Expertly Shows That Comics Aren't Just Kid Stories

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2011)

Everything that the first movie did well, the second did better. More action, more characters, more story lines, more superpowers, more humor, more of everything. But never at any time does it feel over-bloated like The Last Stand and Wolverine would. It all works and flows together well.
The story is an expertly crafted continuation of the first's. I don't know how much of this they had in mind when they made the first, but the two compliment each other very well. Singer really pushes his craft harder this time. The mansion attack is suspenseful, the Iceman confession is hilarious, the battles are exciting, and the deaths tragic. I would have loved to see what Singer could have done with the third had Fox not gotten overly controlling and he left to do Superman.
The movie shows off what makes the X-Men comics so beloved, it's not about fighting villains but fighting the ills of society. The X-Men have always fought more against prejudice and that has never been better demonstrated than this movie. The best X-Men stories have always been showing them fight normal humans and their hatred, such as Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity. Additionally, showing the X-Men teaming with the Brotherhood is terrific since Magneto has always worked better as an anti-heroic antagonist rather than plain old villain.
The returning actors are even better, and the new cast are equally good. It's nice to see Mystique, Rogue, and Storm all get more to do. I know many people complain that Wolverine has so much focus, but it's still handled well and won't get too much until The Last Stand. Alan Cumming is terrific even through all the make up. Kelly Hu is creepy and terrifying. Aaron Stanford has fun with his near-psychotic nature. But it's Brian Cox that really steals the movies. His gleefully dangerous Stryker is one of the best villains ever. The end escape scene really demonstrates many of the actor's better moments.
My only disappointment is that Cyclops is given less to do this film. The Logan-Jean-Scott love triangle is still there, but he's not even a part of it. He has one short fight scene and one dramatic scene and that's about it. Of course, it's even worse in The Last Stand where he basically has a cameo.
It's tragic that a worthy follow-up was not meant to be given how wonderful this movie is. This one set up so much that the third should have paid off so well. The movie was one of the first to really demonstrate the complex and complicated nature of superheroes. It's still one of the best in the genre.