Great Entertainment!

Rating: 8/10 (28 April 2006)

A polished comic book adaptation, darker and grittier than the first in the series. I think it lacks the fun factor the original had, mainly due to the content. Still, it is hard not to admire Singer's faithfulness to the comic.
This time around we have Nightcrawler, Iceman and Pyro joining the crew as well as cameos by Hank McCoy (aka Beast), Siryn, Jubilee, Colossus and Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat). Lady Deathstryke is deadly as the evil counterpart to Wolverine; their one on one battle, one of the highlights of the film. Still, Alan Cummings steals this movie as the shy and sensitive Nightcrawler whose make up gets the first star. The opening scene as he invades the White House is sheer popcorn fun.
The nemesis this time around is William Stryker, played gleefully sinister and corrupt by the always marvelous, Brian Cox (the original Hannibal Lecter). Stryker has it in for the mutants and his presence lends some insight into the creation of Wolverine. Magneto is back, the fuel for the fire of his hatred against humans rekindled by Stryker's actions. His aide, Mystique, played by the delicious Rebecca Romijn, is given a larger role as the deceiver and spy which adds more fun factor to the film. Plus she is easy on the eyes.
I really didn't enjoy the subplot of Professor X and Stryker's son, Jason. I found it too dark to really get swept away in the film. The rest of the film is pure Saturday matinée enjoyment. I cannot wait to see the outcome of Jean Grey's metamorphosis into Dark Phoenix, insinuated at the end of this film. All in all, a good romp, well worth a rental or buy of the DVD and promises a great chapter to come in X3.