Cygnus' Spoiler-Free Review: "X2: X-Men United"
As I said in my prior post, I've been a fan (admittedly, casual) of the X-Men for a long time. I thought the first movie was a great ride, and I immediately picked up the DVD when it came out. I was particularly pleased with Hugh Jackman's Logan/Wolverine; even though he doesn't physically fit the mold created by the comics, he pulled off Logan's attitude 100% in the film. I thought the tension between him and Cyclops was fun. I liked the Logan/Rogue relationship. And I thought Ian McKellen made a great Magneto.
But enough about that, let's talk about X2: X-Men United.
It begins with one of the best opening sequences I can remember; probably the best I've seen since The Matrix. And that says a lot -- I really dig The Matrix. I want to keep this review spoiler-free, but I'm going to assume (if you're still reading) that you've seen the trailers or heard some of the hype. The opening sequence introduces us to Nightcrawler, AKA Kurt Wagner; his teleportation and acrobatics are nicely translated for the big screen. The actor playing him, Alan Cumming, believably portrayed Kurt's religious beliefs (his Catholic faith is very important to him) and his German accent. Over the years, the X-Men comic has developed a large number of characters; it's great that the makers of these films are introducing more characters in each successive film. Another of my favorite X-Men, Colossus, makes a short appearance in X2. I'm hoping he's given a larger role (no pun intended) in X3.
Other reviews I've read of this film say that it lacks a coherent plot. Actually, I thought the pace of the plot was logical and easy-to-follow; and it was an exciting story. There are three plotlines going at one point, and the movie starts pretty much where the last one left off. The filmmakers didn't retell any of the previous movie, so if you hadn't seen it in a while, you might have missed some of the references. One of my favorite references related to the fact that Logan took off on Cyclops' motorcycle at the end of X1. This movie didn't have a lot of one-liners, probably fewer than the first one ("What do they call you, 'Wheels'?"), but it didn't need them. This is an action movie all the way.
One thing that really pleased me about the movie is that the trailers didn't reveal enough about the plot to spoil it for me. I think that shows a lot of respect for the fans. Of course, sequels like this are all about the fans. The studios have found out that there was a lot of pent-up demand for quality superhero movies. The trend was definitely set almost 15 years ago by Batman, but the maturation of photo-realistic CGI has allowed more characters to be translated to live-action film. The X-Men movies are the current cream of the crop as far as I'm concerned.
Highlights of this movie for me are again Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen's performances, as well as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique -- she had a larger role in this film than X1. They really beefed up Mystique's abilities for the first movie, but I think it pays off in this film. I'm a huge Patrick Stewart fan, but Professor X is a secondary character in this movie, even in the third act, where he's the center of attention (so to speak). Famke Janssen ("Jean Grey") has a larger role in X2, and I thought her portrayal was decent. These movies are working so well because what shows up on the screen is seriously well-crafted. Anyone who says different is probably not a fan of the genre, and probably doesn't want to be one.
I highly recommend seeing this movie in the theater if you were a fan of the first. However, because of the state of theaters today, I recommend you go to a matinee showing to save cash, and if you don't want to sit through 8-10 trailers, definitely don't arrive at the published starting time. ;)