Better than the first but not a great movie

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2003)

Picks up right where the first one left off. The plot is way too convoluted to get into--there's enough plot for three movies here, and that's the main problem. More than once the movie has to come to a screeching halt for exposition and it really bogs things down. Also there were too many characters--that was a problem with the first film. This time they compound it by adding MORE characters! Also Cyclops and Professor X were horribly underused. There were also a few nagging questions left unanswered--
PLEASE SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH TO AVOID SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Where does Collosus take the mutant children when the school is under attack? And why is Wolverine's past STILL a mystery at the end?
Still, the movie did a lot of good things. They did get rid of two of the stupider villains (Sabretooth and Toad). They added Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) who gets a lot of screen time and beefed up the roles of Iceman, Pyro and Rogue. Also, Collosus has a few scenes. As with the first movie, Wolverine is center stage again (this is a good thing) and Halle Berry seems much more comfortable as Storm the second time around. The younger cast members seem very comfortable with their roles (especially Paquin) and Ian McKellan is great again as Magneto. Also Mystique has much more screen time and the sequences with her were just great.
Also the acting is good, the special effects terrific and it was very touching at the end.
So, aside from a few dead spots, this is a very good super hero movie.