X-Men 2
(2003), Runtime - 133
mins, Cert 12A. Director - Bryan Singer. Writer - Michael Dougherty. Starring - Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Alan Cumming, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Famke Janssen, Brian Cox, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, Bruce Davison & Shawn Ashmore. |
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Premise - After an attack
on the US president by a mutant, paranoia about the mutant threat grips the
world. General Stryker (Brian Cox) takes advantage of this and requests
permission to mount an attack on Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart) school for the
gifted. Stryker is also having frequent meetings with Magneto (Sir Ian
McKellan) in his plastic prison. Meanwhile, in Canada, Wolverine (Hugh
Jackman) is searching for clues to his past.
BAMF!
X2 doesn’t start with a bang, it starts with a BAMF! The BAMF of
Nightcrawler teleporting through the walls of the White House in an effort
to get to the President. The opening moments of X2 tell you exactly what you
are getting with this film, Nightcrawler teleports through walls, through
secret service guys; he’s so fast they are firing their guns at puffs of
blue mist. This scene tells you that X2 is the very definition of bigger,
better, more.
X-Men was a huge hit, it
paved the way for the myriad of comic book flicks that we are currently
seeing, it also paved the way for it’s own sequel. As good as X-Men was it
lacked scope, the effects weren’t what they could be and the ending was a
little low key. X2’s bigger budget is plain for all to see. There’s no way
you can accuse this film of being low key.
Director Bryan Singer has
upped the ante in all the right areas. The story is grander, based on a
story from the comic that ran in the 80’s X2 covers a lot of ground in its
lengthy runtime. Taking a leaf out of The Empire Strikes Back book, the team
gets split up and we find Wolverine, Rogue, Iceman and Pyro escaping form
the clutches of Stryker. Jean Grey and Storm try to find the mysterious
Nightcrawler and Xavier and Cyclops visit Magneto to try and figure out what
Stryker is up to. It’s a lot to follow, but Singer hardly lets the pace drop
and zings between all the threads giving each enough time to develop and
then moves on to the next.
Singer is helped no end by
his long time friend and co-worker John Ottman who handles both the editing
and the scoring. Another complaint of the first film was the relatively weak
score, it wasn’t grand enough for a Super Hero flick, well Ottman sees to
that. His score here is wonderful, it soars when it should soar and it
laments when it should lament. His editing is also of the highest calibre.
At it’s best in the many frenetic action scenes. In particular the opening
scene I mentioned and in the epic Wolverine vs. Deathstrike battle.
X2 isn’t only about the
effects and the action though. One of the things that the first film did
succeed at was developing interesting characters and creating nice, dynamic
relationships between them. The sequel expands these relationships and
builds new ones as well. The love triangle between Jean, Scott and Logan is
again a driving force and even although Cyclops is out of the loop for much
of the film, the relationship moves forward through the actions of Jean and
Logan.
Rouge and Iceman have some
great scenes together, it’s just young love, but the fact that they cannot
even have the slightest of contact holds them back. When they finally get to
kiss, it’s wonderful. Nightcrawler and Storm have one of my favourite
relationships. Storm can see in Kurt the kind of pain and prejudice that she
suffered in Africa. When Kurt tells Storm where his scars come from, well,
it’s amazing. The relationship that I found the most interesting was that
between Magneto and Pyro. Fans of the comic will be fully aware of where
Pyro’s future lies, but that doesn’t mean that the journey is any less
exciting. The way Magneto tells Pyro exactly what he wants to hear is
excellent.
Considering that the vast
majority of the cast are returning to roles that they have previously
played, it’s of little wonder that everybody does exceptional work. Patrick
Stewart and Sir Ian McKellan are the heavyweights, Shakespearian trained
actors who add gravitas and dignity to the film. Both have slightly reduced
roles, but neither drops the ball.
Hugh Jackman is again
called upon to be a leader and he doesn’t falter. I said it before and I’ll
say it again, this guy is Wolverine. If you doubted it before then
witness Jackman’s berserker rage against the commando’s that try to attack
the mansion, wow. Famke Janssen steps up to a bigger role this time around
and does an amazing job of showing the power that is slowly building in her.
Halle Berry got a lot of flack for her accent the last time and that has
been addressed here. She is good, but her best scenes come, as I said with
Nightcrawler.
Speaking of which, Alan
Cumming is simply out of this world as Kurt Wagner. I never thought that
this small Scot could pull it off, but he does. Nightcrawler was easily my
favourite character in the film. Another Scot who does good work is Brain
Cox. His Stryker is evil, but Cox never takes it too far. He has his reasons
for what he is doing and he has the most dangerous weapon of all, he thinks
he is right. When you see what he has done to his own kin there is no doubt
in your mind that this guy can and will do anything to reach his goals.
Anna Paquin doesn’t have
much to do, but like I said her relationship with Bobby is excellent. Shawn
Ashmore reprises his role as Bobby Drake and he nails him. The cockiness is
there for all to see and I can only hope that future films allow him to
develop Iceman further. Aaron Stanford is again great as Pyro, you can see
the frustration inside him bubbling under with every look. Kelly Hu is
basically the hired help as Deathstrike, but she leaves a lasting impression
after her battle with Wolverine, amazing.
James Marsden has the least
screen time of the major characters, but he has the hardest task. He has
some tough scenes and for him to put over the emotion required without the
audience seeing his eyes is something special. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos perhaps
sees the biggest increase in screen time and dialogue and it’s just as well.
She has some amazing scenes with Wolverine and the dynamic that exists
between her and Magneto is very interesting. Keep an eye out for Daniel
Cudmore as Colossus, only a very small role, but one that I hope gets
expanded in further films. His interaction with Wolverine is priceless.
X2 is a geek’s wet dream.
Peppered throughout the film are small, sly references to mutants, places
and events that will take a DVD and a pause button to uncover fully. I did
manage to spot Kitty ‘Shadowcat’ Pride, Jubilee and Hank ‘Beast’ McCoy as
far as mutant cameo’s go. Also I spotted a folder on Stryker’s computer
marked Muir Island. Things like this will mean little to Joe public who is
just looking for a good action flick, but for fans of the comic it just adds
to the complete world that the X-Men inhabit.
If I was to nitpick I would
say that the film does become bogged down a couple of times with exposition,
but it’s never for long as Singer keeps the pace very sprightly. That’s just
nitpicking though; any fan of the X-Men is going to adore this film. Singer
has taken the world he created with the first film and has opened it up;
uncovering a universe that still has many, many great stories to tell. I can
only hope that all the required parties sign on the dotted line for X3.
Because, when anybody that knows the X-Men sees the final frame, well let’s
just say that their spine will tingle, their hair will stand on end and they
will be thinking of only one thing. When does the next one come out?
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Poster quote – X hits the spot, again! See X2 if you enjoyed – X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil. |