Bruce Davison returns with a small cameo as a converted mutant working his way through the government.
I really like how the X-Men films squeak in messages on tolerance and prejudice in our society. The tension between society, the government and the mutants is a particularly apt metaphor, given the times we live in. Although the stakes don't seem quite as big in X2, one gets the feeling the biggest and best conflicts are just around the bend for the colourful cast of combatants and cronies. Bryan Singer has done such a great job in creating and sustaining that reality, he has earned every right to continue this formidable track record. Bring on X3!
