Big mutated head and shoulders above the original

Rating: 8/10 (24 April 2003)

I was mildly impressed with the first X-Men, simply because it was a comic movie that didn't completely suck, but its sequel is far better than that. It's impressive because its good. It captures that combination of high end action and meaningful plotline that most action films miss but ones like The Matrix and the original Star Wars capture. X-Men maybe isn't in that league yet, but it's getting there, and the third instalment is already at the top of my hotly-anticipated list.
The big strides X-Men 2 makes are in storyline and characters, with both becoming more complex the second time around, thus injecting a bit of meaning into all the explosions and stuff. Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Mystique, and whoever the guy is who played Nightcrawler as Nightcrawler are the breakout performances this time around, each being a dominating presence on screen, while Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Anna Paquin and Patrick Stewart are again solid performers. A sweet feature of the sequel are all the little mutant kiddies at the Xavier's mansion, who get to show off their powers, which goes beyond being mere eye-candy to being an enriching touch -- you get a real feeling for the extraordinary nature of the school. In addition to all this heartwarming emotional stuff, of course, are the special effects. They're not as impressive as some perhaps expected, but there are numerous occasions which will knock you back in your seat and say "W