Surpasses the sequel; the best comic-book film I've seen

Rating: 7/10 (29 March 2004)

While I enjoyed the first X-MEN, it just didn't feel enough like a full-length movie to me. There was a lot of material to introduce, there were several things that were unrefined and not as good as they could be, and I think this might have been because of the music, but the film just reeked of a typical action film style. It had a good story, and it was much more science fiction then action, but it felt too much like another action film. Bryan Singer's direction didn't have much style, it went by too fast, and there was just so much about it that made it feel incomplete and not really a movie. X2 solves all these problems.
Loosely based on the X-Men book GOD LOVES, MAN KILLS, X2 raises the bar from X-MEN and goes above and beyond expectations. The film has much more style to it, it's longer, it feels more like an epic, and the action, special effects, story, characters, acting, direction, and music are all so much better than X-MEN. The film has spiritual messages within and maintains the underlying message of the X-Men universe; the irony and evil of racism and being against the very people who want to help you. As always, the X-Men are hated and feared by the world that they are sworn to protect. Unlike the first film, the X-Men fight not for humankind, but for their own kind.