"X2: X-Men United"

Rating: 10/10 (24 May 2003)

"X2: X-Men United" is the long-awaited sequel to 2000's "X-Men" and is one important piece of film. The new film, directed again by Bryan Singer, is far superior to its predecessor. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is still engaged in his search into his mysterious past. Professor X (Patrick Stewart) is continuing his fight to get mutants equally accepted into a society that fears them. Magneto (Ian McKellan) is still locked up in his plastic prison. Surprisingly, Magneto is not the primary villain this time, now it's William Stryker (Brian Cox), a military scientist who seeks to eradicate mutants once and for all, with the help of Yuriko Oyama a.k.a. Lady Deathstryke (Kelly Hu). The other mutants are here too, including Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Cyclops (James Marsden), Rogue (Anna Paquin) who is in a relationship with Bobby Drake a.k.a. Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), Pyro (Aaron Stanford), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), and Storm (Halle Berry). The newest edition to the "X-Men" is one of my personal favorites, Nightcrawler (played by Alan Cumming underneath some pretty neat-looking makeup).
"X2: X-Men United" - a 10/10.