Sequels better than the original? Add this one to the list!

Rating: 9/10 (1 May 2003)

WARNING, this review does include some small spoilers, although i have attempted to keep them vague, you may catch on some hints.

After seeing the teasers and the trailers for this movie i was really looking forwards to it, which normally means that it won't be all that good and dissapoint. BOY was i wrong.
This film not only works as an incredible sequel, but i also think it would be enjoyed by most people who havent seen the first film or ever heard of the x-men from their comic origins, even i had only read a couple of the comics and saw a few of the animated cartoon episodes before seeing the first one, which did an excellent job of introducing us to the characters but left us all wanting. Well the first one was JUST the setup for this. If i hadnt known that the two were written seperately i could have quite easily believed that the two of them were written together as one long script that was decided to split into two.
The acting is increadibly good for such a large and varied age cast, and before you read anything more about James Marsden's atrocious acting, his acting is very good and i could not fault him. Considering that his eyes(the strongest part of any actor's emotional link with the viewers) are covered up for the entierety of the movie he comes through as showing so much of his characters emotions on screen. The young actors playing the children at the school along with Rogue(who i felt was mis-cast in the first one), Iceman and Pyro, were perfect for their parts.
The Characters of Magneto and Mystique are played excellently by Mckellen and Romjon respectively, and the interplay between them and the rest of the x-men cast works very well to show that they are not evil people, just misguided due to their pasts(see the first film). We find that in the interim of the two movies Mystique has been masquerading as Senator Kelly from the first film trying to protect Xavier's school, showing she is not an evil character, and mckellen shows remorse later at a moment of weakness, while staying true to his core character (the scene between him and Pyro in the x-get is some nice characterisation). The love triangle between Jean Grey, Wolvering and Cyclops is woven into the story well and remains faithful to the comic origins aswell adding some slight sexual tension into the mix that works well. With Wolverine it was just incredible to see him cutting loose(literally) and attracking the soldiers invading the school in a rage that definately is the Wolverine that we wanted to see, literally tearing the soldiers apart, such a dark act for a good character but fully engages the audience.
The real breakthrough performances in the film are the performances of Rogue and Iceman(as already mentioned), Storm(who has a LOT more to do here and comes accross as a lot stronger and confident character), Wolverine(Could not fault him in the last film, and Hugh Jackman's portrayal of his torture at wanting to know what William Stryker knows comes accross increadibly strong. But the REAL breakthrough of the movie is Alan Cummings as Nightcrawler, this goy really was not one of my favourite actors and quite possibly my biggest fear and misgiving about the film, but his performance is increadible, and brings Nightcrawler to life as such a realistic and tormented character, all misgivings were obliterated after the first half hour.
The special effects(with the exception of one single shot in the film to do with water later on towards the end of the film) are flawless, even the fire effects(which have ALWAYS been a problem for movie effect) when Pyro is controling it does not bring down the level of quality here, on the contrary it enhances it. The cyclone effects when the x-jet is engaged by two fighters is increadibly smooth and impressive, but probably most increadible effects would have to be the view of all the people whilst inside cerebro, and then Nightcrawler's teleportation themes(which they are not afraid to use to increadible lengths as the character most likely would not be - the scene where he rescues Rogue is just incredible).
The editing and direction are good aswell, and the entire film moves along fluidly without getting boring at any point, an incredible marvel(excuse the pun) considering the length of the film and the amount of characters that have to be worked in. The opening scene in the whitehouse shows you immediately from the get-go just how well the collaboration of direction, effects and editing work together, and unlike most effects laden films, do not detract from the story, they serve it, and the fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike is incredible, the level of realistic brawl/fight that i have only ever really seen equaled towards the end of Blade 2, with both characters giving it their all and really trying to rip each other to pieces.
But the one thing above all that stands out from the first film is the scope of it all, the first movie left us wantign more, not showing us too much and teasing us with what limited flexibility they had whilst making it(remember, x-men was the first film to show how all comic book adaptations should and can be done - spiderman could not have been done without it paving the way). This time around there is a stronger feeling of impending danger, and we really get to see how powerful they can be(Aside from Magneto in the first film, none of the mutants seemed particularly powerful, but this time around Xavier's level of power seems to equal his, even showing how frighteningly dangerous he could be had he decided not to use his powers for the betterment of mankind).
The only real gripe i have with the film is that there could be more characterisation and more for some characters to do, Patrick Stewart as Xavier doesnt have a great deal to do, and Lady Deathsrike could have been used more, she only had a couple of lines through the whole movie, possibly a wasted opportunity there. But these can be forgiven because they really are the only thing i could find at fault with the film, and considering the number of characters involved(13 in all) there is far more than you would think they could include. Perhaps when the film is out on DVD there will be an option for a longer cut as there must have been scenes that were left on the cutting room floor for nothing more than the length of the film.
Overall, if you even remotely liked, liked, loved or intently loved the first film, you will definately find this has improved and quite possibly, like me, find yourself ready to head back and watch it again.