X-Men 2 packs twice the amount of adamantium to make a stronger sequel.

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2018)

Bigger, better, bolder and quite simply brilliant. Not only is this the best 'X-Men' instalment, and yes I'm controversially including 'Logan' as well, but one of the best superhero films of all time. Now that the foundations have been built from its predecessor, Singer is able to build upon the relationships within the mutant world to create an infrastructure that boasts impeccably executed action and dark twists. A genocidal colonel leads an assault on Xavier's school so that he can build his own version of Cerebro, capable of destroying every mutant on the planet. What really makes this film claw its way above the rest, is its various storylines. The primary plot being the prevention of Stryker's Cerebro, one that allows Cox to be an enigmatic and memorable villain. Enabling the X-Men to unite and develop their relationships even further without being detrimental to the main story. This includes Jean Grey's uncontrollable powers, Rogue and Iceman's romance, Pyro's hatred for humans (although slightly underdeveloped) and Nightcrawler's Catholicism. Lesser subplots that give life to these characters, preventing them from being wooden superheroes. Singer's balance between each subplot was near perfect, with the focus still being on Wolverine and his attempts at finding solace. This ensemble cast contains an array of captivating performances, particularly Jackman, Stewart, McKellen and Cox, that allow their characters to be investing. The action sequences limit the amount of visual effects and create some well choreographed scenes, especially when Wolverine battles Lady Deathstrike. I do take issue with the underwhelming ending, forcing a sacrifice upon a character just to quantify a sequel (to which they easily could've survived). This then results in the concluding ten minutes losing that sharp pacing. Oh, and Paquin still can't act. Still, this sequel achieves that rare feat by bettering its predecessor by a substantial margin. Just a shame that the franchise peaks on the second film...