Derivative title says it all.

Rating: 6/10 (12 June 2004)

This film is tighter and more coherent than the first film (X1?); but overall, I would say that Brian Singer is an unfocused, mediocre director. There are some great (if derivative) action sequences, but the story seems pieced together from other sources, all in way that guarantees the viewer will be momentarily pleased (simply because the film reminds them of OTHER blockbusters), but in the end, one walks away feeling a bit unsatisfied.
Once again, the film is saved by the actors (some of them at least). Ian McKellen turns in another brilliant performance. Hugh Jackman continues his reign as the best leading man in Hollywood (despite appearing in inferior product over and over again), and Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler) brings a dimension to the character that never came to fruition in the comic book's long history.
The other "actors" aren't really actors at all. James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn- Stamos and Halle Berry are all former models that should've stayed in that profession instead of sullying this one. Famke Jennsen, another former model, is an adequate actress, but radiates none of the qualities that Jean Grey possesses in the comic (wise and commanding, she is the matriarch of the team).
In the first film, the team seemed lost in their own story. Here, they're a little better off, but they all still seem a little insecure in those black, leather outfits. No one (including Singer) seems to be certain how to treat these characters. On one hand, we've got a somewhat realistic rendition of the superhero (bravo, for once), on the other hand, we're stuck with YET ANOTHER b-movie plot that involves the 'bad-guy' trying to do harm to the ENTIRE PLANET--just as Magneto did in the first film (well, he tried to change everyone in NYC into a mutant, which is about as plausible as the Black Panthers detonating a bomb to turn everyone Black.)
In the end, this film looks and feels better than it actually is. You have to really pay attention to see how lame some of the scenes are, so here are a few examples I picked out for you:
In the final act, Stryker becomes frantic when he learns that the damn is going to burst, and thus release millions of tons of water on his head and probably kill him (or something). Immediately after this revelation, we find Wolverine lurking through the same room where he gained his metal skeleton and claws. Stryker walks in with Lady Deathstrike and says something like: "I thought you were the only mutant that had a healing factor.....I WAS WRONG!' (this is followed by Deathstrike popping her claws). Oohhh! This sets up the fight that ensues...and makes NO SENSE in the context that it takes place. Stryker just found out he has a limited amount of time to save his skin, so he takes a pause to dramatically introduce Deathstrike in the most clichÃ©/summer movie way possible.
Another: Wolverine is in the Weapon X facility with the team. He decides that he is going to take off his 'walkie-talkie' thing, and go 'search for his past' on his own. Someone turns around and notices he's gone. "Where's Logan?" Jean Grey then notices his walkie-talkie thing. She looks in the distance and says: "...He's gone..." OOOOOOHHHHH! It's so dramatic! So tragic! See, Jean's delivery of the word 'gone' implies a deep, metaphorical meaning to Logan's departure. And the metaphor is...NOTHING. It's nothing. It's all nothing.
And one last thing: when is this stupid letter/number trend in movie titles going to end? T2 ID-4 MI:2 LXG et cetera, et cetera Not only are these titles annoying, they defeat the purpose of a movie's title in that they tell us NOTHING about the story, characters or genre. Wouldn't 'X-men: God Loves, Man Kills' been a far more descriptive, poetic and tantilizing title? (this is the title of the comic that the movie is partly based on).
As long as Singer and his crew continue to mold the X-men films into the summer movie mold, these films will continue to fall short of their massive potential. For the real deal, I recommend 'The New X-men: E is for Extinction' by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Marvel Comics).