"X2: X-Men United" Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

The Time Has Come For Those Who Are Different To Stand United.

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/152/501480.jpg

"I used to think you were one of a kind, Wolverine. I was wrong." - William Stryker
X2: X-Men United
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Date: May 2, 2003
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Anne Paquin, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Bruce Davidson, Alan Cumming, Kelly Hu, Aaron Stanford, Katie Stuart, Shawn Ashmore, Brian Cox, Peter Wingfield, Alfred E. Humphries, Jill Teed, James Kirk, Ty Olsson, Kea Wong, Shauna Kain.

Plot Summary: Mutants continue their struggle against a society that fears and distrusts them. Their cause becomes even more desperate following an incredible attack by an as yet undetermined assailant possessing extraordinary abilities. The shocking attack renews the political and public outcry for a Mutant Registration Act and an anti-mutant movement now led by William Stryker, a wealthy former Army commander who is rumored to have experimented on mutants. Stryker's mutant "work" is somehow tied to Logan's mysterious and forgotten past. As Wolverine searches for clues to his origin, Stryker puts into motion his anti-mutant program - launching an attack on Xavier's mansion. Magneto, newly escaped from his plastic prison, proposes a partnership with the X-Men to combat their common and formidable enemy: Stryker. With the fates of Xavier, mankind - and mutantkind - in their hands, the X-Men face their most dangerous mission ever.

Related Threads:
-X-Men Feature Talkback (Spoilers) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=29062)
-X2: X-Men United Movie Soundtrack Talkback (Spoilers) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=77174)
-X2: X-Men United DVD Talkback (Spoilers) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=95467)
-X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills Graphic Novel Talkback (Spoilers) (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=93134)

Comments?

[Maxie Zeus]

"X2 Gets Mixed Reviews." (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=74842)

Well, that's the headline to a just-added TZ news post surveying the reaction of major critics and newspapers to the film. There's more than enough there to piss off some people around here. (I bet Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post is going to be pretty unpopular in some quarters. :p)

[Jaguar]

Haven't seen it yet, but when I do I'll give you a heads-up on my own review (which is bound to be very unique.)
Until then, long live Lizzie McGuire. :p

[Mattashell]

I saw it twice last night, undoubtedly better than the first, this picture was far more in tune with the spirit of the comics.

The best part was, without a doubt, all the cameos from the non-featured X-Men, Colosis, Siryn, Artie, and once again Kitty Pryde. IMDb has a listing for Jubilee and Gambit as well, well I think I know who was supposed to be Jubilee, I don't know about Gambit. Who was the kid who chanel-surfs with his eyes? Maybe some of them will be featured in the next pic, hopefuly. Since I get characters and names mixed up, I'm going to ask publicly here, Stryker's son, who is that in the comics? I was thinking it was the multiple-personality suffering mutant called Legion, but I'm not too familiar with him. Can anyone help me out? (Hmm, a quick internet search indicates, that he is called Mutant 143. I'm not at all familiar with this.)

This movie seemed to focus on "Weapon X", and right from Jean Grey's first appearance, we are being indicated that "The Dark Pheonix" will be next. Hell no she ain't dead. Did anyone see a Pheonix in the water in the final shot? After the first screening someone told me it was there. When I watched again, I saw something, but I couldn't make out a shape.

Nightcrawler's teleportation effect was great. Alan Cumming was outstanding in the role. Scott is played kind of dorky, but I think it works allright. Jean, and Storm are both cast perfectly. Anna Paquin's Roague is kind of spazzy. Of course Stewart and McKellen are, as before, the men born for these roles. Hugh Jackman slips right into Logan, and his hair. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is..well..naked. Bobby was a solid character, although, not really much like the comic version. When are we gonna see some ice slides? Magneto and Mystique were kind of wise-assy in this one, that was a little wierd. I wouldn't have kicked Mystique out of my tent, furthermore, I would have asked here to stay blue. ;)

Fun with continuity:
Where is this museum that allows smoking in the cafeteria?
Pyro's amazing lighter that never runs out of fuel. If my mutant power depended on a Zippo, I'd conserve.
Why is the Stryker's version of Cerebro so filthy?
"We've detained several." "How many?" "Six, sir." Six is several?
:p :p :p
Anyway, I know all of you are gonna try to justify this things, but before you do, let me say: I'm just kidding. :D

This may very well be the best comic book movie I've seen, only Superman II can compete, and there I'm not sure yet which is better untill I mull it over. My only real problem is that it ran to long and the end was too slow, but it was worth it for all the subplots thay managed to work, and work effectively at that.

*****

Post script: On the subject of Aaron stanford as Pyro.

This is the really annoying part of my post, so don't read it if you don't want to be PO'd.

As I've stated before to mixed degrees of belief, Aaron Stanford, the Actor who plays Pyro in X2 is my cousin, and someone I know very well, well not recently, but knew very well anyway. When I've mentioned this before, people have called me on it and demanded proof. I have no proof to provide, but I give my word it is true, if you don't want to believe me then don't. Otherwise you'll just have to take the risk of being fooled into believing that someone you never met is related to an actor you've probably never heard of before, oh the shame. :rolleyes: At anyway, I know all this bragging is really irritating, but when seeing a movie, having a personal relationship with someone in the film is going to effect your experience, so I must relate this information, in order to give an accurate reflection on my opinions. By the way if anyone out there thought Aaron sucked, please feel free to state your true opinion, I won't be offended. ;)

I've seen him on tv and in movies before, but never a role this big in a movie this big, so it was a big deal for my family, and as you can imagine, a wierd feeling seeing him in the movie, especially since I've always been an X-Men fan.

In this film Aaron did an excellent job...of portraying himself. Okay, so he never blew up any police cars, but otherwise that was basicly the real him. The attitude, the figiting with the Zippo (also interchangable with knives, nunchucks, and other hazzardous objects) even the clothes were exactly him in real life. We all especially got a laugh out of his line about the "Kid's table." That is so him. :)

Here's his website. (http://www.aaronstanford.com)

[Salvor]

"X2 Gets Mixed Reviews." (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=74842)

Well, that's the headline to a just-added TZ news post surveying the reaction of major critics and newspapers to the film. There's more than enough there to piss off some people around here. (I bet Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post is going to be pretty unpopular in some quarters. :p)
One thing in the article that really bothers me is the comparison to other other comic book adaptations, which is supposed to prove that X2 has no style of its own. Give me a break... sure Daredevil looked gothic, but it's no "gorgeous stylisation"! The direction in DD was so terrible most action sequences were barely watchable :rolleyes: While Bryan Singer hasn't opted for a very striking visual style, he stands out as an outstanding director : he always picks the right camera angle, knows how to make the action flow, films very effective action scenes etc

And don't get me started on Blade :rolleyes:

[Viceroy]

It should be noted that Stephen Hunter is a minority even on the Washington Post staff. Practically every movie is reviewed by Post three times: once for the Style section, once for the Weekend section, and once for the Family Filmgoer (which, as its title suggests, emphasizes the appropriateness of the movie for certain age groups).

Michael O'Sullivan, reviewing for the Weekend, called X2 "a rock-'em, sock-'em sequel, which moves with the lightning speed, raw power and athletic grace of, well, a genetically mutated superhero." The full review can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A293-2003May1.html


"Family Filmgoer" critic Jane Horwitz has this to say about X2 (review posted in its entirety):

Even teens who aren't fans of the "X-Men" comics will relish this smart, energy-infused sequel to the 2000 hit "X-Men" (also PG-13). It's more than the sum of its flashy special effects, with terrific actors, a literate script and -- dare we say it? -- heart. Director Bryan Singer makes sure the big moral metaphor inherent in these tales of mutants demonized by ordinary humans is writ large: We must accept those who are different from us or eventually perish. The rating covers bloodless, stylized mayhem, some of it intense; mild sexual innuendo; smoking and beer-drinking. Reptilian characters may disturb kids who are phobic about such creatures. Children are shown in danger.

A new villain named Stryker (Brian Cox) has genocidal reasons for wanting to co-opt good Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) Cerebro machine. Magneto (Ian McKellen) is in prison as the film begins, but not for long. It's pure delight to watch those three powerhouse Brits play off one another. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is as intense as ever. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) are still at the height of their superhuman powers. Alan Cumming is new as Nightcrawler, a pious, lizardy mutant who can flow through walls.

[Stu]

I thought it was great. Me and my mate both throughly enjoyed it and thought it was superior to the first. Even Halle Berry didn't screw up like I thought she would.

Most of the actors played thier part nicely and more characters where allowed to develop in this one. Truly a wise move not to include Sabertooth and Toad in this one. The only one I thought was grossly underdeveloped was Cyclops - from the beginning it looked like he was going to have a fair amount of screentime but, he got KO'd by Lady Deathstrike and just dissapeared. But his time in the X-Jet was probably the best performance out of the lot of them. Kudos to James Marsden - hope he's back for X-men 3. It was a nice suprise for me to see Pheonix -being that I avioded all of the spoilers for it and didn't know she appeared.

How Magneto got released from his plastic prision was pure GENIUS. I thought that Mystique would just find out where he is and go kick some ass - ninja style but she used her head - something she didn't do in the first one. They used some intelligence - hopefully shutting those people who insist that comic book movies are only for kids and are just men running around in leather costumes.

The scene in the X-Jet made this movie for me. The movie went from good to brilliant from that scene onwards. Just seeing Cyclops crying on Wolverine - a man who he truly hates and seeing Wolverine sympathysing with him just shows how good these characters are.

Hugh Jackman was once again spot on as Wolverine. From his concern for the X-kiddies to him seeking his revenge on that bastard Stryker and forgeting about his past he never knew (you know what I mean :rolleyes: ) he was completly believable. They way they had him find the anwsers out - ones he didn't want to here. Hope he gets his own spin off because there was nothing here that even remotly thinks we need that stupid 'Enter The Storm' sequel.

****1/2

Off to see it again on Sunday!

[Sard]

Since I get characters and names mixed up, I'm going to ask publicly here, Stryker's son, who is that in the comics? I was thinking it was the multiple-personality suffering mutant called Legion, but I'm not too familiar with him. Can anyone help me out? (Hmm, a quick internet search indicates, that he is called Mutant 143. I'm not at all familiar with this.)

Closest X-character, comic's wise, that I can place Stryker's son from the movie to based on powers and name is: Jason Wyngarde, aka "Mastermind", a member of the Hellfire Club. You might remember him from the animated series during the Dark Phoenix saga where he attempts to use his power of illusion projection to "control" Jean Grey/Phoenix.

[Knight]

Saw the first showing of this on its first official day and it was absolutly great. It was so much better than the so-so first film ( but I tend to like sequals better than the first films anyway). I think they juggled all the characters around wonderfully. Alot of people always complain about this character and that character not getting enough screen time but thats always going to happen when you have a movie filled with so many great characters. Its all about making the best of that time when they are on and I think X2 accomplished that very well.

I like how Singer took some secondary characters from the last film and gave them more exposure this time around (Iceman and Pyro). Maybe next movie we can see more of Colossus he was ready to kick but next to Logan if he hadnt told him to protect the younger mutants.

Speaking of Logan he was alot more ferocious in this movie than the first . His fight with Deathstrike was awesome and the was she was put down leads me to beleive she wont be coming back.

Pyro was also set up to join The Brotherhood of Mutants very nicely. Looks I guess he liked what Magneto had to say . It was interesting to see his transition from one of Xaviers people to working with "The Bad Guy". I see a future battle between him and Iceman in the third film.


Anyway 5 stars from me cant wait for the next one. I wonder if it will be called something like X3: Phoenix Rising.

[czyznyck99]

I read many of the "bad reviews." The way some of them are written are practically challenging fans of the comic to attack the reviewer, which then questions the validity of the review. However, most of the negative reviews are centered around three specific problems.

1. There is no real story here - it was much easier to digest than X-Men 1, which was a little more clever in its execution. All of the events here were too sporadic to work. X-Men 1 warns that the human-mutant war is coming. X2 shows that the humans are aware of the war, and will do anything to win. If X3 does happen, it needs to be a single, individual story of the war itself, perhaps one of the epic stories from a comics series (Zero Tolerance, Age of Apocalypse, Mutant Massacre, etc.). X2 certainly needed a better climax. The cool-looking fights at the end seemed rather pointless, and while Deathstrike's fight was awesome, it was also hard to look at sometimes. If that's a problem on the big screen, imagine the DVD problems.

2. Character development - The main reason is due to having too many characters, at the same time, it leaves out the important people like Xavier, who should have been the focal point of the story. At the same time, it was pretty much established that Storm is the leader? I thought the three were an equal unit. I personally wanted to see a team effort. The X-Men are unbeatable when they are working as a team, but once again, it's all one on one. A situation like having the mind control used on Magneto, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler at the same time could have created a great team fight.

3. It tried to be an epic, but it's not. It's a sequel, a better than average sequel, but that's all it is. I gave it a high rating because it did what it was supposed to do, enrich the story marginally and give us action, while staying relatively realistic. Fox wanted an epic, the fanboys wanted an epic, the hype suggested epic, but it's really just a cool movie.

Later.

[JTurner954]

Ok instead of listing why this movie was excellent, I'll just mention that X2 has MORE. Every element you saw in X-Men was emphazied MORE in X2 (and even in areas that you may not even realize).

If you would like more detailed comments from me such as why this movie is better than Spider-man and Daredevil (two movies I liked) PM me, Email me, or IM me on AOL (I'm not staying around in case people spoil things about the more than likely sequel except for this: PHOENIX!!!!!!! ) .

Without a doubt, one of the best sequels ever made.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

Simply Amazing. I recommend it to anyone who liked the first, it was awesome. The only thing i found dissapointing was that they didnt show a trailer for The Hulk. =(

[czyznyck99]

The theater you went to screwed with you. There was a new trailer for the Hulk that appeared before X-Men 2 at other outlets. I saw it, and it's already online here (http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/the_hulk/trailer_5/) .

Later.

[BeastBoyWonder]

I saw this movie with a bunch of my friends, and it was amazing! The script was extremely intelligent and catered to a wide variety of demographics with a vast array of techniques. I'll comment on specifics later, but I loved this movie and given the massive turnout (almost every single seat in the theater was filled), I think that this is a step in the right direction for comic-influenced movies and the comics industry as a whole to get the respect that it deserved. There was also a little stand in the theater that had some X-men related paraphanelia with some flyers and a poster advertising Free Comic Book day (it had the cover to Batman Adventures #1 blown up all huge and stuff, it was freaking awesome) put on by my local comic book store. Definately a worthwile experience that is probably going to benefit the cause to a great extent in the long run.

[Neo-Era]

"X2 Gets Mixed Reviews." (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=74842)

Well, that's the headline to a just-added TZ news post surveying the reaction of major critics and newspapers to the film. There's more than enough there to piss off some people around here. (I bet Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post is going to be pretty unpopular in some quarters. :p)


Mixed? 87% at Rotten Tomatoes (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/X2XMenUnited-10000674/?beg=0&int=93&creamcrop_limit=32&page=all) is pretty damn good, especially for a big Summer flick. And a sequel, on top of that. That's about the same percentage of positive reviews that Spider-Man got.

[JustJack]

There was only 1 flaw in the entire frickin' movie...

Bobby was in his suit for about 2 frickin' seconds. GAAH!!!!!!!!

X2 is, without a doubt, better than the first. It's not so much that they "upped the anti" on special effects and all...but they increased the story telling process by about...a thousand nots. The characters all got equal screen time, more or less. Except for Cyclops, who got screwed once again. Of course everyone's concerned about the Professor, but no one cares about Scott, except for Jean. Magneto is a weeee bit more ruthless this time around. While he originally came off as a leader who believed in his cause, and if sacrifices need to be made...so be it. This time, he doesn't care who's in his way...you're expendable, and you will die.

And I'm sure glad Rogue didn't hesitate when Magneto ticked her off....

Nightcrawler was perfection. Sorry, no suit...but he still looks great as is.

The fight sequences were brilliantly done. From Nightcrawlers break in, to Wolvie Berserker attack...Mystique's ambush. Wolvie's battle with Deathstrike. I enjoyed Logans relentless beatings on just about anyone who pissed him off. Plus....gotta love the crick in his neck.

But Bobby was in uniform for about 2 FRICKING SECONDS! GAH!

[cartoonboy]

When Mystique was scrolling through the list of prisoners, did anyone catch any other names? LeBeau, Remy

The international Hulk trailer is better than what was shown before the movie.

I enjoyed the movie and will see it again. Poor Colossus, stuck in remedial class with the kids! What's up with getting rid of Lady Deathstrike so fast? Kelly Hu is fine(eye candy) , keep her around for Logan's love interest in the 3rd installment.

[Conekiller]

I noticed Remy LaBea's name, it was right above Eric Lenscher on the computr mystique was lookin at.

I don't think I have to remind you people that Dr. Hank "Beast" McCoy was the auy on TV in the bar Rebecca......Mistique picked up the fat guard.

One question: at the very end, during Jean's narration. Under the water, was that literally the pheonix, or just the reflection of the plane they used to film the scene?

(ok, 2 questions) Who were the Tv watching kid and the Tounge kid supposed to be, i know the screaming girl was Siryn, and the phasing girl was Shadocat (duh) and the girl at the end in Xavier's class was Jubilee, but whoe were those 2 boys?

[Chibi Kageboshi]

The theater you went to screwed with you. There was a new trailer for the Hulk that appeared before X-Men 2 at other outlets. I saw it, and it's already online here .

DAMNIT! im always screwed over. bah!

[Russkafin]

I noticed Remy LaBea's name, it was right above Eric Lenscher on the computr mystique was lookin at.


There were a ton of character references slipped into this movie! My friend and I went and saw it for the second time to catch more of them!!

Moira McTaggart is listed on the computer screen, the name Maximoff was on there, which is the last name of Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (Magneto's children)... and, I don't remember what the actual name was, but, my buddy said that Multiple Man's real name was also listed.

Then, in the next shot, when you see several folders listed instead of just the names... the folders read Project Wideawake (does anyone know what this is?), Miur Island, Franklin Richards (the son of Reed and Sue from the Fantastic Four), and Omega Red!

Also, if you caught Hank McCoy's cameo, and listened to what he says, he addresses the person he is talking to as "Mr. Shaw"... he's talking to Sebastian Shaw!!

As for who the mutant son of Stryker is, my buddy said that Styker's son is a mutant called Proteus in the comics? Can anyone confirm that and maybe elaborate more on the character?

[Mattashell]

Oh yes, of course I forgot to mention Hank McCoy.

Does anyone feel sorry for Lady Deathstrike? She was under Stryker's control the whole time, she could have just been an ordinary woman who happened to have a heeling factor, and Wolverine killed her!

Also, wasn't it cool, that Colosus was doodling in the movie, he was an artist in the comics.

I don't know about the TV kid, but the kid with the tounge was called Artie. Artie in X-Factor comics was a mute kid who could only communicate by using a psychic power to project images. He had a real messed up looking pink head with knobs all over, so I think the name was the only thing they used. We'll see in X-3 I hope.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

I may be way off but i was thinking Lady daethstrike was Logan's lover from his past..... I was very upset they killed her cuz she was good hjust under control. =(

[Pyro]

Just saw it.
WOW.
will post tomorrow.

[Joker85]

WOW!!! That was amazing! 10 times better than the first one! The writing, acting and awesome special affects were top notch! I mean, if you got bored during this movie you need to check your pulse cause I don't think it slowed down one bit from beginning to end! Logan kicking ass in this one was great! The body count for this movie seemed surprisingly high, not a bad thing, just sorta like..woah! Wolverine is taking no prisoners this time around! Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan gave great performances as always and Famke Janssen was just amazing as Jean Gray this go round. The end came as a total shock to me, and I thought it was REALLY sad. But, I think it's safe to say she'll be back in some form or another in the third movie. Pyro was cool, especially with the cops at Bobby's house! LOL! The actor that played him did a really good job of making him seem bad from the beginning. I was glad to see Mystique get a larger role this time around..she actually had important stuff to do! And the cat..what can I say about the cat. It stole the scene it was in! That cat had just as much character and personality(actually probably more) as Halle Berry in this movie. Of course, even Halle was tolerable in this movie, as she wasn't really in it enough to matter. I did enjoy her scenes with Nightcrawler. Alan Cummings was perfect as Nightcrawler! The teleportation affect was great! I'll be going to see this one again on Sunday, after I've had a chance to watch X Men 1 again.
*****

[Pyro]

At the theater I went to, some people called the TV watching kid Harry Potter. :p
I think that Styker's son, Jason was Proteus. He seemed a lot like him and an article I read said it was him. I know the phasing girl at the beginning was Shadowcat, but was she also the girl Proteus pretended to be? I think so because she looked just like she did when she was first introduced in the comics. She was perfect, and more fitting for that part than the girl from the first movie. I only have doubts because I think she looked different then Shadowcat did when they were being attacked. But if she is the same, how come Storm didn't seem to recognize her at all. Of course she knew it was an illusion, but she still should have recognized Kitty. I'm very confused on that.

[The Guard]

WOW.

What a huge movie. But it was the little things that made it great. Jackman and Marsden's emoting. The humor sprinkled througout. I believe that "Mutant 143" was a cross between Mastermind and Proteus. Doesn't Proteus have two different colored eyes?

[David Lucas]

So wait, wait, wait.

I'm seeing the movie tomorrow, and although it's not going to ruin any kind of feeling for me.

All the crap I've been hearing about "Gambit being in the sequel for a second or two" is just a name that says LeBeau, Remy?

I thought we were gonna see him at a casino or something they said!

Bah! At least I finally got to hear him talk on X-Men EVO today on WB, I almost crapped myself when my friend was flipping the channels and I saw a guy in a trenchcoat throwing cards.

[Beyond Batman]

My girlfriend and I were first in line to see the first show of the evening... and it was well worth it. Two thumbs up from the both of us.

[Mynd Hed]

I went and saw this at the first showing this morning-- not from any purist fanboy need to see it first, but because I had work in the evening. (-: Anyway, it was well worth my five bucks; it had everything I could have asked for out of a sequel. Nightcrawler was EXCELLENT, and Colossus, while he had a bit part, was really cool during his little bit of screen time too. Everything was bigger in this movie-- the special effects were bigger, the danger was bigger, just good stuff all around.
It was also a really refreshing change, after all these !@#$ spy movies and war movies and other such thinly veiled propaganda (I'm thinking especially of those annoying Splinter Cell commercials, heh heh) that really glorify the whole "covert ops" thing, to see a movie that portrays covert ops and the military in general in a very antagonistic fashion. <soapbox>Fact is, lately I'm more afraid of the American government than I am of terrorists, and in that sense I felt the movie had a lot to say.</soapbox> That's just my own personal political reaction to the movie though, so take that as you will.
I only had two real problems with the movie: first, Pyro's defection to Magneto was really, really predictable. But that was a very minor plot point so it's forgivable. Second, Jean Gray's death didn't really have much of an emotional effect on me, since it's pretty obvious that they're building up for a Phoenix appearance in the third movie meaning that I knew the whole time that she's not dead for good. Still, for someone who doesn't already know all about those possibilities from the old animated series and the comics, that would have been a lot more meaningful.
My only other gripe was that I felt they should have done more with Lady Deathstrike. It seems like they just kind of threw her in there so that Wolverine would have someone to fight at the end.
Speaking of which, it was NICE to be able to see Wolverine really cut loose and slice some bad guys up-- and it wasn't just gratuitous killing, either, it was all in either self-defense or in defense of the students at Xavier's school, which in my opinion was exactly the right way to go about it.
Overall, it was a real A+ fun popcorn action movie experience, with some pretty good character development and a good plot as well. I give it a strong 3.5 stars.

[The Clown Prince]

What a great way to kick off the summer movie season. Once again, we can now add another movie on to the short list of movies where the sequel is better than the original.

Fox did a very wise thing by supporting this thing and increasing the budget for X2. More money and a longer running time did this thing justice. The story was pretty good and everyone was very enjoyable to watch.

Alas, as some have stated, with so many characters, some are gonna suffer. Once again, it was Cyclops. And for some reason I thought that Nightcrawler might have been in it more. But his scene at the begining of the movie was quite memorable.

Seeing Colossus power up was really cool, despite how short it was.

A couple of people have stated this already, but I have to say it too. Magneto's escape was just brilliant. The F/X for that scene was really cool to see. I mean come on, how brilliant was that to pump the guard full of iron and unknowingly send him in to the lion's den. And then to see him use that iron and create these metal balls to escape.

And since this was a PG-13 film, anyone notice that all the killing that Wolverine did had no blood? With big razor blade claws like that, there would be blood all over the place, especially left behind on his claws. Another scene that comes to mind is when Magento pulls the pins off all the grenades that the soldiers have. Big explosion, but no blood or body parts. Ah the restrictions of PG-13.

Just too much to list here.

So wait, wait, wait.

I'm seeing the movie tomorrow, and although it's not going to ruin any kind of feeling for me.

All the crap I've been hearing about "Gambit being in the sequel for a second or two" is just a name that says LeBeau, Remy?

I thought we were gonna see him at a casino or something they said!

There was a small scene that was filmed that had Gambit in it, but the stuntman that was cast said that Bryan Singer cast him for looks only, not really acting. His scene was cut out and he said that he expects that Gambit will be recast to someone of a bigger name for what will probably be a third film.

Now I read it at comingsoon.net, but I forgot to look. In the scene where Logan is in the Weapon X chamber and is looking at the x-rays on the wall, it was said there was an x-ray of a human skeleton with a wing attached, suggesting that this was Angel. But I forgot to pay attention at that scene and missed it. Anyone see it?

Again, just too much to talk about. Which is a good thing. Everyone involved in this movie should be very proud of themselves. And it will pay off as this will obviously be a very big opening weekend.

Two last things. Anyone think we'll see The Sentinels show up in the more than likely X3 for the human/mutant war that keeps getting teased? And something tells me that not seeing Iceman use an ice slide or even cover himself in ice like he does in the comics was probably a budget thing. I mean if you think about it, the make-up and/or compuer effects to creat that would be a lot of work. Mystique's and Nightcrawler's make-up was quite the task. Imagine them trying to do that for Iceman? But if we're lucky, the budget might be even bigger for X3, and we might get treated to an ice covered Bobby.

The Clown Prince

[James Harvey]

I'll post a more indepth review later, but here are some of my initial reactions to the movie.

Definatly a step up from the first movie. This movie makes the first film look like low-budget fare compared to the new installment. Definatly much darker and much more intense. The stakes are raised abit and everything is intensified about tenfold. The acting was top notch, even Marsden did a great job with what little screentime he had in this installment. Jackman, of course, was the main star of the movie once again, and just ran away with the movie. Turns by Jannsen, Berry, and Cummings also made this just a grerat movie.

To me, the first movie was the 1960's Lee/Kirby run on X-Men, and this movie is the 1980's Claremont/Cockrum run. It's such a leap forward from the first movie. Singer is totally confident in what this movie is and runs with it.

I give this movie an easy ****. More comments to come later.

[JohnStewart-GL]

X2 in terms of quality has managed to top Spider-man as the best marvel comic-based movie of all time. I loved it from start to finish. IT had everything comedy, action, drama just like the comics. NightCrawler stole the movie from his first scene in the white house. Cumming was BORN for this role. I loved the scenes were has praying. Halle Berry was very good this time around. She still doesnt look like i wanted for storm but she acted the role very well. Mkellen and Stewart just like in the first where their. characters, same with Hugh, I was very please with Marsden this time too. Even though he still got little screen time he was awesome with what he had. I felt so sorry for him in the end. In the white House scene at the end you could tell he was holding back more tears. Deathstrike and Wolvies fight at the end was shorter than i expected but it was definately flesh-tearing as Hughie said it'd be. I loved all of Bobby's scenes too. He wasn't the Jokerster im used to in the comics though. I like rogue better this time she was the damsel in distress this time. I loved the mansion raid it was very intense. Wolvie's body count is definately up from last time!! :p
this movie left me with a similar feeling as the first. ready for a sequel!

Bring on the X3 singer!!

[Novdeloth]

I do think that Storm and Jean Grey's characters (actually all of the women, even Rogue) were great in the movie. They aren't second fiddle, they actually take charge of the situation.

That's one of the things I love about this movie. For once, the women in a movie aren't there solely for sex appeal and/or to be the "damsel in distress". I wasn't a fan of Jean or Storm from the cartoon, but after seeing them in this movie, I love 'em.

I think Nightcrawler became an instant favorite for everyone. I'm not a religious person, but I digged those praying scenes. The guy really had faith, and thankfully there wasn't a scene where he lost his faith and started blaming God for all his misery. (It seems that in just about every movie where there's a religious character, they have to include that particular scene.)

The scene where Lady Deathstrike died was both fascinating and disconcerting. I mean, yuck and wow. I felt sick when I heard that *clunk* when her head hit the bottom of the vat.

The first clue that signaled a sequel was Magneto warming up to Pyro... or was it Pyro warming up to Magneto? <insert canned laughter here> But the biggest giveaway was Jean's "death". Anyone who vaguely remembers the comics or cartoon will remember Phoenix.

I wasn't a big fan of X-Men growing up. I occasionally watched the cartoon on Saturday mornings, but after seeing this movie, I may become an X-Men fan.

[ZorBrak]

X2 was some bad-ass stuff! My only problem with it was the lack of interaction between Yuriko and Wolvie as such with Sabertooth as well in X1...guess he'll never know any of that life...But I liked how they threw in the thing where he walked off with the mutant kid in his hands. It kind of closed the whole thing about wolverine's past for the movie universe, so they can move on to Pheonix...though I still woulda liked some more self discovery on wolvie's part I think...anyways I thought it was excellent, best marvel film so far but not without minor flaws-4.5 :cool:

[Lachesis]

Saw it yesterday. The short review is, I liked the movie way better than the first one, but was kinda hoping for more than there was.

Now for the long review. Beware of spoilers, though I'll be as vague as I can:

X2 felt more like a setup to X-men 3 than a sequel proper. They're really getting the mythology well grounded and building up the tensions that are going to lead to more interesting things in the future. All the concepts were very well done, especially the way Cerebro and Jason Stryker's illusions put together made for one very credible threat. More violent than I was expecting. More profanities too.

A lot of problems from the first film were solved simply in the cutting down of introductions. We know who everybody is and where they all stand. While the screentime was definitely tilted towards Wolverine again, there was expansion to some of the characters than got short shrift in round one, particularly Storm, Jean, and Iceman. Cyclops wound up losing out again, but as a stronger presence would have taken away from the others and I still think he was horribly miscast, the less I see of him the better. At least until the guy bulks up a little.

Magneto and Mystique were probably my favorite parts of the whole movie. Great lines, great acting, really in a class by themselves this time out. Wolverine and Iceman were the only other of the regulars who really clicked for me. Jean felt forced, Storm was vague, Xavier under hypnosis half the time, and Rogue had little to do. Very glad Sabretooth and Toad didn't return.

New characters were all good. I really wanted to see more of Nightcrawler and loved how they managed to get both his religious and circusy sides in there. Stryker was a good way to get Wolverine's backstory out and sneak Mastermind into the plot, but it really reduced Deathstrike to a handy hired gun. I don't think she even had any lines. Pyro is obviously being set up for a battle with Iceman in X3. Got to see just enough of him so we got the point without being hammered by it.

There were a few plot issues. The ending was too long and drawn out but still felt like there were parts missing. Iceman or Storm were the obvious choice to deal with a certain life-threatening excess of water, but didn't get to. Stryker's hold over certain members of the cast seemed way too convenient and well-timed. On top of that, there were obviously way too many characters and storylines, good ones admittedly, mashed in together that left a lot of loose ends. Here's hoping they thin out the cast just a bit next time.

The movie ends on a hopeful note in regards to the political atmosphere, but I highly doubt this can last. The Sentinels and the Genosha (sp?) project can't be too far away.

Oh, and the cameos and references were a lot of fun for those in the know: Artie (lizard tongue), Siren (the screamer), Colossus (Mr Armor-Plating), Beast (the Dr. on TV), Shadowcat (who walks through walls), Jubilee (one of the six captured kids), and of course Phoenix. Plus, rumors are already flying around about certain names that showed up in Stryker's files: Omega Red, Muir Island, and a certain Remy LeBeau. I heard the director wanted Gambit in this film at some point, but I guess his part went to Nightcrawler.

Oh dear. Very long post, isn't it?

[JustJack]

When Mystique did her little "I can be anyone you want me to be" thing for wolvie...did anyone else get excited when she turned to Yuriko, which was the character that really made Logan freak out? At first I assumed that they wern't going to use her as a piece of Logan's past...but the way he reacted when she turned into her...I got very excited, thinking we might see some flashbacks of Logan and Yuriko in their log cabin, away from it all. But...nope...now she's a big metal brick.

Also, Logan's "awakening" was perfect...exactly how I remember it from the comics...only without the head gear. Still...even though Wolvie's "Berserker" attacks didn't show any blood...you've got to admit, it was worth it to save all that blood just to see Wolverine covered in it after he walked out of that base, in the flashback. Woot!

[Alexandra Wayne]

I enjoyed it, I must say. I mean, I didn't expect epic script genius, and there were certainly holes and problems with the story, but hey, it was shiny and flashy and entertaining. I dunno, I might have liked the first one better because I liked the relationship between Wolverine and Rogue. He really cared for her like a sister, and I wished it had been cared over a bit, although I did like Bobby's jealousy. Nightcrawler was awesome and sweet....he gets with Storm, right? ;)
Questions:
1. Collasus was in there for about a minute. He seems too old to be at the school, and I wouldn't have known who he was if someone didn't tell me. It just bothered me that he was at a school where the oldest kid was Rogue's age.
2. Why didn't Iceman freeze the freakin' water at the end??? Why, why??
3. Did they ever say Lady Deathstrike's name? I didn't know until I looked at it on IMDB.

So overall, fun movie, not flawless, four stars...now I'm excited for X3.

PS to Mattashell: Your cousin is a cutie....Pyro was really cool. Can't wait to see that fight they set up of Pyro vs. Iceman.

[Tobias]

2. Why didn't Iceman freeze the freakin' water at the end??? Why, why??


I think that while Iceman will eventually become one of the most powerful mutants, he's still basically learning to use his powers, and freezing water on that scale probably would have been near impossble, most likely draining him into exhaustion, or maybe even killed him.

Besides, Jean probably blocked his powers when she blocked Nightcrawler's.

[JohnStewart-GL]

Besides, Jean probably blocked his powers when she blocked Nightcrawler's.
I was thinking the same thing. I think this was something jean wanted to do on her own. Also as long as it took bobby to form that ice wall it woulda taken for ever to freeze all of that water.

[Starflyer 58]

I just got back from it... way awesome! It has remarkable transition from the first film, and ended up improving on every front. With so many characters in one movie it's hard to develop each one and make them all memorable; my hat goes off to Bryan Singer for doing such a great job.

I loved Wolverine's story the most. Of course, I just love Wolverine, period, especially with Hugh Jackman playing him... I like how he went from totally obsessive over his past and where he came from to deciding, when all the answers were finally within his grasp, that what's important is who he is now, not who he was. And he embraces the new life he's found with the X-Men.

Nightcrawler was my second favorite dude. I was iffy when I first saw shots of him with that makeup, but ...wow! That first scene with him was like the comic brought to life. Amazing. And I'm glad they didn't downplay or ignore his faith, which is a very important part of his character. This funny demon-looking dude praying and reciting Scripture; always loved the irony. He totally rocked.

The interaction among the cast was great (and very often hilarious), they all had a lot of chemistry together. So many great moments; I can hardly wait to see it again! This is one VERY satisfied fangirl.

[Russkafin]

When Mystique did her little "I can be anyone you want me to be" thing for wolvie...did anyone else get excited when she turned to Yuriko, which was the character that really made Logan freak out? At first I assumed that they wern't going to use her as a piece of Logan's past...but the way he reacted when she turned into her...I got very excited, thinking we might see some flashbacks of Logan and Yuriko in their log cabin, away from it all. But...nope...now she's a big metal brick.


Hmm... hey man, I hate to disgaree with you, but, that last girl she turned into that freaked Wolvie out wasn't Yuriko... it was Rogue. He freaked out because Rogue is just a kid, albiet she definitely does seem to have a crush on him.

ALSO... in a previous post, I noted that Project Wideawake was one of the things on the computer screen, and I asked if anyone knew what it was... I can't believe no one has realized this yet...

Project Wideawake was the government codename for the initial anti-mutant campaign THAT INTRORUCED THE SENTINELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY'RE WORKING ON THEM BABY!!!!!

[randomguy]

It was pretty good. As a blockbuster, it hit all the bases it really needed to. The direction was good; action sequences were well-filmed, and you could always tell what was going on (which is more than I could say for Daredevil). The special effects were better (highlight: Magneto's escape), the writing was solid, and the acting was well-done. McKellan really hammed it up as Magneto, and seemed to be having fun, while Hugh Jackman has done an impressive job bringing to life a classic character.

Various Points:
-The opening was a brilliant, thrilling set piece. The audience I was with ate it up.
-I can't help but think that bringing Phoenix into the films is opening a bigger can of worms than is wise. But whatever. Still a cool nod to the comics.
-Colussus' cameo was superb. Absolutely awesome, and I kind of wish wit would have been longer. Of course, he'll probably get more time in the third.
-Kitty Pryde was cool too.
-Ian McKellan's Magneto, despite not being the central villian this time, was far more imposing than he was in the first. His escape sequence was just brutal.
-The high point of the film was the government raid of the X-Mansion. Two of the cooler cameos could be found here, and it was great to see Wolverine just slaughtering agents one after the other (especially after the squeaky-clean Spider-Man). The tension was great.
-The women were all strong, interesting characters, but the cleavage was occasionally laughable. Every shirt is low-cut and bras are just a suggestion in the world of the X-Men.
-I forget who plays Cyclops, but his acting, mainly after Jean's sacrifice, was TERRIBLE. Ruined what could have been at least a somewhat powerful scene.
-Wolverine's fight with Yuriko was very cool, but the violence was occasionally comedic. It's kind of funny to see them both bouncing back, multiple times, after absorbing several wounds that were easily bad enough to be fatal. Yeah, I know, healing factor, but it was still a little much. Both absorbed at least half a dozen major stab wounds- can't they still die by losing blood?

[Tobias]

A great movie by all standards. It was even (dare I say it?) better than Spider-Man!

Some of the highlights:

-More time for my favorite mutie, Iceman. Shawn Ashmore is the perfect choice for the role, and now I can't imagine anyone else as Bobby Drake.

- The opening scene. Nightcrawler managed to kick some tail and not be laughable. Kudos to Singer and crew for pulling that off.

- The mansion raid. It was suspenseful and action packed, once Wolverine and Iceman got out of the kitchen.

- The kitten. It was so just so cute licking Wolverine's claws, then going after the frozen tea (or was it coffee?)

I just hope that Iceman's time isn't cut down in the next film if they decide to give more room to Colossus, Gambit, and Shadowcat.

[Storm]

Wow. My dad and I just saw it and it was truly amazing. Much better than the first movie, unlike X1 that should of been called "Wolverine and Friends", X2 gave each character their fair share of the pie. I hate to annoy some Wolvie fans but this was simply Nightcrawler and Jean's movie. The beginning sequence with Kurt was brilliant. I enjoyed this plot much better than the first one. The sequel was darker and exciting. The acting was great and the fight and action sequences were fabulous and the dialogue was crisp and humorous and did I mention that the females rocked this movie (especially Jean, Storm, Deathstrike, Mystique, and Kitty Pryde!)

Professor Xavier: Patrick is always great as Charles and always makes me glow. I loved the cerebro sequences and his history with Stryker (and his son Jason) was a great development for Xavier. Who could play the X-founder better than Stewart?

Cyclops: Poor Cyke will you ever get the props you deserve (hopefully in X3 ;))? James Marsden was great as Scott but he needs more development and screen time to showcase his talents and also the character. My favorite scene with Cyclops is when he breaks down and cries, great acting on James' part.

Storm: No accent, but this Storm is way better than the "token black mutant" in X1. Storm really cuts loose with her powers and had some good dialogue especially with Kurt (Alan Cummings). I don't care what anybody says Halle did a very good job as the weather witch. She took on Storm's sense of self-control, showed her motherly side towards Kurt and the X-children, showed Storm's co-leader status, and gave Storm a personality (smiling, taking care of the children, and being the leader). I wish they went into Storm's past like her being a goddess in Africa but this was an improvement on Storm's character on Halle and the writer's part. Very good. This Storm fan is pleased.

Wolverine: Hugh was great as always and Wolverine's character was wonderful and probably more focused on (by the writers) than the other characters, as usual. Don't mean to sound bitter just hope this sequel ends the Wolverine arc and focuses on other character like :cough:Cyclops:cough:.

Jean: The showstopper for me. Wow! Unlike X1, Jean is more than the "love triangle" she is an X-man. I loved the Phoenix hints in the entire movie and was completely shocked when she died. Wow just wow. I always loved Famke's work and she did Jean Grey justice in this sequel and in the original too (she just didn't get the props she deserved). This was a major development for Jean and can't wait for "X3: Phoenix".

Rouge: Reduced a smaller role for more space to showcase Jean and Storm (no complaints here!), Anna still shined as the southern belle. I don't mind her and Bobby being a couple but I really want to see my fave Cajun sweeping her off her feet. Overall Rouge was good and did anybody notice the foreshadowing of Rouge's super-strength near the end? When she was navigating the Blackbird it looked like she was using more of her strength than piloting the jet and it seemed she sort of a rush out of it. Great foreshadowing. Hopefully Rouge will get the "muscle" treatment in X3.

Magneto: Ian is one of my favorite actors and him playing Magneto again was absolutely great. Ian and Patrick have great chemistry together and Magneto was humorous in this flick. I loved the scene where he took the guard's iron supply and used it to break out of prison, everybody at the theater was cheering. Bravo, Bravo!

Mystique: Raven Darkholme was very good in the sequel. The metamorph had a great sense of humor this time around and was dynamite! I change my opinion about her, Mystique is more than eye candy and I wouldn't mind seeing her in a third installment. I hope they go through her and Kurt's family ties (since that's the only reason why Rebecca and Alan would do a X3).

Nightcrawler: Alan Cummings rocked as Kurt Wager. My favorite part is where Nighty always tried to introduce himself as "The Amazing Nightcrawler". The teleportation scenes were great especially when he saved his sister...oops I mean Rouge :p. Hope to see Kurt in an X-suit next time around. Simply another showstopper.

Iceman: With a bigger role this time, Iceman was great. I loved seeing him in his X-suit (yeah he's an official member). The use of his powers where great and Shawn did a good job as Mr. Drake. I loved he scene with The Drakes. Darn you Ronnie! Darn you!

Pyro: The bad boy out of the X-kids, the fire-controlling hothead was a great addition to the cast. Aaron Stanford was fantastic as Pyro and had some great quotes and dialogue. I wasn't surprised when he joined Magneto and Mystique's side near the end of the movie.

Stryker: The "big bad" in this sequel, General Stryker was a nice character to see in this sequel. I say he is a way bigger threat to the X-men than Magneto. I loved the dialogue between him and Wolverine. Brian Cox was the ultimate bad guy and was great to see him in the sequel.

Deathstrike: She hardly spoke or was even mentioned by her codename, but man this villainess was super! The very fine Kelly Hu was fantastic as Yuriko Oyama. I loved her fight scenes with Cyclops and Wolverine. I also loved it when she was cranking her fingers, lol. I feel sad for Deathstrike. She was brainwashed for Christ sakes and when she was dying her facial expression towards Logan was remarkable. Wolvie and Yuriko defiantly had a past together.

Cameos: Out of all the X-kids cameos (which I absolutely all loved) my favorites were Artie (he was just a cute kid), Kitty (loved those phasing sequences), and the great Colossus. Wow Colossus seems like X3 martial to me. I loved it when he armored up and even tried to help Logan. Also the billions of names on the computer database like Gambit, Moria, and Quicksilver (to just name a few) and let’s not forget Beast. Sure he was in his human form but still I don't care we saw Hank!


Overall there where no flaws (that I noticed) expect for the accent-less Halle Berry. I can absolutely say this was way better than X1 and wasn't just a "cool movie" it was the beginning of a great saga to unfold. This will definitely be in the great comic book movies list and this just seems like the beginning I can see two more installments and just end the X-men movie franchise. I hope Wolverine and Storm won't get there solo movies. IMHO Wolverine in X1 and a little in X2 got all the glory he deserves and the Storm movie (sadly to say cause Storm is an marvelous character) is just a way to milk Halle Berry's Oscar status. If there is an X3 please Singer don't cut out the following characters: Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm (it's like Wonder Woman not being in the JLA), Xavier, Magneto, Nightcrawler, Rouge, Iceman, Pyro, Mystique, and of course Jean and don't add too many new charaters, cameos of characters like Colossus, Kitty, Gambit, and Beast is fine with me. Anyway I give this movie four stars and 1/2. Can't wait for X3! Better be some Sentinels and also the Phoenix saga!


- Storm

[JohnStewart-GL]

Cyclops: Poor Cyke will you ever get the props you deserve (hopefully in X3 ;)). James Marsden was great as Scott but he needs more development and screen time to showcase his talents and also the character. My favorite scene with Cyclops is when he breaks down and cries, great acting on James' part.
- Storm
Preach on playa! :cool:

[Discloner]

Project Wideawake was the government codename for the initial anti-mutant campaign THAT INTRORUCED THE SENTINELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY'RE WORKING ON THEM BABY!!!!!


Holy Crap! I totally missed it. I've been waiting to see some Sentinal Action.

Ugh, I can't believe I already forgot, when they were watching diffrent New Channels (I think in the Bar Scene with Mystique in disquise, and the prison guard. They were discussing the Mutant Registration act and going a step further on the clip) and they had a brief snipit of a guy having an interview. Now, I can't remember the last name they had on the screen..but it rung a bell. I want to say McCoy, but that would end up being beast...

Who was in charge of creating and running the WideAwake Program?

[Drachentöter]

Just saw it, and it was awesome!

Better than Spiderman, better than Daredevil, miles ahead of X1.

Any critic who gives it a bad review should be fired.

Highlight: The attack on the mansion. Seeing all the kids' abilities (including Colossus and Shadowcat) was the definite high point.

But everything else is perfect as well. Everyone must watch this movie. I'll post a more in depth review tomorrow.

[Russkafin]

Who was in charge of creating and running the WideAwake Program?

Henry Gyrich (who died in the first movie, interestingly enough) and Bolivar Trask.

[Cyber E.]

Discloner, the guy on the T.V. in the bar during the Mystique scene was infact a cameo by Dr. Hank McCoy, soon to be "Beast".

Oh, I forgot about this thread. Indepth review tomorrow.
-aJb

[Discloner]

Yea, thats what I initially thought...but I never thought Beast would be against Mutants so I backed off that thought.

[murmur]

Everyone's pretty much said enough, so I'll be brief:

My girlfriend and I knew that we had only a limited amount of time to be alone last night after the movie. And we still loved almost every minute of those two and a half hours! How many movies can do that??

[Russkafin]

Yea, thats what I initially thought...but I never thought Beast would be against Mutants so I backed off that thought.

He's not... if you listen to what he's saying, he is speaking out against the anti-mutant movement. He also addresses the interviewer as "Mr. Shaw," who is Sebastian Shaw from the comics.

And murmur, I think that's the best review I've heard yet! :)

[Discloner]

Ah!

I thought he was talking about bringing things to the "next level" when it comes to Mutant registration and all.

[Memphis Bleek]

The only bad thing about this movie is the title. The opening scene with Nightcrawler was well done. Each of the actors gave his or her character individuality in the movie.

Hugh Jackman and Alan Cumming stole the movie. Jackman was able to display Wolverine's ferocity, and Cumming conveyed Nightcrawler's awkwardness. Kelly Hu has some cool fight scenes. Hu is also a babe. Cyclops showed he's no wimp. Grey's death will probably transition the franchise into the third X-Men movie.

This movie wasn't bogged down with introductions. Everything seem to have a purpose.

Pyro joining the Brotherhood stayed true the comic. Kurt being spiritual wasn't change.

Stryker was a great villian. Stryker believed what he was doing was right. That's what makes a villian great.

X2 had some surprise. I didn't expect Jean's possible death and Deathstrike's death. I thought Deathstrike would just be injury severely. Jean's fate was total unexpected.

The fight scenes were well choregraphed. Wolverine and Deathstrike's fight was brutal. The fight was vicious.

X2 was awesome. I give props to Singer and the cast. X2 in my opinion was better than the original. The action, twists, and surprise just made this movie gold for this fanboy.

I give X2: X-Men United 4/5 stars.

[Chris Sanders MSX]

Just got out. It was OKAY. It wastoo long andinvolved a little bit too much talking and not enough action but then again you feel that way when you go to the 10:15 pm show. I am sooo sleepy. I'll have to see it again at a morning hour and give a real review.

[JustJack]

Hmm... hey man, I hate to disgaree with you, but, that last girl she turned into that freaked Wolvie out wasn't Yuriko... it was Rogue. He freaked out because Rogue is just a kid, albiet she definitely does seem to have a crush on him.

Nonononono...you is wrong! hehe. She turned into Rogue, and he just cocked an eye up, like "bwha??" Then as she moved up a little, she did one more transformation, and it was Deathstrike. It was really brief, and a bit out of frame, but she did change. I'm not blind...I knew who is and isn't rogue. :D

[David Lucas]

Speechless.

Utterly, utterly speechless.

When X-Men first opened and I saw the holocaust scene at the beginning I knew this was no ordinary movie. It wasn't trying to be dark (Daredevil), nor was it trying to be a family film that kids worship (Spider-Man), it was trying to be a great movie, only with superheroes.

Time constraints, limited budget, and a huge expectation really kept it from being "superb", but it was still the best comic book movie I've seen yet.....

....WAS.

I had meant to see X2 on my birthday (May 2nd) but tickets were sold out, so it's now 4:13 am, and I'm just getting back. I walked into the theater with 2 things:

1) A HUGE hype about the movie and expectations that it couldn't even come CLOSE to Matrix:Reloaded.

2) The PISSED off fact that I read about Jean dying and becoming Pheonix on AICN.

And as it started off with that fantastic opening, I saw the same film I saw in X-Men. A great film with good acting and a great director, but nothing amazing. Magneto was being controlled, Xavier's school was being targeted, blah blah blah.

Then the attack on the school happened.

I was feelin pretty tight about the movie up until then, but as soon as Wolverine murdered that first soldier I completely **** myself. I thought that's all they'd let him do, but NO! He kept killing TONS more people. TONS! Not even just killing, but BRUTALLY killing them.

Then I saw Stryker's son and what he did to him, then I saw Pyro flip out and start blowing **** up, then finally, Magneto's escape....

....this was not a dark film. Daredevil was a dark film. Batman was a dark film. This film was ****ing brutal. That fight between Yuriko and Logan was the most brutal thing I've ever seen on a movie, only because each one has blades that they can use on each other and still have it be PAINFUL, just not LETHAL. Which means they can recover and do it all over again.

Then, just when Magneto comes in and saves the day, he ups the ante 3 fold. If anyone had told me about that scene I would have slaughtered them berserker style. This movie was perfect in every way. I haven't walked out of a theater feeling the way I did tonight in a good 11-12 years.

I'm overwhelmed. Brian Singer, if I ever meet you, you will get the biggest hug ever in the history of hugs. Perfection, utter perfection.
FOX, do you see what this man can accomplish with out you breathing down his neck?!

WB, do you see what Superman COULD be like? Everyone that's making comic book films, are YOU TAKING NOTES?!

Only one thing will keep me from giving this movie the first 100% perfection I've never felt with any film.......

.....GOD I wanted the Pheonix bird to just burst out of the water screeching at the top of it's lungs at the end of the movie.

As of right now, X2 gets a 99.999999999% perfection score.

GOD BLESS YOU BRIAN SINGER!

[Chibi Kageboshi]

Did ya'll have a lot of little kids in your theatres? i mean we had a bunch of 5 year olds there and they were crying. Why do parents see super powers and instantly think "Oooo my 4 year old will be into that!".

[Lunacat]

Simply amazing.

I loved the first movie, really I did, but the second one just blew it out of the water. I think it is safe to say this is one of the best (if not THE best) comic film ever made.

What I liked:
-More Bobby. :)
-Nightcrawler's opening scene, I was left completely speechless. Aw, heck, just Nightcrawler all around, he was perfect!
-Magneto's escape (I certainly wasn't expecting that @_@)
-Mystique giving the finger as she's sliding under the door (I'm guessing a character flipping someone off has become a tradition in the X-men movies? :p)
-All the minor cameos (Colossus rocked!)
-The list of characters on the computer screen *hopes Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch make a cameo in next film*
-Magneto, while still getting quite a bit of screentime, was not the main villian focus.
-Pyro
-Wolverine cuttin' loose
-The humor was simply brilliant, I actually had tears in my eyes at some points.
-Scott's emotional scene, it really got to me.
-And, of course, the cat

What I disliked (not a lot):
-Time, I felt that whole white house scene at the end could've been cut, made the film drag on for a bit too long.
-Bobby's family!! Argh!! Stupid brother!!! :mad:
-Deathstrike's demise, I thought she was a good villian who should've been kept around a bit longer.

4.5/5 stars for me, I will most certainly be seeing this one again.

[finbarlafume]

I saw it yesterday.
Speaking as a person who has never read the X Men comics, it was a highly entertaining movie with some great performances ( especially McKellen, who was superb ). It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly of a pretty high standard for a Hollywood summer production. I can't see myself buying the DVD though - for me it was a 'watch once' affair. I suspect fans of the comic would get far better replay value out of it. I noticed a big smile forming on my friend's face every five minutes or so - he reads the comic all the time and understood all the cameos and obscure references that were lost on the casual viewer.
I'd give it 7/10

[Drachentöter]

Did ya'll have a lot of little kids in your theatres? i mean we had a bunch of 5 year olds there and they were crying. Why do parents see super powers and instantly think "Oooo my 4 year old will be into that!".

Yeah, same with my theater. I was pretty surprised. Not many were crying however. If they were, I couldn't hear. Or the parents left once Wolverine started slicing up the soldiers. :p

The common complaint I've heard about this movie from professional critics is that the movie lacks on characterization. I believe that's a bold-faced lie. The thing that makes this movie so awesome is the multitude of characters, many having generous amounts of screen time and all exhibiting emotions and traits that you could not find in your run-of-the-mill Hollywood flick.

I'm not a comic fanboy, especially when it comes to Marvel, but I enjoyed this nonetheless. True, I might have understood more than most casual moviegoers (I even read up on X-Men history in the local bookstore before), but I still think this could have held together for most people.

Character by character:

Cyclops: Well, Scott didn't get that much screen time here, but that's fine with me as he wouldn't have contributed much. I'm not the biggest fan of Marsden as Cyclops and his "grief" scenes could have been handled better. But he still handles what little he is given competently and doesn't hurt the movie.

Jean: Pretty awesome set up for Pheonix. Of course, I'm left with one question: WHY DIDN'T SHE JUST START UP THE JET AND LEAVE? Having her exit just to stop the waters seemed...contrived. It still provided for some great dramatic moments, though.

Storm: Berry's never brought much life to the character, but she definitely improved in this movie. And her use of powers was stellar. From the lightning bolt to the tornadoes and the freezing room. It was all very ingenious.

Wolverine: Jackman's use of dry humor and rage makes Logan one of the easiest characters to like. His origin story made the movie extremely interesting. I wonder, when Stryker said they had worked together: does that mean Vietnam? I'm not sure, but in the comics, wasn't he involved in WWII with...Captain America? I wonder how they'll handle that past, if at all.

Nightcrawler: I love how they've stayed true to his character. His prayers and faith gave the movie deeper meaning. He also brought out the best characterization from Storm.

Rogue: Not so much focus as in the first, but a competent job from Anna Paquin. Brilliant use of her powers by stopping the flames.

Iceman: The side story with the Drakes was an excellent example of mutant-human tension. It gives much more depth to the Bobby Drake character.

Pyro: I am very interested to see his part in X3. Excellent scene on the jet.

"What's your real name?"
"Pyro."

Magneto: Wonderfully mastered by Ian McKellan as always. Great to see that he hasn't forgotten his cause against humanity. Also loved his escape scene.

Mystique: She has a little more personallity in this movie. Obviously, she's one of the smartest mutants out there, using her skills of seduction and stealth to pretty much bust everything open. Good scenes in the woods with Wolverine and Nightcrawler. I'm assuming she's NOT Nightcrawler's mother in the movies.

Professor X: Though reduced to nothing more than a tool for most of the movie, Patrick Stewart's voice was made for Xavier. His monologue at the beginning and his speech to the president were very meaningful.

Oh, and mutants confronting the president...genius. "We are watching."

Ever comic adapter should take a cue from X2. I highly anticipate the third movie.

[BeyondGotham]

Did ya'll have a lot of little kids in your theatres? i mean we had a bunch of 5 year olds there and they were crying. Why do parents see super powers and instantly think "Oooo my 4 year old will be into that!".

As a parent with a 5 and 7 year old, that took them.. I had no choice. We went to the early show, (to stay away from a packed show)

My son (the 5 year old) never cried, he just had to pee alot. he did cry when his foot fell asleep and we didn't understyand it.

taking a 5 year old isn't as bad as taking a newborn, which some did..

Now I coiuld have waited to see teh movie. But I didn't want to wait. So We took the kids.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

I'm assuming she's NOT Nightcrawler's mother in the movies.

She better be. I hope they go into the Mystique-Rogue-Nightcralwer family history in X3. It would be great dramatic scenes.

[Ordinary Guy]

I liked it.

For a long movie I felt it flowed very well.

Does anyone know the time span between the two movies?

I don't know what Halle Bery was complaining about her role in this one I thought it was expanded very well compared to the first one.

It was cool to see that even Professor Xavier could be manipulated when he least expected it.

The first scene in the White House was awesome.

Where was Gambit? I only saw his name on the computer that Mystique was searching through and it brought up Remy Lebeau.

Seeing Hank McCoy and Colussiss was cool.

The fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike was intense. I liked how she was a silent secret weapon.

What was Logan's connection to Stryker other than the Weapon X experiement?

I thought the funniest line was when Magneto told Rogue he liked what she did with her hair.

Good movie. Can't wait to see what direction they take with X3.

Introduce other villians like Apokolips or Mr. Sinister and the Nasty Boyz. Or go the route of the Phoenix saga as indicated at the end.

[Russkafin]

Nonononono...you is wrong! hehe. She turned into Rogue, and he just cocked an eye up, like "bwha??" Then as she moved up a little, she did one more transformation, and it was Deathstrike. It was really brief, and a bit out of frame, but she did change. I'm not blind...I knew who is and isn't rogue. :D

Wow... if she did turn into Deathstrike, then I totally missed it... my apologies! Guess I'll just have to go see it again! :cool:

[Baltofan]

X Men 2 was a great movie, but it could have been greater if they could had made the movie a little shorter, and included more scenes with Iceman.
The fight sequences was great, and as I saw the trailer with the cat who is licking Wolverine's claws, did I think that it was a part that not was included in the movie.

[Dr Kain]

My g/f and I went to see it yesterday, it was really good. 100000 times better than the first, and this is the only reason I will buy the first movie now. Also, I'm wondering, will the third one be the Phoenix or Dark Phoenix saga? My fav chars in this movie were Mystique, Wolvy, Pyro, and DeathStrike. Oh I can't wait to see X3 now.

[Chibi Kageboshi]

I hope in X3 they dont go into the phoenix saga. I would go into the sentinels and get rid of some characters that can be replaced. Then have Jean appear towards the end in a coma and have her wake up as pheonix at the end with a cliffhanger =) but thats just my opinion so we can see some more character developement.

[Dr Kain]

I hope in X3 they dont go into the phoenix saga. I would go into the sentinels and get rid of some characters that can be replaced. Then have Jean appear towards the end in a coma and have her wake up as pheonix at the end with a cliffhanger =) but thats just my opinion so we can see some more character developement.

Ack, I hope it is Phoenix otherwise I will hate the movie. As for the Sentinels, that was suppose to happen in X2, but didn't, so I don't think it is fair to have them now unless Phoenix will kick their asses!! Anyway, X-Men is only a trilogy unless they changed things recently.

[David Lucas]

Ack, I hope it is Phoenix otherwise I will hate the movie. As for the Sentinels, that was suppose to happen in X2, but didn't, so I don't think it is fair to have them now unless Phoenix will kick their asses!! Anyway, X-Men is only a trilogy unless they changed things recently.

Trilogy?! NOOOO!!!

Ugh, I feel retarded taking a cue from Harry Knowles, but he pretty much nailed how I feel about this movie and it's creators.

I want Brian Singer and every other cast member to be locked in a huge studio for the rest of eternity to do nothing but make X-Men movies one after another with quality like X2. I want movie after movie after movie after movie. There's just SO much to work with.

The Sentinels have always been one of the biggest threats in the series only because they can be mass produced and can seek out mutants and so forth. Now that I know what "Wideawake" was, I'm lookin forward to the sentinels and hopefully a cajun.

Now that I've calmed down a little from watching the movie I would like to touch on a few things,

Ian MacKellen, I dunno, something about his voice just brings such a different quality to the fray than the rest of them. He really is superb. This man has had years and YEARS of experience and it really shows. I don't know anyone on this planet that could bring a Shakespearean feel to Magneto.

He quite simply is amazing.

and 2nd, I can't explain why, but I loved every scene of the school at night before the troops came in. We finally got to see that this wasn't only a school, or a training ground......it's a home. It's where these people live. Where they can just lounge around at 2 am and watch TV or drink soda. It gave such a real feel to it.

This whole movie, as ridiculous as some concepts being in the real world sound, just had such an honest feel to it. The Matrix had that for the first 1/2 of the movie, but when the shootouts started it kinda lost it.

Don't get me wrong, The Matrix is one of my favorite films, but after watching X2 and being as suprised as I was, I honestly don't think Reloaded will give me the same feeling of awe. I might be screaming HELL YES! When I see the 100 or so Agent Smiths get their asses kicked, but until X3 I don't think anythings gonna hit me as hard as Wolverine's first stab into a trooper.

[murmur]

Anyway, X-Men is only a trilogy unless they changed things recently.It is?? Well, obviously they are planning a third, but I wouldn't buy for a second that they wouldn't make a fourth if the third did well. The material is there. The popularity is there. The money is there. Exactly why wouldn't they milk this franchise as long as they could? Even things like actors stepping down wouldn't be that terrible. With a nearly unlimited potential cast, no one character is completely essential. It would certainly smart if Stewart, McKellan or Jackman stepped down, but why would they?

[Nick Biped]

Well, I just got back from seeing X2 with my brother, who also likes these kind of movies. I have to say it was quite the good movie, maybe even slightly better than the first. I'm not going to go into details for everything I liked (that'd be too long ;)), just some main points.

- I thought they did a better job of working with some of the mutants from X1 this time around, namely Storm and Mystique. It helped that they didn't need to do as many introductions, I suppose. Unfortunately, Cyclops seemed to be tossed to the side for the most part.

- Nightcrawler and Iceman seem to be welcome additions to the cast of mutants. They were played very well. I'm guessing Pyro'll have a larger part in X3.

- Magneto's escape scene was so clever! I wasn't quite sure what Mystique was doing at first when she injected the guard with the syringe, but it came together so well.

- The acting by Ian McKellen. That's not to say the other actors weren't good, but this guy's a master.

- The cameos (visual or otherwise) of mutants. I'm not terribly familiar with the X-Men comics, but I recognised Colossus and Shadowcat, and I noticed Remy LeBeau's name on the computer. When I first saw the name Hank McCoy, I knew it sounded familiar, but I couldn't remember where I heard it from. Of course, now I remember that's Beast's name. Those cameos were neat.

- The humourous bits added here and there, like with the kitten licking Wolverine's claws.

- One slight negative was the way Deathstrike was dispatched. It just seemed like she was brought in to fight with Wolverine...and that was it.

Overall, I think I give this movie a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. :)

[superprime]

I loved this movie. Definatly better than the first. Everything was better than the first. I thought Stryker was an awsome villain. After seeing what he did to Jason I knew this guy was playing for keeps. Nightcrawler was really cool and the Bamf effect was amazing. Alanm Cumming did a really good job. Magneto was alot cooler this one and the way he escape his cell was briliant. Collosus was so cool, I just wish he had more screen time. On the subjest of screen time, what happened to Cyclops? He was gone for half the movie. When are they gonna start giving him some respect? The last shot of the lake with the Phoenix under the water was so cool. This movie was almost perfect and the last scene has me so pumped for X3.

[Knight]

Wow... if she did turn into Deathstrike, then I totally missed it... my apologies! Guess I'll just have to go see it again! :cool:

I actually saw it again today and I didnt see any Deathstrike.The order went as follows Jean Grey, Storm, Rouge, then Jean Grey again before becomeing Stryker.

[Zapages]

I just went to see it. It was a really well made movie. Here some things that bother me, isn't Ice-man suppose to liked someone else*a girl with green hair/eyes* from what I saw on ABC Family's X-men showing this morning. It was well executed movie and it flowed preaty well too. The movie begs for a sequal IMO, especially with what happened to Jane, the coming of the Pheonix and Inferno*guy who can manipulate fire*.

[Mynd Hed]

Collasus was in there for about a minute. He seems too old to be at the school, and I wouldn't have known who he was if someone didn't tell me. It just bothered me that he was at a school where the oldest kid was Rogue's age.

Umm, schools do have these things called "teachers," you know. (-:

[Knight]

- One slight negative was the way Deathstrike was dispatched. It just seemed like she was brought in to fight with Wolverine...and that was it.


The really sad part I found about this was that Logan killed off someone who was in no way in control of their actions. She was just a puppet under someone elses control who "woke up" just in time to die.

[zero zero nine]

That owned. Everything about it rocked (except I wanted to see more of fearless leader Cyclops, instead of him just crying).

Is it just me (I may need to rewatch it along with the first X-Men movie) or was Jean Grey's voice over at the end the same as one given in the first movie? When she says "every few millennia, evolution comes in leaps and bounds"? In the first movie it was referring the evolution from human to mutant, while in X2 it's referring to mutants evolving into something more (Jean Grey into the Phoenix). If I'm right and not hallucinating, I think that was a nice touch :)

[TheScarecrow]

Me, my dad, and my ten-year-old sister went to the 1:15 showing yesterday. I feared it would be sold out, but my fears were unfounded. We got in just as the trailers began. The Hulk, Matrix, and the League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (based on the Alan Moore comic) trailers looked awesome on the big screen. The crowd reacted positively to the trailer for the Dumb & Dummer prequel too, oddly enough.

The Theater was pretty full, so my dad and sister had to pick the CRAPPY seats in the bottom row towards the end of the screen. *I* however managed to spot a great seat in the six row right in the middle of the screen where I had a GREAT view of the movie. So hurray to me.

Anyway, the movie rocked.

Hugh Jackman nailed Wolverine. Nuff said.

Alan Cumming brilliantly played Nightcrawler and had pretty much everything down, from his humor (the crowd laughed at pretty much all the humor scenes) and his sense of honor and charm. He was very menacing and threatening in those opening scenes in the Whitehouse. The best Nightcrawler moment was towards the end where he recited a prayer after Jean’s self-sacrifice scene. His waving at President McKenna in the Whitehouse scene at the end was funny too.

I thought James Marsden was good as Cyclops. He was absent for most of the movie after the ambush scene, but his presence is felt throughout the Logan/Jean scenes. His emoting after Jean’s death I had no problem with, and I commend Jimmy for doing the difficult task of doing that kind of acting while having to keep your eyes hidden.

Patrick Stewart owns the role of Charles Xavier, just like Hugh Jackman owns Wolverine and Chris Reeve owned the role of Superman/Chark Kent in 1978.

Ian McKellen was great once again as Magneto, who was a very complex character here too, even more so this time around, then in the first one (in this one, he went from good to evil to good to evil on a dime, with it being logical and compelling every step of the way, in my opinion). The part where he magnetically pulled the iron out of the guard is awesomely STICK and bloody. :eek: Eric’s best line was the "when will these people learn how to fly?" after saving the X-Jet from crashing.

William Striker may not be like the character from God Loves, Man Kills, but this version is a very compelling villain in his own right. He was a loathsome creepy bigot. But man, when he explained what happened to his wife, and how his son caused it, for that moment I agreed with his justification for wiping out the mutant race and that CHILLED ME. Great performance by Brian Cox as Striker here, imo. I can’t wait to see someone try to “finish what he started” in the next film, and try to do it with Sentinels!!!

Deathstrike was a menacing creature here, and her fight scene with Wolverine was nicely handled. There were parts of the fight that I had a hard time telling what was going on, but it was nicely handled still, especially the ending sequence. Kelly Hu made an impact without a lot of lines of dialogue, and for that I congratulate her. To those who thought it was mean to kill her: what was Logan supposed to do? Deathstrike would've kept slicing him up until he was dead... he was only defending himself. That look on Logan's face after the death showed that he knew Deathstrike was just a puppet, which was a nice touch.

The other X2 women were awesome in their respective roles as well. Halle Berry delivered a respectable performance; Famke Janssen was awesome as Jean Grey, with the self-sacrifice at the end as her best moment... Phoenix BABY!!, and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos was even better as Mystique this time around. The X-kids were great too, from Siryn to Kitty to Collossus to Rouge, Iceman, and Pyro (MY GOD this guy is wicked).

As for what I didn't like about the movie, well I can't think of anything really. Maybe I wish the the powers would've gone crazy during the the Dark Cerebro scene like it did in the Novelization, but I guess that is it. Hate to come off as an unobjective X-Men fanboy here, but I just really don't have a bad thing to say about this film really. Sorry.

Anyway, my dad liked the movie (even if the crappy seats he had made it hard to see for him) and my sister liked it better the first one, with the fact that "they said a lot of naughty S words" being the only drawback for her. The crowd seemed to have a good time too.

After the movie, I went to the book store to try and get God Loves, Man Kills, but while they had a lot of other X-Men books, they just didn't have THAT ONE. Oh well.

Well here is to X3! May it be a good one, whenever it comes out. I'll be there when it happens for sure.

[Robin2099]

Well I went in rally psyched for this movie, and some of that might of hurt my viewing of it. Honestly I thought the first was a better movie because with such a small budget they had to focus more on certain characters. Here I just didn't feel connected to the characters like I did in the first one. Here's what I liked however:
-Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. He nailed Wolverine perfectly, and was portrayed almost exactly like hs is in the comic books. He was awesome in the mansion fight.
-Nightcrawler was also portrayed perfectly by Alan Cummings. He was exactly like the Nightcrawler in the comics, and next to Wolvie he was my second favorite character of the movie. It was nice to see him get so much screen time as well.
-Magneato's escape was just brutal, and Ian did another good job as him.
-I honestly don't think that Yuriko is dead. Especially since her face started to look exactly like it did in the comics so I have faith she's still alive.
-Colusus, Shadowcat, and Siryn made good debuts and seeing Colusus power up was just flat out cool. Hopefully him, Kitty, and Gambit will get to be in X3.
-The humour was well placed and helped you to rememebr that this was a comic book movie. And best of all none of it fell flat.
-After seeing the wings of The Pheonix in the water, it does look like the third one might focus on The Pheonix Saga. That should be interesting since that was such a long story.
Overall though I give X2 4/5*. I'm still planning on going to see it again and using the free ticket I got from X1.5. But good movie which Hulk will have some stiff competition from.

[Shawn Hopkins]

I thought this was maybe just a little bit better than the first one, which was good. Nice full theater. In fact, I think everbody in the line was there to see X-Men, because the ticket lady said those there for all the other movies could come in and no one spoke up.

My thoughts:

Glad Marsden was written out of most of the movie. I know Cyclops is supposed to be kind of a dick, but Marsden seriously sucks. I don't know what they'll do with him if they do a Phoenix movie. I felt bad, but I laughed a little when he talked to Jean through the Professor at the end.

Halle Berry was way better in this one than the last one. I actually liked her Storm character and the interaction with Nightcrawler.

Hugh Jackman is indeed Wolverine, though he could look slightly more grizzled. The hair is also silly. They could tone that down a bit. It was crazy to see so many murders in a PG-13 movie. Wolverine must have killed more than 20 people. Of course, there was almost no blood.

When Jemas and Queseda were pitching Origin, they said the plan was to give Wolverine an origin before the movie did.

I liked that even characters who didn't have a whole lot of screen time were well developed. Pyro is a great example. When you see him looking at pictures of Iceman's family you just know he didn't have anything like that.

Bobby's "coming out" scene with his family was great, too. "Have you tried *not* being a mutant?" That was one of the funniest lines in the movie.

However, it was a little too long, really. It was great that every freakin' character had a plot arc and grew as a person, but with so many characters it slowed the movie down. Some scenes could have been cut.

I noticed a few neat cameos, such as Dr. Hank McCoy on television. I wanted to pause the movie on the screen with all the mutant names after I saw Remy Lebeau on there. As for mutants in the school, Siryn (the girl who screamed) and Shadowcat were cool, although I think Shadowcat was played by a different actress in this one. Who do you think the little boy who could control the TV with his mind was?

[The Guard]

OVERALL
The best superhero film ever, bar none. A film that manages to take superheroes seriously, with no apologies.

PLOT
Much more interesting than X-MEN. Singer and Co. found a way to introduce new characters, and put in elements of the comic books that I never thought would show up onscreen. The evolution of Jean into Phoenix was handled well, as was the introduction of Nightcrawler, the villain, and the evolution of the human/mutant situation. The movie had that BLADE II, pick-up-where-we-left off vibe, which was great. The transitions between what's happening with the different characters and younger characters are almost flawless. The one problem I had with the plot was Stryker's plan, which mirrored Magneto's from X-MEN to some extent.

ACTING
Top notch all around. I didn't see a single weak performance. Not even from the captured children or any of the Secret Service men.

XAVIER
Patrick Stewart is Charles Xavier. He was a little more restrained this time around, and he didn't have as many great lines, but he still exuded that wonderful presence. I loved his opening entrance, and his scene with Magneto at the prison.

MAGNETO
Ian McKellan ruled the screen whenever Magneto was onscreen. He exudes a presence that no one else has. Not Patrick Stewart, no one. He delivered some fairly silly lines wonderfully, and came across as even more sinister and hate-filled than X-MEN. Even "beaten", Magneto still has a clear agenda, although he was more willing to make "sacrifices" this time around. No longer content to make the world into mutants, this time he wants them all dead. He was absolutely chilling in places.

MYSTIQUE
Good to see her with a larger, more interesting role. Rebecca Romijn Stamos is a better actress than I thought. Her Mystique seemed very intelligent to me. It can't be easy to emote when you're covered in blue scales, but she pulled it off nicely. The CGI eyes worked well, too. It was also nice to see her connection to Magneto explored, and her human side.

WILLIAM STRYKER
Brian Cox didn't seem like the Brian Cox I know and love, which amazed me. He brought a hell of a performance to X2, and William Stryker came across as the threat he was. He didn't seem like a huge, over-the-top, world domination villain, though, and that was nice. He was very human, and very cool.

LADY DEATHSTRIKE
Kelly Hu didn't say much, and didn't bring much to the film for me personally. Her fighting scenes were awesome, but Deathstrike felt like hired muscle, and not much more. I didn't care about her much as a character.

WOLVERINE
Hugh Jackman improved his role, if that's possible. And you can tell he loves it. Wolverine was used perfectly, from his discovery of his roots to his berserker rage to the human side that he denied through much of the film. Leaving Stryker to his fate at the end was a nice touch.

JEAN GREY
Famke Jannsen is the hottest woman alive when she cuts her hair. She amped up her performance in X2, mostly because of her amped-up role, I suspect. I was a little surprised to see the Phoenix hinted at so early in the movie, but it was handed quite well. The best scene she had was with Logan outside the X-Jet.

STORM
Halle Berry didn't blow me away, but she didn't suck. She toned it down a little, and seemed to take her role a little more seriously this time out. She did show some nice aspects of her character, and the displays of Storm's powers were cool. The tornado thing was a little over the top. With powers like that, Storm wouldn't need the rest of the X-Men to do anything.

CYCLOPS
James Marsden got hosed, but it's ok, because his character will own the next few films, what with the Sentinels and Phoenix coming up. Marsden did an excellent job with limited screentime, and his emoting at the end of the film was fantastic. His powers seem to be on about the same level, but he used them a little more, so that was cool.

NIGHTCRAWLER
The opening sequence was incredible. Live-action bamfing couldn't have looked much better. I had no doubts that Alan Cumming would make an excellent Nightcrawler, but I was surprised, because to me, it seemed like he mailed it in. Don't get me wrong. Cummings' Nightcrawler was excellent, but I think Cumming was still a little reserved in his acting. He nailed the character's sensitive side, though.

ICEMAN
With a larger role, Shawn Ashmore didn't appoint. He will become a fan favorite because he's an actor who seems to embrace his role, and take it very seriously. The use of his powers was all right, but seeing some kind of offensive ice powers would have been nice. There's no reason Rogue should have had to stop Pyro. Iceman should have been able to do something.

PYRO
Aaron Stanford impressed. He wasn't "evil for the sake of evil", he was angry and tired of being picked on, and fighting back. His character will be interesting as it develops in future films.

ROGUE
Rogue had little to do in this outing, but she was a major part of X-MEN, so that was all right. She had some nice moments with Logan and Bobby, and the rest of the time, it was nice to look down her shirt.

COSTUMES
The costumes, with the exception of Wolverine's, were better this time out. They were a little sleeker, a little darker, and made the X-Men look more like a team unit. Storm's costume, in particular, was an improvement over the previous film, but that wig. Eww.

ACTION
The fighting was the same style as the first movie, which was nice. I didn't see too much wire work, and for the most part, it looked realistic and possible. Wolverine's berserker rage in the X-Mansion was about as berserk as a human being can look in live-action. He moved about as fast and was as rage-filled as I ever expected.

SPECIAL EFFECTS
All of the special effects worked for me, except Pyro's fire-attack. It just didn't look as good as everything else to me. Phoenix's emergence at the end of the film was impressive, too, with the waters parting and all.

MUSIC
Wow. Ottoman's score was fantastic, especially the scenes with Magneto. He made it more human, but managed to keep it epic in scale when it needed to be there.

LITTLE THINGS
The little things make this movie the best comic book adaption ever. Colossus drawing, Wolverine and his beer and cigars, The names and locations on Stryker's computer. The moments that looked like they came right out of the comics, like Magneto's rearrangement of Dark Cerebro. The character moments, like Wolverine telling Cyclops about Jean's choice at the end.

CAMEOS
The cameos were handled well, again not just thrown in there. I loved seeing Colossus armor up, and it was good to see Kitty Pryde again, as well as the humorous appearance of Siryn, and who I believe might be Leech. Not sure what Jubilee was doing there, though. She did nothing. If you're going to put Jubliee in the movie, use her powers at least once. If not just to distract the guards or to try to escape or something.

PROBLEMS
Very few. The one thing I had a problem with was the unneccessary Mazda advertisement scene. I mean, do we really need a close up of the Mazda logo?

[Dr Kain]

Oh yeah, 2 more things:

What scene was Gambit in? I read he was going to have a cameo, but since we saw so many faces, it is hard to tell anyone but Siren and Collosus. Who was that boy that was changing the channels with his mind?

My other thing, who else laughed their ass off when Wolvy and them turned on Cyclopsis' radio and the Fagstreet boys or NSuck came on, and everyone shivered?

I also meant to say, while this movie is good, I still like Spider-Man better, but I'm not sure between DareDevil and X2.

[Tobias]

As far I know, Gambit wasn't in the movie, his name only appeared on the computer screen when Mystique was downloading those files. The ones I know appeared:

Artie - The kid with the tongue
Jubille - One of the captives, along with Artie
Collossus
Shadowcat
Siryn
Beast

Were there any other cameos?

I have no idea who the kid was who was flipping the t.v. channels with his eyes. He looked like Harry Potter, though.

[David Lucas]

I've been hearing a lot of talk about how credible Stryker was as a villain, even hearing the quote "He never reached that twirling your mustache" kind of villain.

I find that amusing, because in the latesy MAXIM magazine, he actually says that himself.

He says "They would tell me to say a line like "Kill Them all!" and theres just no point in me being in this if they're gonna have me say lines like that. To be a great villain you have to play it very subtle, and always believe that you're right. You can never make it look like you're questioning your beliefs and always look like you're 100% certain that your view is the right view, that way you never reach the "twirling mustache" kind of villainy."

He then goes onto say that Bush has "All the makings of a future great villain." :p

[Dr Kain]

As far I know, Gambit wasn't in the movie, his name only appeared on the computer screen when Mystique was downloading those files. The ones I know appeared:

Artie - The kid with the tongue
Jubille - One of the captives, along with Artie
Collossus
Shadowcat
Siryn
Beast

Were there any other cameos?

I have no idea who the kid was who was flipping the t.v. channels with his eyes. He looked like Harry Potter, though.

Who is Artie?? I don't remember him in the comics.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

If you ask me though although there will be some kind of thing going on with Jean as Phoenix in the next movie. I think that the X Movies should remain Wolverine's

[JohnStewart-GL]

If you ask me though although there will be some kind of thing going on with Jean as Phoenix in the next movie. I think that the X Movies should remain Wolverine's :confused: :o :mad: :mad: :mad: Why do you think that?

[Samhaine]

Hey, Russkafin -
Proteus had nothing to do with Stryker in the comics. He was Moira MacTaggert (and I think Xavier's) son.

I have a very large complaint about this movie:

Not enough CYCLOPS!

[Damien]

Too long. Awesome, but drawn out. It could've been at least 10 min. shorter.

I'm also disappointed that the history between Logan and Yuriko was cut.

Phoenix. Oh yeah! Can't wait to see her in the next one.

Loved the cameos. Beast, Syrin, Jubilee (who, just like she was in part one, was a high school-aged student. I never saw her in the cage of kidnapped children), Collosous (already showing leadership qualaties), Shadowcat (still just Kitty Pride)..I didn't know who Artie was, however, and I'm with Kain when it comes to the insomniac. While I'm at it, who was the kid with Nightcrawler's powers playing B-Ball in the first one?

Yeah, Nightcrawler. Awesome character. One of the best parts of the movie was when he tore it up at the White House. The 3rd one looks promising for that guy.

Magneto and Mystique. Wow. What can I say? Magneto was alot better in this movie, and I must say I didn't expect him to have Pro. X try to kill the humans. And Mystique. I heard about the finger flip yesterday, but couldn't believe it until I saw it. Funny, slick, and cool all in one. And now they have a new Brother: Pyro. Loved the BBQ with the cops.

With returning X-Men, I'm surprised to see that Cyclops didn't have such a big role. Wolverine's past coming together is cool, although I think Stryker said he volunteered for the project just to have Wolverine stay. I'm hoping that later on, they'll show his days in Stryker's little gang of Special Ops, fighting alongside Sabertooth.
Storm's character continues to disappoint me, while her powers never cease to amaze me. In the comics/cartoon, she seemed to be one of the most tolerant and understanding, while in the movies she's holding in all this anger. And Halle Berry needs to decided whether she's gonna use the accent or not. I can't stand it going back and forth.

Rogue and Iceman. *cheap break-beat plays* Wonder how that will go, esp. when Gambit shows up.

Yeah, still waiting for Gambit....and Sinister, and Archangel. Hopefully, at least one of them will show up in X3 (and maybe Shadowcat and Jubilee will have a role to play in the plot).

All around, I give it ***1/2.

[Terri]

I just saw the movie today and I think it was good. It was better then the first film. The ending was well done and foreshadowing was great.
I only caught Gambit's name on the computer screen. It was cool to see Beast only for a brief moment.
The threater I saw the movie at did not show the Hulk trailer.

The best parts of the film:
Nightcrawler in the white house.
The raid on the school. (Wolverine really kicked major butt)
The x-jet being chased by the military jets.
The ending
Bobby's parents house
Magneto's escape.

I can't wait to see the third x-men movie.


Also, someone mentioned that Proteus might be Xaviers son. He is not.
But, Xavier does have a son named David.

[Silent Bob]

I saw this movie Friday night and I really, really enjoyed it. The best part was that my theater was completely devoid of little kids. I think the youngest kids in the entire theatre was a young looking teenager.

I thought this film was great! It wasn't perfect across the board, but just a great two hour experience. They could've shaved a good ten minutes off it, without a doubt. I was also hoping that Bobby would en dup saving the day, as that would bring his character full circle. He's feeling very doubtful about himself right now, due to the harsh reactions from his parents, and saving the day would've given him some solace.

That doesn't mean the ending was bad, not at all. I found Jean Grey's sacrifice to be interesting, although it is putting a bit if fear into me. I don't want the series to become this galaxy jumping fair. It wouldn't fit. Besides, based on the shocked look on Jean's face at the end of the first X-Men, there could be a good grounded storyline that could bring Magneto back, and introduce the Sentinels. Maybe Magneto's machine from the first movie has triggered some sort of side-effect to her power. I really don't want to see X3 become this cosmic adventure. Keep it on earth. I'd love to see the Phoenix, having just watched the five part Pheonix arc on DVD,, but it wouldn't work in the same fashion as it did in the comics or the cartoon.

Cyclops, for the time he had, did a great job with his character. I think that the next installment will be his movie, and will be more about his character. He's gotten the shaft two times in a row, now. Time to give him his due. I thought Marsden did a great job when he saw Grey give her life. I thought it was powerful. It had me speechless! It's incredibly difficult to act with that visor covering his eyes, and he a good job getting around that.

Ian McKellan was really good in this sequel. His excape from the plastic prison was pure genius. The sequence leading up to it, with Mystique, I thought was pretty funny. I cracked up when she said "Oooh, velcro!" These two are a great pair, and I hope McKellan signs on for the third installment. Stamos already has.

Jackman shined once again as Wolverine, proving that he owns this role, without a doubt. His beserker rage in the mansion was just astonishing. He was killing people left and right and I was just surprised. His fight with Deathstrike was great, even if it was a bit short. No doubt that fight had to be trimmed to get the PG-13 rating.

Cummings as Nightcrawler was very good. The opening sequence in the White House was amazing, and Cummings did a great job presenting him as this soulful, kind man cruelly manipulated by Stryker. His mid-air rescue of Rogue was right out of the comic books, and a great surprise. He's signed on for the next movie, too, which means we'll get to see this guy in a cool looking X-Men uniform.

Berry was simply there. She didn't have the firghtened look in the first film, she just looked bored in her. Even though I'd like for her to return in X3, for consistancy's sake, I doubt she will. She did have some nice scenes and actually had some good dialogue.

It was a great, gritty film. A dark film like X2 provides some great contrast for the squeaky clean fun of Spider-Man. I'm looking forward to seeing this movie again. Great fun, without a doubt.

[Lachesis]

Who is Artie?? I don't remember him in the comics.

I think Artie's one of the Gen X kids. They changed his appearance a lot, though I liked that he still never talked. Or that could be Leech and I'm mixing them up. :p

The channel-surfing kid, who my audience thought looked like Harry Potter, might be an original character. He's not listed in the credits.

I think the curse of the lousy sequel has been well and truly ended, at least for comic book movies.

[Andrew T. Hingson]

I loved the movie. I wouldn't give it a perfect score though. 4.5 is good IMO. It was a terrific sequel and hints at a third movie indefinantly. I can't wait! It's going to be a long time, but at least I'll have HULK and Spider-Man 2 to hold me until then (heck Spider-Man 2 is even better probably...).

[Hatter]

Well, I definitely need to see it again before I can write a decent review. Frankly, I'm still in shock. It's the ULTIMATE superhero fan's movie. I can't see a non-fan enjoying it even half as much.
Oh, and my one overriding thought throughout the film:
THE-MOTHER-BLEEPING-PHOENIX!!

[Ultra8]

After waiting 2 days of All Sold Out! I finally got to see it. Just ......wow.
It was perfect, and the forshadowing for Phoenix in X3 just great.
5stars :D

[Dr Kain]

After waiting 2 days of All Sold Out! I finally got to see it. Just ......wow.
It was perfect, and the forshadowing for Phoenix in X3 just great.
5stars :D

Damn, where do you live?

As for the Hulk, after seeing another trailer for it, I doubt I will pay $6-8 to see it. I will just wait until my library gets in the dvd in the Fall to see it. I got gyped though, I never got to see the Matrix Reloaded trailer. :(

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

I think they should stay Wolverine's movies because if they shift the main character role, it'll be bad.

[Jade_GL]

All in all, this was a great movie.

The best scene by far was Nightcrawler's attack on the President. His teleporting was perfectly recreated and he was so great. I think he stole the movie away from the other heavily featured character, Wolverine. While it was cool to see Wolverine's berserker rage during the assault on the mansion, I still think Nightcrawler absolutely owned... OWNED.

Anyway, there was one big thing I was disappointed about, and that was the shafting of Cyclops. I thought that the first movie shafted him, but he actually had less to do in this film. I really want him to emerge as the great leader he is, but he can't do that when he's kidnapped. I mean, they gave everyone a cool portion of the movie, but Cyclops should have a larger part in my humble opinion.

I really loved Colossus and his scene where he goes all organic steel on those government soldiers. My BF and I just about died when we saw him. He was absolutely great and I really wanted to see more of that. Maybe in the next movie. :)

I think this is a great film all around. I don't have much more to say since everyone else has said sarn near everything.

Oh, and I was mad that they killed of Deathstrike. I think maybe they could bring her back. I mean, Wolverine pushed a bullet out of his brain in this movie, maybe she could push all of that metal out of her body too. :D Ok, it's a longshot, but I would love to see her again as hersefl, not as a puppet, which was her role in this movie for the most part. Ok, that's all I've got. :D:D:D

[mgibson72]

Agreed. Deathstrike should have gotten away to fight another day. The whole "mind-control" bit didn't fly with me.

And Cyclops really needed something more to do. When he wasn't getting pounded, he was pouting that Wolverine was taking his girl, then crying when Jean got taken out. Man! How about giving him some leadership scenes, guys?

But overall...what fun! The Colossus cameo (shouldn't he have had a Russian accent?), Hank McCoy on the news, Gambit's name on the computer screen...fun for comics fans. And the sub-plot with Pyro going bad was great, too. Storm was a lot better this time out and Nightcrawler...what can I say? They pulled it off! I loved that he was so introverted and religious! And the circus speech he tried giving everyone he met was classic!

My favorite scene? Magneto's breakout. HOW. FREAKING. COOL. "You should have killed me when you had the chance!!!" Wow! A movie is only as good as its bad guys and X2 had the best. Or worst. Or whatever.

But was up with that cat? It was licking everything! ;)

[David Lucas]

But was up with that cat? It was licking everything! ;)

Seriously! My friend was like "What kind of a cat licks metal claws after a guy points them at her/him?" And it's true, my cat runs halfways across the room if I even move my arm near her head too fast.

Still that was a funny ass cat.

[RockItShipper]

When Mystique was scrolling through the list of prisoners, did anyone catch any other names? LeBeau, Remy


That's the only one I caught.

[The Guard]

Based on the events at the end of X2, I'm thinking we'll see The Sentinels in X3, as well as a timely re-emergence of Jean Grey/Phoenix. I think they'll let the Dark Phoenix thing sit for a while, although I wouldn't mind seeing the Hellfire Club in some capacity in X3. Yes, James Marsden got hosed in the first two installments. But we all know that when the story focuses on Phoenix that he'll have his time to shine, and based on his last few scenes, I think he'll impress.

I was told that the kid who was channel-surfing might be Leech.

[Storm]

There is no doubt that X3 will focus on Jean, Cyclops, and even have the Sentinels as the main villains. Personally I think X3 should be the final chapter for the X-men movie saga. I can see X3 having to do with Phoenix without having the Hellfire Club or even going out of space. Here's my idea: X3 takes place one year later so the X-men is more than a 4-man army. Cyclops, Storm, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Iceman, Rouge, and Colossus are the current X-men now. The President is still thinking about the mutant registration. Henry Gryich is alive and is now a major threat to the X-men. He creates the Sentinels, with that going on Xavier haves dreams about Jean Grey and suddenly (with a good background) Jean returns to the X-mansion but she's not alone. Jean's powers have fully evolved. Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro are active in mutant terrorism and now live in Genshoa with other mutants. Jean and Cyclops talk about her "death" and Jean does the whole Wolvie or Cyke crap again. Suddenly near the climax of the film Jean's powers get out of control and she starts to go into rampage in New York City and other parts of the U.S. Magneto starts to hunt down Jean to make her apart of The Brotherhood while The President and Henry make a deal to capture Jean and declare war on her and other mutants and they will call on the Sentinels. Jean will be the biggest threat towards humanity. For cameos I suppose there can be a cameo of Beast (in human form), Gambit (for the fans), the other X-students, The Morlocks, The Friends of Humanity, and other X-mutants. Now the X-men must square off against their teammate and also the Sentinels that are killing mutants around the world. Major Players: Xavier, Jean, Cyclops, Wolverine (I suppose cause he's the fan fave but his role should be reduce with no Wolverine subplots), Storm (needs more of that good stuff. I wasn't disappointed by X2's Storm like I was at X1's Storm but something is still missing both on the performance and writing). Also this flick should tie up any loose ends and at the end Xavier will cure Jean, The Sentinels are destroyed, and at the end The President realizes his mistake a doesn't sign the Mutant Registration Act. There is still non-peace with mutants but there is still a light of hope.

As for Wolverine being the major character in every X-movie, I have to disagree that was wrong with X1 and a little bit with X2 it was too much focused on Wolverine. I mean Cyclops should be the real leading man in the movie. Wolverine being the main character is just silly where there are tons of characters to explore like Nightcawler, Mystique, Cyclops, and Storm. I believe that X2 ended the Logan searching for this past arc, at the end where Wolvie was talking to Stryker he had a sense of closure. X3 should be Jean and Cyclops' movie with development of Nightcrawler and Mystique's relationship, more of Storm (it's much needed), and some cool cameos and all the great stuff that made X2 marvelous. If Halle Berry doesn't want to do an X3 than that's her gain or lose. I think I spoke about the Halle Berry issue on this board that I don't even feel like defending her again. I know Halle Berry wasn't the ideal Storm but she wasn't lazy or bored about it either. On recent discussions about the X-men movies people have stated to kill Storm off which is silly because Storm is a major character in the X-men franchise, my only fear is that Halle will not return and they would have to replace her (which made all the Batman movies suck). I do believe because of her Oscar status they could of boosted Storm's role and if they get another actress who is unpopular than Halle Storm's role in X3 would be reduce. I think if their is a actress switch for Storm than it should be somebody who will still have the same affect in celebrity status as Halle and someone who can deliver a great Storm performance (Vivica A. Fox, Nora Gaye, or even Gina Torres). I do want Halle to stay because of continuity sake and she'll probably come back for the amount of money. Anyway the stuff on the Internet could always be rumors anyway that's all I have to say.

- Storm

[Mattashell]

This is the Artie of the comics.


http://www.dracandros.com/Jebgarg/Nidoking/moa/artie.jpg

Here's a profile

Mad*****, Artie

(Universe: Marvel) Young mutant (2) boy, who, since he is mute, communicates via psionically-conjured images. He is also physically mutated, having pink skin, pupil-less eyes, and a bald, lumpy head. Artie was once a ward of X-Factor (1), but has since moved into a special home with his fellow young mutant friends Leech (2) and Takeshi Matsuya.

[Tobias]

They need to start doing solo X-men movies. I'd love to see a feature length Iceman film. They really need to get on the ball before Shawn Ashmore (who's already had at least 2 television series and many other roles so far) and Anna Paquin (Who's destined to become an A list actress) become major Hollywood players.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

I know in the next movie that Cyclops and Jean will play a more important role, but Wolverine should still have a promient role.

[Knight]

Im sure Wolverine will still be a factor. They wouldnt dare do a X men movie without him.

[Supreme]

While I'm at it, who was the kid with Nightcrawler's powers playing B-Ball in the first one?


I just reviewed the first one, and I don't think that he had Nightcrawler's powers. It looked more like he was using super-speed, since he had that trail effect. Plus, he was normal looking (Quicksilver, maybe?)

[Russkafin]

I just reviewed the first one, and I don't think that he had Nightcrawler's powers. It looked more like he was using super-speed, since he had that trail effect. Plus, he was normal looking (Quicksilver, maybe?)

I think I read somewhere that it was supposed to be The Vanisher. I don't really know who that is, though.

[The Slayer]

Only four words are needed to describe this movie:

THE BEST MOVIE EVER!!!!!

[Dr Kain]

They need to start doing solo X-men movies. I'd love to see a feature length Iceman film. They really need to get on the ball before Shawn Ashmore (who's already had at least 2 television series and many other roles so far) and Anna Paquin (Who's destined to become an A list actress) become major Hollywood players.

Well since Hugh Jackman doesn't want to do anymore after X3, they may do that.

[David Lucas]

Well since Hugh Jackman doesn't want to do anymore after X3, they may do that.

Hugh Jackman damn well better change his mind. If Halle Berry wants to call it quits, fine. You take Jackman out of the picture, and you die.

The least they could do if this really will only be a trilogy is make a Logan movie set in his times in Japan, or Alpha Flight, or something.

[murmur]

I wonder if Jackman is saying he'll quit after X3 because he wants to be the lead again while the series is still hot...?

[Cyber E.]

Actor's these days won't do such a thing. You wave a big enough check around and they'll strip nekkid and walk around like a giant cricket.

And I'll have the super-delayed review up tomorrow.
-aJb

[Starflyer 58]

I wonder if Jackman is saying he'll quit after X3 because he wants to be the lead again while the series is still hot...?

No, that's not Jackman's style. He is completely humble about his fame, not the type to be picking and choosing "star roles"... read a few more of his interviews scattered around the web...

[Justice League 2000]

X2 is a great movie I love this movie I like X-Men 2 to better part 1 was okay. :) I hope byan make X3 way better than X2. :)

[David Lucas]

I know the Kronos Quartet did the music for Requiem For a Dream, but who composed it?

When Wolverine and Xavier are in Cerebro looking at all the mutants/humans, I could swear I heard a Requiem song, it's really soothing at any rate. I could fall asleep hearing the Cerebro song.

[Blight]

I saw X2 on monday, and I thought it was excellent, far better than the first, which was good, but not great.

The acting was top notch, escpecially that by Jackman, Stewart, and Mckellen. They fit their characters so well, it's almost unbelievable.

The story was vastly improved over the original, and included alot more human, "real-life" elements.

I was surprised at how well they managed to fit in the huge cast of characters without making it seem over crowded. I was pleased that Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm, and Iceman got more screentime this time around, especially Iceman. He's a very cool character, excuse the pun. :p However, I was dissapointed at how little they used Rogue. The entire first movie was based on the relationship between Logan and Rogue, but here she seemed to be hardly needed at all. The only thing useful she did was land the X-Jet at the end. Still, it's just a minor problem.

Wolverine was great, of course. I was cheering along with the entire theatre when Wolvie cut loose and started slaughtering all those mercenaries at the X-mansion. My favorite part when Wolvie shoved both claws through that one mercenarie's chest. :D

The action and special effects were fantastic. The Nightcrawler teleportation effects were great eye candy. The Wolverine/Deathstrike fight had my eyes glued to the screen. That was probably the best action scene in the movie.

Was it me, or was Stryker's son extremely creepy? I don't know about you guys, but he creeped the hell out of me.

It bugged me a little that they never mentioned the fact that Mystique (who I was pleased to see had more than one line this time around) is Nightcrawler's mother, or that Deathstrike was Wolvie's old girlfriend. But I guess that would have been too much to jam into the movie. Besides, that's what we have X3 for! :D

I was slightly dissapointed that Michael Kaimen didn't return to score X2. Unlike most people, I thought Kaimen's score for the original was perfect. John Ottman's score for X2 is good, but I wish he would have at least used the original X-Men and Magneto themes from the original. However, I think Ottman's new theme just may be a very, very remixed version of Kaimen's theme. I think.

The cliffhanger was excellent. I'm really pshyched to see Pheonix in X3. It is essential that Janssen returns for the third now, but I think she will. By the way, I did notice the Pheonix shape in the water at the end. It was a very nice touch.

Overall, X2 is amazing, and in my opinion it's the second best superhero movie ever made, second only to Superman: The Movie. 5 stars all the way! Come on Bryan Singer, forget doing another movie first, tackle X3 NOW! Go X3! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

See ya!
Blight

[JusticeLeagueLegion]

I saw this movie last Saturday and it was good, but I didn't think that Lady Deathstrike had a healing factor...anyway, it was a good movie altogether with a Wrath of Khan type ending...we know that we're going to see Pheonix soon. At the first of the original movie, Professer X says "Mutation: It is the key to our evolution..." and anyway, Jean says it at the end of this movie, just like Spock said "Space...the final frontier..." at the end of "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan." That was awesome.

[witness]

WOW!!!!! This movie was totally awesome!!! The theater I was in really got into the movie. There were hardly any children around. They clapped, hooted, and hollered in a few cretain places. Most notably was when Colossus changed into his metal form. Basically everything has been said about this movie, so I don't need to rehash it. My only question to throw out there is who was Stryker's son? Some mutant named Proteus (I know nothing about this character) or Mastermind (I know very little about this character)? Wasn't Mastermind the mutant with two different colored eyes? Also, it would be nice for them to show the fact that Mystique and Nightcrawler are related, but I think it'll come off as something cheesy like... "Nightcrawler, I am your mother." You know, like Star Wars. As for Lady Deathstrike's "death", even if she was still alive after her fight with Wolverine, she wouldn't have been able to escape the flood. Not with all that metal coursing through her veins. I personally think that the movies portray all X-men villains,
except for Magneto and Mystique, are expendable.

Anyways, I could see them easily do five movies total for this franchise. This is what the fanboy in me would like to see them accomplish.

X3 - Definately the Pheonix and the Sentinels. I like what someone else said, that Jean comes back (hopefully they'll actually give Cyclops the props he deserves!!!) and her powers get out of control. The humans realize that mutants are so dangerous that they need to be eliminated, so the Sentinels come into existance. That with Pyro's ability to "control fire" it should make for some interesting battles.

X4 - Deals with the aftermath of X3. This is the best opportunity for them to bring in Mr. Sinister. After seeing a mutant display such amazing powers, he'll go after Jean. He'll find out that Cyclops is in love with her (more Cyclops characterization!!!), and he'll use those two's DNA to try and create the perfect mutant. Also bring in Gambit to tie in with Mr. Sinister. Add this to the fact that Sinister is really working for someone else............reluctantly. That someone being none other than Apocalypse.

X5 - Bring on the Apocalypse!!! They probably could introduce Archangel in X4, much like Nightcrawler in X2. Turn Archangel against his fellow mutants, sticking true to comics. However, this is where it could get interesting! One of the files on Stryker's computer said Omega Red, did it not? Doesn't Apocalypse need a horseman of war??? I don't know who he'd use for the other two. If they do good with Dr. Octopus' extra arms in Spiderman 2, I see no reason why Omega Red should not be in an X-men movie. It would be awesome to see him as a pawn of Apocalypse's especially since Omega Red doesn't like taking orders from anyone.

[StarScream64]

Yay! I finally get to post in a movie talkback!

Anyways, great movie, better than the first. My only problem with it was that Cyclops had probably 10 minutes screen time total. There wasn't really a good excuse for that long an absence.

Still, everything else was great. Special/Sound FX were great, of course. Liked the fact that the WHOLE movie wasn't focused on Wolverine so much this time. Ian Mckellen and Patrick Stewart were great in their roles as Magneto and Cap-- I mean Professor X. :D

Prof X's "freezing" power was a nice touch. By the way, is he SUPPOSED to be able to do that?

All right, less than a year now 'til it comes on Pay Per View, then I can tape it for 4 bucks and watch it as many times as I want. *rubs hands together*

[DarkAngel]

Prof X's "freezing" power was a nice touch. By the way, is he SUPPOSED to be able to do that?
I was wondering that myself. And what about Logan taking a bullet in the head and surviving? That seemed a little too much.

[Mynd Hed]

I was wondering that myself. And what about Logan taking a bullet in the head and surviving? That seemed a little too much.

Nah, remember, his skull is adamantium just like the rest of him, so the bullet penetrated just that deep and then stopped. So all he was really dealing with was a very minor flesh wound and probably a concussion from the impact. Painful, but nothing he couldn't survive. In real life, people have taken bullet wounds to the forehead and survived. It's rare, and they wouldn't just stand right up afterwards like Wolvie did, but it can happen.

[DarkAngel]

Nah, remember, his skull is adamantium just like the rest of him, so the bullet penetrated just that deep and then stopped.
Ok, that makes sense.

[David Lucas]

As for the Professor freezing everyone, I do know that one of his powers is the ability for temporary mental/physical paralysis, I didn't know he could knock out entire museums.

Basically all he did was make the brain not send any kind of electrical impulse to any nerve, but they were still alive, therefore all the bodies would remain standing just "frozen". I'm not sure if that's the right scientific definition of what he does, it's just me guessing. As for them not remembering anything, well....

....Xavier's been doing that for a lonnng time.

[Barb Gordon]

Okay I was only just able to see it today, and I have yet to read through these 6+ pages here, so I haven't a clue what's been said and what hasn't. But I can pretty much figure that anything I'd say has been covered. So the most I can say is: *big eyes* oooooooooooooo. That was so flipping awesome! I loved the first, but I loved this sooooo much much more. A bit long, especially for younger viewers, but I loved it all. I couldn't believe how many different mutants we were able to see, and other such tidbits for the fans, like Remy's name in that database, and Beast on TV. I also couldn't believe just how much of a storyline they were able to cram into about 2 1/2 hours. I knew there was some stuff with Jean/Pheonix, but I had absolutely no clue it'd be to such a large extent. Cyclops crying was just so unbelievably cute....not to mention the scene with Wolverine naked....stupid shadows *pouts*.

~Barb

[DisneyBoy]

I too am pleased to finally be able to comment on this film. My friends and I had been planning to see it for a while, and in order to prepare, we rented X-MEN and watched it on a giant robot (don't ask!) before heading out on Saturday night.

When I first began reading comics, I was instantly turned off by Marvel's fleet of mutant/super-powered folk and didn't expect too much from their lead team when they first appeared on the big screen. That said: WOW!

Seeing the first and second movie one after the other really helped refresh our limited knowledge of the characters and get a better grip on why this film plain rocked!

The two biggest problems with X-1 for me was the corny dialogue, and the thin plot. All of the fight scenes took place in strange locations (a train station, a snowy road) or campy ones (the Statue of Liberty was really cheesy). This time around, the locations were part of the development of the story, and it really made them all the more interesting. From the school, to Iceman's family home and then the dam lab, each local had a certain emotional importance to it, and it made for one heck of a show.

I also agree that they handled all the characters extremely well. I don't think even Justice League has come close to making a dozen characters work together so effortlessly.

I can safely say, however, that I've had enough of Wolverine. He was really good in this movie, but I don't want to see him overtaking the rest of the group anymore. Cyclops does nothing accept blast things with his eyes and protect his relationship with Jean (which is now...on haitus I suppose). I'm sure he has more of a personality. Halle Berry is pretty useless as Storm, despite all the nifty special effects. Did anyone else notice how her forced attempt at an accent in the first movie was quickly brushed aside in this one? Check it out...On the flip side though, the use of Magneto was brilliant and Mystique continues to delight. I can't say I missed either Sabretooth or Toad. Since Jean will no doubt become the Pheonix in X-3 (though I have next-to-no-idea what that means), I wonder if they'll have any time to do something meaningful with Storm. She was the first X-person I ever became acquainted with, so I'm kinda hoping to learn more about her.

Anyway, long story short, this film succeeded because it progressed naturally, and everything included along the way felt like a necessary part of the overall story (unlike X-1...remember the five minute Prof X speech to Logan about the school and mutants? That really felt tacked-on).

I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going. Imagine that...I guess mutants aren't so bad after all.

[Joe Wagner]

As for who the mutant son of Stryker is, my buddy said that Styker's son is a mutant called Proteus in the comics? Can anyone confirm that and maybe elaborate more on the character?

Since I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, Proteus is actually the son of Professor X and Moira McTaggart. For further reference the X-Men Animated series ran a two-part arc dealing with Proteus and it was the one arc that seriously messed Wolverine up.

As for the appearance of Artie - many of us may remember him better as Leech - also in the X-Men animated series as a member of the Morlocks.

-Joe!

[Stu]

Since I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, Proteus is actually the son of Professor X and Moira McTaggart. For further reference the X-Men Animated series ran a two-part arc dealing with Proteus and it was the one arc that seriously messed Wolverine up.


You could also pick up Ultimate X-men Volume 3: World Tour which deals with the X-men meeting Proteus for the first time.

On a similar note, it wouldn't surprise me to see Proteus in an X-men film as Proteus is Brian Singers favourite villian.

Jason (Strykers son) is a member of the Hellfire Club I think. As Joe said you can check out X-men: The Animated Series as he was the one that controlled Jean in The Phenoix Saga. Or the Dark Pheonix Saga, I forget which.

[Supreme]

Basically all he did was make the brain not send any kind of electrical impulse to any nerve, but they were still alive, therefore all the bodies would remain standing just "frozen". I'm not sure if that's the right scientific definition of what he does, it's just me guessing.

Absolutely incorrect! The correct scientific explanation is that he ka-zapped them all. Splorchted would have been an acceptable alternative.


Was it me, or was Stryker's son extremely creepy? I don't know about you guys, but he creeped the hell out of me.

When they first wheeled him out, I thought "DJ Qualls?"

I think that his powers (and name) more closely identify him with Mastermind (http://www.geocities.com/x_villains/mastermind/mastermind.html)


Also, Lady Deathstrike was never a mutant:
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2855/deathstrike.html
http://wolverine.x-knights.com/deathstrike.html
Bonus (http://actionfiguresbygofigure.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/product738.html)



Artie and Leech are two different people (http://tigrrwildcat.50megs.com/bioartleech.htm)

[Mattashell]

As for the appearance of Artie - many of us may remember him better as Leech - also in the X-Men animated series as a member of the Morlocks.


I don't know where you got this information, but it's false. Leech and Artie are two entirely seperate mutants. In fact, they are best friends. Artie is a mute, with the power to project images. Leech, I think is mute as well, I believe his powers have something to do with draining other mutants of thier power.

Here is a picture of them together. Although this is not what they "normally" look like, it's the best pic I could find.

http://tigrrwildcat.50megs.com/gallery/qfxartieleech.gif

[Supreme]

Mattashell, read the end of my post, right above yours.

[Joe Wagner]

I don't know where you got this information, but it's false. Leech and Artie are two entirely seperate mutants. In fact, they are best friends. Artie is a mute, with the power to project images. Leech, I think is mute as well, I believe his powers have something to do with draining other mutants of thier power.

Here is a picture of them together. Although this is not what they "normally" look like, it's the best pic I could find.

http://tigrrwildcat.50megs.com/gallery/qfxartieleech.gif

I do apologize for the confusion - for some reason I could have sworn that they were one and the same. D'OH!

-Joe!

[Jade_GL]

For those of you who want to know secret little movie things, this is from imdb. I would like to see all of thise for myself, but I have only seen the movie once, so I didn't get a chance.

On Stryker's computer the follow files are listed: Guthrie, Paige (Husk) Guthrie, Samuel (Cannonball) Harada, Keniucho (known as The Silver Samurai) Kane, Garrison (Weapon X) LeBeau, Remy (Gambit) Lensherr, Eric M (Magneto) Madd1cks (oy, the thing blocked out the first version of this poor guys name), Artie (Artie) Madrox, Jamie (Multiple Man) Mahn, Xi'an Coy (Karma) Maximoff (2) (Wanda and Pietro, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Names weren't specified) McTaggart, Kevin (Proteus) Moonstar, Danielle (Moonstar) Munroe, Ororo (Storm) On another screen there were a series of folders on the computer's desktop. These folders listed some well-known individuals or places from the X-Men universe, including: Omega Red (Russian mutant super soldier) Muir Island (Scottish mutant research facility) Project Wideawake (Codename for Sentinel project) Franklin Richards (Son of Fantastic Four's Reed Richards and Sue Storm, born a mutant) Cerebro (Mutant tracking device created by Professor Xavier and Magneto)

[JohnCrichton]

Just saw it Monday.

I thought it was great, but I wasn't blown away. I was disappointed that another A List X-Men villian wasn't used, but instead we delt with.... William Striker?

I'm also pretty surprised that they're actually going in the direction of the Phoenix Saga..... How's the general public going to handle their next X-Men series dealing with aliens, cosmic god beings and fights on the dark side of the moon?

0_o

Great movie, but I think Spider-Man was better.

[LightAngel]

Wow! This was so awesome, I don't know where to begin. Nightcrawler was absolutely perfect. actually I can't think of anything that was terribly wrong with any of the characters. Sure Cyclops could've been in it a bit more, but his prescence was still great. PHEONIX! I was not expecting that! Again, WOW!

[Manhunter]

I think this version of the Phoenix force is just an evolution of Jean's natural telekinetic and telepathic abilities, caused by the events of the first movie.

[czyznyck99]

I thought it was great, but I wasn't blown away. I was disappointed that another A List X-Men villian wasn't used, but instead we delt with.... William Striker?

Besides Magneto, I don't think there is an A-list villian that would pull off the realistic view of X-Men that the movies want to give off.

Well, considering that there is this theme of a war between humans and mutants, who better to be lurking about in the background than a guy like Stryfe...or Apocalypse.

Later.

[PRdude]

I finally got to see it. I enjoyed it. Very well thought out, and all the characters were great. I'm sorry I missed out on the comic books, but at least the cartoons are still around for me to see. By the way, I cried when Jean Grey sacrificed herself, and Cyclops broke down.

Before I went to see the movie on Monday (May 12), I rented X-Men 1.5 on DVD. Since I enjoyed X2 so much, I plan to get the DVD when it comes out. That's why I then went and bought my own copy of X-Men 1.5 yesterday (May 13). I knew X-Men 1.5 would have a ticket that would allow you to see Daredevil for free, but I never knew that you could use it to see X2 for free as well. Looks like I'm going to be seeing X2 again. It might be good, since I know a certain girl who apparently plans to see it this weekend. Hmmmmmmmm. *strokes chin*

[cartoonboy]

Just be sure to get the ticket before hand, busting the coupon out could not be perceived well. It's your call, just something to consider.

[DKstormyknight]

I was waiting for X2: X-Men United to come out forever, so I had to go see it on opening day! Now I could easily go on for a few pages on what I thought about the movie but I'll just say this... That was one X-cellent movie, Bub!



:harley:

[DarkAngel]

Now I could easily go on for a few pages on what I thought about the movie but I'll just say this... That was one X-cellent movie, Bub!

Yeah, too true. There's a lot to mention. If I had to limit myself to favorite moment and biggest disappointment, they'd be the following:

favorite moment: Magneto's escape
biggest disappointment: Kelly Hu's lack of screen time

[Osiris]

I saw the movie and it was great but what i was wondering was if anyone else noticed this.
In the scene where Xavier is targeting all the humans there is a scene with the Pres. Now, unless i saw this incorrectly, I believe that he wasn't affected. At the beginning his face is all scrunched up in what I believe to be fake pain. All the men around him are on the ground, knocked out. He, however, is able to open his eyes and look around, as if to say, "Huh, what do you know?" To further bolster my argument it should be noted that unless what i surmise is true then this scene is completely and utterly superfluous, something Singer is not known for. What do you think?

[Tobias]

When Xavier was targeting the humans for death, why didn't they show Bobby's family?

Likewise, why didn't we get a shot of Collosus and the kids when he trying to kill all the mutants?

[PRdude]

Just be sure to get the ticket before hand, busting the coupon out could not be perceived well. It's your call, just something to consider.

What are you talking about? I thought I mentioned I've got the free Daredevil/X2 movie ticket since I bought X-Men 1.5. I've got it tucked away in a safe place in my room. I'm not so sure about going out with that girl as much anymore though.

I probably misunderstood you greatly. If so, just try to be more clear.

[cartoonboy]

Sounds like I misinterpreted coupon/ticket. That's what happens when I think before having something to eat in the morning.

Disregard my post.

[The Guard]

In the scene where Xavier is targeting all the humans there is a scene with the Pres. Now, unless i saw this incorrectly, I believe that he wasn't affected. At the beginning his face is all scrunched up in what I believe to be fake pain. All the men around him are on the ground, knocked out. He, however, is able to open his eyes and look around, as if to say, "Huh, what do you know?" To further bolster my argument it should be noted that unless what i surmise is true then this scene is completely and utterly superfluous, something Singer is not known for. What do you think?

Yes, a lot of people have suspicions about this. And if the President is indeed a mutant, or has a bit of mutant in him, then Xavier would know.

[randomguy]

Anybody else think the takeover of the X-mansion was little too easy for Striker's commandos? Yes, I realize Wolverine and Collussus kicked their asses, but you would think that in a house full of superhuman mutants, resistance would come in the form of more than two people. I expected more scenes of the X-kids laying the smack down on their mansion's invaders.

Would have been a perfect place for Gambit, too. Just imagine it... commando walks into a room, finds only one boy, playing cards... and you can take it from there.

[Mynd Hed]

I'm also pretty surprised that they're actually going in the direction of the Phoenix Saga..... How's the general public going to handle their next X-Men series dealing with aliens, cosmic god beings and fights on the dark side of the moon?

Well, just because they're (almost certainly) going to resurrect Jean as Phoenix doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to bring in all the other trappings of the Phoenix Saga-- in fact, since Singer and his crew seem much more concerned with capturing the feel and general theme of the X-Men than duplicating any particular comic or animated series saga or continuity, I'd bet good money against it.

[PRdude]

Sounds like I misinterpreted coupon/ticket. That's what happens when I think before having something to eat in the morning.

Disregard my post.

Yeah well, um, looks like I'll really have to use this ticket myself.

[The Penguin]

“Yes, I believe it will be.” Professor Charles Xavier, X2: X-Men United

After giving the first movie five stars I wish I could give this one more than that! While I am not the comic book guru some of you are, I very much enjoy superhero movies and I would have to say this is the best one yet. I liked it better than Batman, Spider-Man and Daredevil and I bet it will be better than The Hulk too. I could make my comments all one word, “Wow.” But that would be just too easy… :p


Though to be honest, I really don’t feel like reacting and commenting on the whole movie right now, which I thought was fantastic. I guess that will have to wait until I see it again, but right now, I only feel like talking about one thing…

I’ll be honest, in a weird way I’m still not over the fact that Jean died. Cyclops has always been my favorite so it hurts me somewhat to see him in so much pain. Scott not only loved Jean, but he had always done his best to protect her and as the dam broke and the water came rushing forward there was nothing he could do. The woman he loved was gone—sacrificing herself to save him and the rest of her friends—her “family” in a way. I found it interesting that in his moment of grief, Scott found Logan’s shoulder to cry on. Wolverine was obviously hurting too and at that moment both of them forgot that they never got along and really don’t even like each other. Only one thing mattered—except that thing, Jean was no longer with them.

It was rather poetic hearing Jean’s voice utter the same words Professor X said in the opening of the first movie. The fiery shadow under the water indicated that Jean Grey may rise again—like a phoenix.

[The Penguin]

I saw the movie again last Friday (with my free ticket from 1.5 :D ) and I said I was going to write a bit more and so after organizing my thoughts, I think the best way to do that is to steal the format I believe Storm used. :p

Professor X: Patrick Stewart is Charles Xavier. I can’t imagine anyone more perfect to play this part. He may not have been quite as involved as the last one, but the part he played was excellent and his capture was rather surprising and where he went from there played perfectly with Stryker. As gas filled Magneto’s cell his scream for “Scott!” was a powerful moment.

Cyclops: Before getting into the actual movie I must say Cyclops’ visor was vastly improved over X-Men (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=61972)—it might have appeared more that way in the comics, but it works much better in the “real world.” Anyway…

My favorite X-Man got some more to do this time out, but at the same time he was probably the most cheated out of all the returning characters. He’s supposed to be the leader and he just didn’t get to do that much. I can understand since he was taken by Stryker, but I can only hope he gets more to do in the next one. As I said last time it hurt me in some way to see him in so much pain after Jean sacrificed herself for them. After their fight when he was under Stryker’s control, Scott and Jean seemed closer than ever (possibly because she had rejected Wolverine earlier). I just hated seeing him bawling in the jet over his lost love. :( I agree with those who said Marsden did a good job especially since you couldn’t see his eyes. In something like that the pain in a person’s eyes would be the telling sign and that just isn’t possible for Scott Summers.

Jean Grey: Famke Janssen was even better in her second outing as Jean Grey and I agree with the person who commented on her shorter hair looking better. Her powers were really getting stronger in this one and you could tell that in some ways she was really trying to find herself. I think she started to find herself when she told Logan that she was choosing Scott. When she left the ship to stop the water and wouldn’t let anyone save her I think she was trying to prove something to herself. She loves Scott, but I also get the feeling he and Professor X had always protected her to some extent and she wanted to do something herself.

Wolverine: The attack on the Mansion was absolutely awesome and Wolverine was almost unstoppable as he took out Stryker’s commandos. His loyalty to the children rather than himself was noble and showed how much Logan has grown since he first found himself in the basement of Xavier’s school. While I don’t care for Logan’s love for Jean I can appreciate how he did his best to put his bitter feelings aside and accept Jean’s choice of Cyclops. It took a lot of guts to tell Scott that Jean chose him when they were both in so much pain and I really admire him for that.

Storm: Halle has more do in this one I can’t believe she wouldn’t have been happy with it. I’ve watched X-Men (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?threadid=61972) five times in the past month and a half and her accent in the first one really faded in and out. I was fine with it missing this time out—it gave her a better consistency. Speaking of consistency, if they can’t get Berry to return I would rather see Storm disappear than be replaced. The X-Men roster is so deep her time could easily be used to for someone else (say Cyclops ;) ).

Nightcrawler: I guess I didn’t ever realize the character was German, but Cumming did a great job with the character and his power was used very well. The attack in the White House was a fantastic scene a great showcase of “The Incredible Nightcrawler’s” abilities. It was also added a great piece of comic relief when he kept trying to introduce himself and he kept getting cut off. :D

Rogue: Rogue didn’t have as much to do this time out, but it’s tough to follow-up the amount of time dedicated to her the first time out. For more on Bobby and Rogue as a couple see my comments on Iceman below, but Rogue’s hesitation to try and take their relationship shows how much she cares about Bobby, she doesn’t want to hurt him.

Iceman: Bobby Drake got a lot more to do in this movie after most of his better scenes ended up being deleted ones in X1. His jealousy over Rogue and Wolverine was kind of cute, but he has nothing to worry about. He and Rogue certainly are in a unique situation when it comes to their relationship. They obviously really care about each other, but Bobby just wishes they could be closer. It worked at first, but then it nearly got him killed. I can’t help but feel sorry for Bobby after everything that happened at his house. Mr. and Mrs. Drake seemed more receptive than a lot of families probably are, but then Ronnie had to go and wreck everything. Bobby looked really hurt as he looked up at his family and things will never be the same.

Pyro: Mattashell’s cousin Aaron did an excellent job as the semi-bad Pyro. It’s cool to hear that John’s personality has a lot in common with Aaron. From the first scene when he’s taunting the smoker with his lighter you can tell John believes his gifts make him superior to the guys who just need a light. At Bobby’s house I noticed two things about young Pyro. As looked at the pictures of the happy Drake family he has this look of longing or perhaps jealousy in his eyes perhaps because he never had much of a family before coming to Xavier’s School for the Gifted. As he was throwing fire at the police officers you could tell he was starting to enjoy it.

Colossus: The appearance of Colossus was perfect and I looked forward to him being expanded upon in X3. Seeing him power up was a pretty cool moment as the bullets just bounced off him. :)

Magneto: Ian McKellan obviously really enjoys his role as Magneto and he has made it his own. He is just perfect for the role and throughout the film he was able to go from vulnerable to powerful with ease. His escape from the plastic prison was marvelously done and worked very well. Magneto’s razor-sharp wit was on full display this time out and it worked perfectly each and every time. His ability to influence Pyro to the point where the young man wanted to go with him was impressive.

Mystique: I noticed that Mystique seemed to add a touch of class to Senator Kelly. The Senator was rather well-dressed compared to when he was actually alive. I was really impressed with how she broke Magneto out of prison. I assumed she had taken the form of the guard, but pumping his blood full of iron just proved she is a lot smarter than she has been given credit for. Her actions in Stryker’s base were also a great display of her mind and powers. I loved it when she was barking orders as Stryker and then beat down both of the guards. :cool:

William Stryker: The versatility of Brian Cox is absolutely amazing. Stryker looks and acts nothing like his character in The Bourne Identity (http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37454) you really can’t even tell unless you know going in. The personal vendetta Stryker had against mutants because of his son Jason added an extra dimension to the character in addition to everything else. He was just the right amount of evil to unite Magneto and the X-Men and it really worked.

Lady Deathstrike: I don’t know a ton about this character’s history, but she served her purpose well. Anytime Kelly Hu is on the screen you won’t see me complaining. Her fight with Wolverine was action-packed, but she won’t be coming back for the next one.


I can’t remember who said what now, but I did want to respond to some things other folks commented on so here we go…

Re: Mystique changing into Deathstrike in Wolverine’s tent
I tried to look for this and I still didn’t see it. I might be there, it might not be, but I couldn’t find it.

Re: Iceman being ‘ice’ next time
I just don’t this happening. Speaking from my standpoint as a heterosexual male, Shawn Ashmore is a sharp looking guy and I just can’t see them covering him up with some kind of icy make-up. I also don’t see how they could do it decent without making him into Jar Jar Binks. The frosted highlight of his hair this time out will be as close as we get.

Re: Rogue stopping Pyro instead of Iceman at the Drake house
I’ve thought about this one and the thought just occurred to be that while Bobby could have put out the fires, he could not have stopped John at the same time. Rogue on the other hand was able to stop him and taking John’s power over fire, was able to put them out. Also Rogue was able to do all of this while lying on the ground, Bobby would have had to stand up and thusly putting himself in harm’s way and was no doubt too scared and shocked to do so.

Re: No Toad or Sabretooth this time out
They made the right decision here by leaving Ray Park and Tyler Mane out of the sequel. Both were great characters and served their purpose in the first film, but they just wouldn’t have fit in this one. There would have been no home for them and I don’t picture either of them as willing to follow Magneto and do some work with the X-Men like Mystique was.

Re: The music
During the commentary for X-Men 1.5, Bryan Singer mentions how he always likes to work with John Ottoman as both composer and editor, but he was not available for X-Men (because he was doing Urban Legends: Final Cut :rolleyes: ). He seemed quite happy that Ottoman was available for X2.


Since I went with my family the first time and used the ticket in X-Men 1.5 the second time I actually have spent money on X2 yet. Am I gonna see it again? Probably.

[The Guard]

Lady Deathstrike: I don’t know a ton about this character’s history, but she served her purpose well. Anytime Kelly Hu is on the screen you won’t see me complaining. Her fight with Wolverine was action-packed, but she won’t be coming back for the next one.

I wouldn't count out Deathstrike just yet. Kelly Hu is signed on for X3, and the writers claim that they haven't even begun to explore her character.

[Nightwing]

Fun with continuity:
Where is this museum that allows smoking in the cafeteria?
Pyro's amazing lighter that never runs out of fuel. If my mutant power depended on a Zippo, I'd conserve.
Why is the Stryker's version of Cerebro so filthy?
"We've detained several." "How many?" "Six, sir." Six is several?
:p :p :p


LMAO! I came up with the EXACT same list, that is hilarious!! The first one that I came up with, though, was the little line about 'several' and 'six.' It's so incredibly small and insignificant but I smirked. :p


Well I guess the Phoenix thing has been discussed enough for me to ask a question about it. Complicated X-Men comic people, assemble!

From the very cool X-Men cartoon from a few years ago, I was under the impression that the Pheonix was a powerful entity that chose Jean to inhabit to do [the stuff I don't remember what she was used for]. So I'm a bit confused when I hear things about Jean evolving into the Pheonix. Could someone clear this up for moi?

This movie was soo excellent and so moving, I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Funny how people here have been saying there were sometimes little to no kids in the theater, but in my case there were a lot, although they were quiet.

Cyclops: Cyclops is my favorite, and I think James does very well as Scott in both movies. I enjoyed his performace very much, but I was worried/disappointed when I didn't see much of him in the second movie. Thankfully he did very well in the scenes he was in.

Lady Deathstrike: To all of those fans who say Deathstrike didn't provide much, I do agree, although personally you need someone to provide a worthy fight for Wolverine and Yuriko is your best bet. I think it's okay that he had to kill her, for that simple reason. He HAD to. But that doesn't mean I have to necessarily like it. Although, do we have actual proof that she was under his control? I understand how it can be easily assumed considering who she was working for and what he does, but I don't remember anything from the movie showing that she was under his control.

But since it was sort of a waste based on the fact that she had to die, a comic fan's overall view of her could only be summed up with one word/action:

*pushes all anti-Deathstrike fans out of the way in a rage and screams*

BAAAAANE!!!!!

[Calico]

RE: Lady Deathstrike:
Although, do we have actual proof that she was under his control? I understand how it can be easily assumed considering who she was working for and what he does, but I don't remember anything from the movie showing that she was under his control.


Actually two scenes: In one, she apparently 'wakes up' and starts looking around confused; Stryker walks over, pushes her head down and drops some of the mind-control substance on her neck. Then after Wolverine delivers the final blow, her eyes transform from bright blue to brown.

[Tobias]

[QUOTE='The Penguin']Re: Mystique changing into Deathstrike in Wolverine’s tent
I tried to look for this and I still didn’t see it. I might be there, it might not be, but I couldn’t find it.

QUOTE]

There was no Lady Deathstrike. It went: Jean, Storm, Rogue, back to Jean, then back to Mystique.

[DisneyBoy]

Here's something that just jumped into my head today: At the end of the film, when the flood of water is sure to destroy everyone, why didn't Storm just whip up some twisters to direct the water elsewhere? Why did it seem as if Jean was the only one who could save them when Storm's powers allow her to control water, wind and nearly every other aspect of nature???

[Drachentöter]

Here's something that just jumped into my head today: At the end of the film, when the flood of water is sure to destroy everyone, why didn't Storm just whip up some twisters to direct the water elsewhere? Why did it seem as if Jean was the only one who could save them when Storm's powers allow her to control water, wind and nearly every other aspect of nature???

Better question: if Jean could make the plane start up anyway, why did she leave to stop the water in the first place?

[Mynd Hed]

And for that matter, if Jean is so all-consumingly powerful now, why did she have to leave the plane to stop the water? I can buy Storm maybe not having enough fine control to stop all of the water without destroying the jet, but Iceman could probably have picked up some of the slack with his powers, and between the three of them, I don't see why they couldn't have gotten everybody out of there without anybody dying. For that matter, Cyclops' energy beam at full power could probably have turned a good portion of the water into harmless vapor.

It was little nitpicks like that that took a little of the impact away from what otherwise might have been a good emotional scene. It didn't ruin the movie for me, but it made it slightly less than it could have been if the writers had thought up a more plausible way to kill off Jean.

[Tobias]

Iceman would have had to leave the plane to use his powers, though, since his powers are more physical than Storm and Jean, who could have used their powers from inside the plane.

Hell, Xavier could have lent a hand as well. If he's so powerful, why couldn't he start the plane while Jean and Storm held off the water, then Cyclops could have taken the controls of the plane. I didn't see any windows on the plane, but maybe Bobby could have just stood at the bottom of the ladder, touched the ground, and formed an ice wall around the plane.

But that brings up the fact of wether or not Bobby's that powerful yet, since he was obviously straining to make that ice wall at the mansion.

[The Penguin]

There was no Lady Deathstrike. It went: Jean, Storm, Rogue, back to Jean, then back to Mystique.I didn’t believe there was, but someone mentioned it here so I figured I would do my best to look for it—I saw nothing.

Here's something that just jumped into my head today: At the end of the film, when the flood of water is sure to destroy everyone, why didn't Storm just whip up some twisters to direct the water elsewhere? Why did it seem as if Jean was the only one who could save them when Storm's powers allow her to control water, wind and nearly every other aspect of nature???Jean took it upon herself to save everyone. Bringing a bunch of tornadoes might have swept up the water, but it would have also put the jet and everyone inside it at a great risk than it was worth, plus once Jean went outside it would have killed her. Remember no one knew she had gone outside until after she was gone and she closed the door before Scott could get to her. Storm doesn’t control nature, she controls the weather. I’m not an avid comic reader, but my impression is she couldn’t just stop the water in time because she can’t just manipulate the water around the jet.

Better question: if Jean could make the plane start up anyway, why did she leave to stop the water in the first place?She did start the jet, but since she was holding back the water as they started to take off it’s obvious that there wasn’t enough time for the jet to just take off with everyone inside before the water got there.

And for that matter, if Jean is so all-consumingly powerful now, why did she have to leave the plane to stop the water? I can buy Storm maybe not having enough fine control to stop all of the water without destroying the jet, but Iceman could probably have picked up some of the slack with his powers, and between the three of them, I don't see why they couldn't have gotten everybody out of there without anybody dying. For that matter, Cyclops' energy beam at full power could probably have turned a good portion of the water into harmless vapor.The only answer I can offer for the first is that her powers are still developing at this point—it’s not as she could have moved the Professor around when he was in Cerebro. And sometimes when we are under pressure we make impulsive decisions when there was a better option. Once again the key point here is that Jean left without anyone knowing and then sealed the door. Cyclops tried to get out to help her or at the very least get her back in the jet, but he couldn’t. Personally don’t think Bobby’s powers have developed to a point where he could have stopped that much water.

[JohnStewart-GL]

Iceman would have had to leave the plane to use his powers, though, since his powers are more physical than Storm and Jean, who could have used their powers from inside the plane.

Hell, Xavier could have lent a hand as well. If he's so powerful, why couldn't he start the plane while Jean and Storm held off the water, then Cyclops could have taken the controls of the plane. I didn't see any windows on the plane, but maybe Bobby could have just stood at the bottom of the ladder, touched the ground, and formed an ice wall around the plane.

But that brings up the fact of wether or not Bobby's that powerful yet, since he was obviously straining to make that ice wall at the mansion.
perosonally, i just looked at it as she was keeping them from helping like she was Kurt.

[Mynd Hed]

Hell, Xavier could have lent a hand as well. If he's so powerful, why couldn't he start the plane while Jean and Storm held off the water, then Cyclops could have taken the controls of the plane. I didn't see any windows on the plane, but maybe Bobby could have just stood at the bottom of the ladder, touched the ground, and formed an ice wall around the plane.

Except that, unless I'm GRAVELY mistaken about this, Xavier's powers are only telepathic, not telekinetic. In other words, he can only affect other peoples' minds, not move objects with his mind like Jean can.


And sometimes when we are under pressure we make impulsive decisions when there was a better option.

I agree that this is almost certainly what happened, and I even think it's realistic enough-- it's just that the fact that her sacrifice may well have been unnecessary detracts from the emotional impact and relevance of that sacrifice to me.

[The Guard]

Xavier is indeed a telepath, not telekinetic. And whoever said that Cyclops' optic blasts could have reduced the water into vapor, I don't think so. His powers are concussive in nature, not heat-based. His optic beams can have immense force, but they are nothing like Superman's heat vision. There's nothing hot about them. That's why he can shoot people with less severe blasts, and not worry too much about killing them, like he did to Magneto in X-MEN and Deathstrike in X2. I forget what the official numbers are, but at full power, Cyclops' optic blasts can punch through a certain amount of solid steel.

[Patrick Bateman]

I FINALLY saw this today, and I must say I was blown away. This blew every other comic film out of the water. I especially enjoyed all the inside references that the average movie goer wouldn't catch. Such as the interview on TV with Dr. Hank McCoy, and "LeBeau, Remy" appearing on Striker's mutant database. The acting was top notch, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't even have a problem with Halle Berry. Actually, my only real complaint about the movie is that Cyclops was absent during 80% of the film. I'm hoping they really spotlight him in X3.

[DisneyBoy]

I asked my sis about what she thought of the whole Jean sacrifice, and she said that Xavier didn't stop her, and didn't let anyone else help her out, because (while this was never said) Jean's evolution - like the life of the Firebird - required her to die and be reborn, and he knew this.


Makes sense to me, but I don't know if that was actually hinted at in the movie. I like what's been said about her impulsive decision though. She knew they could die, and went out to save them. Not the smartest thing to do, but certainly brave. Hopefully, Storm will say something in X-3 that'll express her regret upon not having stepped in to try to help or something. Halle Berry really needs to do something with this role.

And what's this about Lady Deathstrike returning? Ohhhh....interesting :)

[The Guard]

I think Jean had grown more powerful than Xavier. I mean, she talked through him, so she clearly managed to invade his head for a while. He wouldn't have been able to stop her if he tried. Nor would he have, because he probably knew it was the only way to save the X-Men.

About Deathstrike? Well, the writers have said that she hasn't even begun to be explored, and Kelly Hu has signed a contract for the third X-Men movie, so I'd imagine she'll be returning somehow.

[Russkafin]

This is from imdb.com ...

On Stryker's computer the follow files are listed: Guthrie, Paige (Husk) Guthrie, Samuel (Cannonball) Harada, Keniucho (known as The Silver Samurai) Kane, Garrison (Weapon X) LeBeau, Remy (Gambit) Lensherr, Eric M (Magneto) Mad*****, Artie (Artie) Madrox, Jamie (Multiple Man) Mahn, Xi'an Coy (Karma) Maximoff (2) (Wanda and Pietro, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Names weren't specified) McTaggart, Kevin (Proteus) Moonstar, Danielle (Moonstar) Munroe, Ororo (Storm) On another screen there were a series of folders on the computer's desktop. These folders listed some well-known individuals or places from the X-Men universe, including: Omega Red (Russian mutant super soldier) Muir Island (Scottish mutant research facility) Project Wideawake (Codename for Sentinel project) Franklin Richards (Son of Fantastic Four's Reed Richards and Sue Storm, born a mutant) Cerebro (Mutant tracking device created by Professor Xavier and Magneto)

Also, some other interesting tidbits...

-In a sequence of channel-surfing, Patrick Stewart is seen on a television as Jean-Luc Picard in an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987).

-Most of the cast wore contact lenses when their mutant powers were used except Halle Berry who found them unbearable to wear for extended periods of time. All her scenes were digitally enhanced when she controlled the weather.

-In an effort to keep the ending a secret up until the movie came out, the novelization and the movie comic both have different endings.

-Several sets for the film were not used. Some of these sets included The Danger Room, Danger Toom, and several areas in Stryker's underground bunker. One room in Stryker's underground base was going to be the setting of a Nightcrawler vs. Toad fight.

[Conekiller]

Danger Toom?

woulkd have been cool to have Nightcrawler and Toad fight, Ray park really brought a lot more to the character than i ever cared for.

[Bud 'n Lou]

-Most of the cast wore contact lenses when their mutant powers were used except Halle Berry who found them unbearable to wear for extended periods of time. All her scenes were digitally enhanced when she controlled the weather.
*rolls eyes* Way to commit yourself to a role, Halle. I'm actually glad she's not coming back for the sequel. But wouldn't it be hilarious if they hired a new actress for Storm, and made her the focal character of X3? Hee hee.
Is "Danger Toom" a typo?

[All-Star 1.5]

*rolls eyes* Way to commit yourself to a role, Halle. I'm actually glad she's not coming back for the sequel. But wouldn't it be hilarious if they hired a new actress for Storm, and made her the focal character of X3? Hee hee.
Is "Danger Toom" a typo?

Who says she's not coming back. They offered her a million last time I checked. The ones you have to look out for Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellean.

I can understand not wanting to wear contacts I mean she might have sensitive eyes are something???

[Good Ol' Batmanuel!]

*rolls eyes* Way to commit yourself to a role, Halle.
Hey, I for one can totally sympathize with her. I wear glasses all the time and hate doing so. I'd love to have the freedom of contact lenses, but I have a hard enough time when I get water in my eyes, let alone poking my eyes every morning and night. :rolleyes: If I was in a movie that allowed me to have CG eyes, I'd do it without hesitation.

Besides, she's no Lon Chaney, if you know what I mean...

[The Guard]

The ones you have to look out for Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellean.

Both Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan seem very commited to their roles. Ian McKellan has become a HUGE fan of the X-Men, both in film and comics, and has been fined several times for releasing spoilers on his website.

[Mynd Hed]

Read up sometime on all the hell Jim Carrey had to go through for his part in the live-action Grinch adaptation. Or, for that matter, what Rebecca Romaine-Lettuce (I'm sorry, I can never spell her name) had to go through to become Mystique. I'm sorry, but if that little factoid is at all true, Halle Berry is a total whiner. I know plenty of ladies who would KILL for the chance to play Storm, contacts or no contacts.

[Russkafin]

Is "Danger Toom" a typo?

I'm not sure, but I think it probably is. I copied and pasted that right off of IMDB.

I think Stewart and McKellen will probably return, they always seemed pretty excited about the movies in all the interviews and stuff, I think they like doing them. Plus Stewart made a comment one time about how he knows "the benefits of being in a franchise"... i.e. guaranteed $$$. :)

[Patrick Bateman]

Thanks for the list! The only name I caught in the theater was Remy Lebeau (Dear god, PLEASE put him in X3). I'm a bit disappointed there's no mention of "Worthington, Warren III", but I guess we can't have them all.

[Nightflower]

Read up sometime on all the hell Jim Carrey had to go through for his part in the live-action Grinch adaptation. Or, for that matter, what Rebecca Romaine-Lettuce (I'm sorry, I can never spell her name) had to go through to become Mystique. I'm sorry, but if that little factoid is at all true, Halle Berry is a total whiner. I know plenty of ladies who would KILL for the chance to play Storm, contacts or no contacts.
Oh yes! I heard she was vomiting blue paint from the first movie, and they had to film the outside scenes in the second in all the snow while she was nigh-stark naked.

[Barb Gordon]

Yeah I know, the girl who plays Mystique really knows how to suck it up. She can't eat or drink anything when she's in costume, which is for hours. And she threw up that one time because they were celebrating and having martinis or something, and she got sick and it came up blue. I practically live in my contacts, so part of me says "what's the big deal?". But some people have really sensitive eyes for contacts, and just can't deal with them...still, I would say she needs to suck it up a little.

I really wanted to see the Danger Room! But I think it was because of all the other CGI effects they already had, that things like that and seeing Beast in blue just wasn't possible. Least we got Colossus.

~Barb

[Pyro]

Hey about the Storm contacts thing, I read that even Mystique couldn't bear to wear the contacts after the first movie. In X2, all her eyes were CG too. Maybe they just don't make good contacts for that movie. Since neither of them wear the contacts, they really can't be compared. Who knows if Halle Berry would go through the other stuff Rebecca has to.

It's funny that the board blocked Arties last name, I had the hardest time trying to figure out what it was but you can find it here (http://www.uncannyxmen.net/db/issues/showquestion.asp?fldAuto=179) in the Characters section of the page.(it lists two names.)

[Cyclops]

Saw this movie for the third and final time. It's finally being kicked out to make room for tomorrow's sneek peek of Terminator 3. The theatre was empty except for me and my four buds and, honestly, that's the best way to see it. We were able to talk and discuss the movie as it went along, as we all saw it twice already, becuase there was no one else there. It was great. Nothing like seeing this movie on the big screen for the final time.

The movie has a couple flaws, but it's probably one of the best, if not the best, comic book films ever made, up there with Superman for sure. Anyone else have any final comments, I guess, as this movie starts to finish its run?

[Pyro]

Oooh, I hope they bring back Lady Deathstrike. I'd really like to see her again. I just hope that they do a good job with whatever story they use if they bring her back.

[Tobias]

Anyone else have any final comments, I guess, as this movie starts to finish its run?

It's just finishing it's run in the bigger chains. In a few weeks, X2 will start it's run at the fifty cent theaters, where I can see it many more times before it's DVD release.

[Cyclops]

From www.superherohype.com - I was surfing around the web and found out something that might interest you (and many others). I don't know if you are already aware of this, but I just wanted to let you all know that the famous gag reels/outtakes of X-Men 2 are available on http://www.giga.de/xmen/ . To download them you simply have to register/sign in. Enjoy!

[Silent Bob]

I was hoping to see this on the DVD (and maybe they are), but it's nice to know that we have easy access to these bloopers.

[Jimmy Kustes]

With the deleted scenes and bloopers already on Hype, I'm going to feel the same way getting X2 as I will when I get the Clone Wars DVD.

[Stu]

It's not on the disc, unless it's an easter egg which I haven't looked for yet to be honest.

[czyznyck99]

The gag reels are a major letdown. Not enough of the R-rated material that was talked about earlier in the year.

Later.

[dc_gothamite]

just so that i dont spoil the ending for those who haven't seen X-2, I'll put my question as a spoiler...

Okay, so Jean Grey "dies" near the end of X-2 and throughout the movie, we are alluded to her ever-growing power of the Phoenix. Director, Bryan Singer said that there was a really short and subtle part in the first X-Men movie, alluding the Phoenix as well. What part in, X-1, was it?

thnx

[Cyclops]

The moment was right after the mutation device is destroyed, and you see a wave sctretch across the screen. Then cut to Jean Grey with an odd expression on her face, sort of confused and overwhelmed. That is the moment that Singer is referring to which I think is great. If they pursue Phoenix for X3, its not gonna be some cosmic malarky, but the evolution of Jean Grey herself.

[BabySealClubber]

In the books with "the cosmic malarky" the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards makes a prominant appearence. Since they're making a FF movie I wonder if whoever plays him will show up and if Jessica Simpson (Sue Storm) will also make it into the film.

[MR.MXYZPTLK]

Since I did a review for Batman Begins so I thought I'd do one for this, which I also just saw again on DVD. On my first viewing I didn't really enjoy the movie, but I really appreciated this time.

This is, in my opinion anyway, one of the best Superhero movies yet, up there with Spiderman and Superman Returns, and certainly the best comic book movie sequel yet. I ussaully don't like too much realism in Superhero Films, I found it slowed Batman Begins down, but Singer does it very well.

The villains are interesting, but still down to earth and believable. The Climax was emotional, and the charachters were developed. This is how the SR sequel should be. The opening scene with Nightcrawler really caught my attention, brillaint special effects and music.

Leaving Magneto in worked really well, like Luthor in the Donner films, and Mystique is far more interesting than Kitty from SR. Striker was cast well, and Lady Deathstrike offered some freshness. It has its share of problems, the ending drags, and some Sentinels would of been awesome! But it works well as a realistic approache. 4/5

The DVD commentaries are also good. Singer can be quite funny, but what I really noticed was his knowledge of comics. I've heard so many say he's never read a comic in his life, but he has. He mentions frank miller, the 80's wolverine and the original Stan Lee and Kirby comics. Bassically, I think Singer is perfect for comic book movies.

[Cartoonlover]

I think this movie is very overrated. Stryker was boring. The movie was anti- climatic after the awesome first one.

[sdp]

Watched it this weekend since I'm on my x-men mood, last week I watched the first one, next week I'll watch 3 and then Origins.


I kinda saw this one when it was on TV, I didn't the beginning and only "half" watched it since I was also online. But I remember not liking it. So after finally watching it for the first time complete I was really surprised I liked it a lot. Its definitely a lot better than the first one.