Too Dam Much.

Rating: 6/10 (13 May 2003)

**Warning! Plot Spoilers Ahead!**
There's a reason that most superhero movies feature a sole titular character ("Superman", "Spiderman", "Daredevil", etc.). Delving into the life of one such person is plenty of story for one movie. "X2" perfectly illustrated the opposite situation. The major flaw with the original "X-Men" was the lack of development of a few characters, like Cyclops and Storm, who were basically defined by their powers. Wolverine and Rogue were fleshed out, but that was about it. So what did director Bryan Singer and company do for the sequel? That's right...more characters!!
While some new mutants are hashed out well (Nightcrawler), others are one-dimensional (Deathstrike...what was her purpose? Just to fight Wolverine because Stryker couldn't?), or don't have enough screen time (Pyro, Colossus...I hope they are featured more in the inevitable sequels). Plus the veteran mutants whose backstories were shafted in the original were largely ignored again (Storm...seriously, tell me one thing about her character besides her power...or Mystique...any idea why she's bad?). With so many people and storylines, it is difficult to truly become involved in each character and thus the story as a whole. That is the core problem, one that is woven through the entire movie.
Having said that, I enjoyed much of this movie, which provided many moments of sheer entertainment. The opening scene of Nightcrawler wreaking havoc on the White House, brilliantly accompanied by Mozart's Requiem, was an excellent introduction to both Nightcrawler and the movie. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of "X2." The scene of Pyro going psycho on the local cops was quite good, and I liked how that sequence was resolved. Other scenes, like the invasion of the mansion and Magneto's escape, were entirely enjoyable; but there were also random scenes, such as Mystique's seduction of Wolverine. The latter parts enhanced the unfulfilled desire to learn more about other characters, as they seemed to be part of a larger story that was shaved down in the final cut.
The end sequence at the dam was the other major problem I had. Too many disparate things were occurring simultaneously, and it took too long to resolve them all. We know roughly what's going to transpire, so get on with it already. That's another byproduct of so many characters. And that series of events also raised the single biggest question I had: Why didn't Iceman just freeze the dam water? Wouldn't that have solved everything? I suppose there is an unexplained reason behind this, but I couldn't discern it. That unanswered query only exacerbated my frustration with the finale. And the ending quote was plain silly. Everyone knows the social message that all "X-Men" stories are supposed to have. Was it really necessary to beat the audience over the head with that point? Quit trying to turn entertainment into politics.
Given the circumstances of making a follow-up to "X-Men", I'm not sure how the sequel could have been improved. More characters were virtually demanded by fans, and merely pitting the good mutants against the bad mutants wasn't going to work again. The end result is a movie that was highly entertaining and visually arresting at times, but also lacked the necessary depth and character development to step beyond popcorn flick status.
Bottom Line: Wildly fun at points, but there was "X2" much to cover. 6 out of 10.