A fantastic action movie

Rating: 9/10 (5 December 2003)

This comment contains some spoilers.
The X-Men have always been a fantastic concept. The central themes of prejudice and intolerance have always been relevant to our own world, as well as making for interesting scenarios  perhaps best demonstrated in the situation of the planet's greatest heroes being loathed by the very people they save, simply because they were different. So when the first X-Men film was released in 2000 it had a lot to live up to. I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed the movie, although it definitely had its flaws. It was a little short, and because it was an introductory movie it had a lot of ground to cover so the plot itself was a little ropey, but it had great characterisation and was highly entertaining. But perhaps most importantly, it proved that comic book adaptations could survive the insult that was Batman and Robin and still make money. Hence, a sequel was assured. And thank goodness it was, because X-Men 2 is a fantastic film that breaks the unwritten rules of sequels always being inferior than the original by surpassing its predecessor in almost every respect.
The story, which is loosely based on the classic X-Men graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, begins with an unprovoked attack on the White House by a mysterious mutant who has both amazing agility and the bizarre ability to teleport around, leaving little more than a puff of smoke in his wake (played by Alan Cumming). The president survives the ordeal, but unfortunately the panic caused by the incident will have dire consequences for mutants - and humans - everywhere. General William Stryker (Brian Cox), a war veteran and expert in mutation, reveals that he has uncovered evidence of a training facility for mutant terrorists, and is given the go-ahead to capture as many of these mutants as possible before they can cause any more trouble. But the invaders don't find things as easy as expected, because the location of this facility is Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters - better known to us as the headquarters of the uncanny X-Men!
What we have here is a rare thing: an example of a truly brilliant action movie. Not only does it have some of the most phenomenal visual effects shots and action sequences ever committed to film, but like all the best action movies (Terminator 2, John Woo's The Killer and the first Matrix film, for example) it also has the brains to support the movie between the adrenaline-pumping moments. The main reason for this is the great characterisation. As the first X-Men comic was published 40 years ago, there's certainly no shortage of potential candidates to appear in the movie, and the filmmakers were careful to pick a balanced mix of characters and varied mutant abilities in order to make the film as interesting as possible. Even better, they chose talented actors and actresses who portray the characters perfectly - almost as if they were born to play these roles. So what if Hugh Jackman is taller than the comic version of Wolverine? Who cares if the costumes are "wrong"? Who cares if in only the second movie, the characters have relationships that did not develop after many years in the comics? What matters is that the movie is faithful to the spirit of the comics, even if it doesn't stick to the letter.
But despite all this emphasis on characters, there's certainly no shortage of "eye candy" here to astonish even the most experienced action movie veteran. The undisputed highlight is the opening attack by Nightcrawler on the White House, an elegant blend of fist fighting, acrobatic wire work, gunfire and the best special effects money can buy. However, every X-Man (and woman) gets their chance to shine. For those who complained that Wolverine wasn't brutal enough in the first film, look no further than his reaction to Stryker's invasion of the X-Mansion. Ouch. Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) escapes from his plastic prison in a truly spectacular fashion, Storm (Halle Berry) conjures up a few tornados to take care of a few pesky fighter planes, and even Cyclops (James Marsden) gets a short fight sequence to show he's got more to him than just glowing red eyes. And as for Jean Grey, aka Marvel Girl (Famke Janssen)... well, let's just say that there are more than a few nods to a classic X-Men story of days past...
Of course, no film is without its faults, and as good as X-Men 2 is, it is certainly no exception. Even though the film begins promisingly, and contains many outstanding individual set-pieces, the overall plot  of Stryker capturing Xavier and brainwashing him to use as a weapon against the mutants  is, it has to be said, a little dubious. I won't give away any more plot details, but I very much doubt whether Xavier is that powerful. Also, Magneto in the comics was always an interesting character because he merely had a different ideal to Xavier's dream of mutant-human peace, and a more militant way of trying to achieve it. And considering his experiences as a child (as the first film explained, he was a young Jew at the time of the Holocaust), he had every right to be bitter. He was ruthless, yes, but he very rarely took pleasure in his killing, and only did what it took to achieve his aims. Yet in the latter part of the film he's portrayed as a fairly stereotypical homicidal maniac baddie, a far cry from the multi-faceted character of the comics. But fortunately these slight blemishes on the landscape don't completely obscure the fact that this is a truly brilliant film.
The DVD release is marvellous as well. There's one in-depth documentary that is more than just publicity and hype, taking us behind the scenes of the movie and examining why certain decisions were made during its production, as well as why it's proved such a popular film. There are also many other features, including some fairly mediocre deleted scenes (which were obviously taken out for a reason), short documentaries on X-comics in general and Nightcrawler in particular, and not one but two audio commentaries. A comprehensive package, indeed. Not only is it a better film than the year's most anticipated movie, The Matrix Reloaded, but it doesn't just blow the DVD of the Wachowski brothers' movie out of the water; it slices it up with its claws, freezes it solid, shoots it with beams of unstoppable force before teleporting it a mile in the air!
In short, X-Men 2 (or X2 for short, and it's even been known to be called X-Men United on occasion) is a fantastic example of the action genre that shows just what superhero movies are capable of. But above all, it's hugely enjoyable entertainment, and on a par with Finding Nemo as the finest film I've seen all year. Although of course, the king hasn't returned yet...