A step up from the original.

Rating: Null/10 (29 April 2003)

I'd like to start out this review by disagreeing with some earlier comments. I realise that there are going to be people out there who just dont like comic book movies, period, but this movie certainly belongs in the high end of the genre. I'd agree that it contains lots of 'in jokes', and makes references to relevant people and plot points from the first movie. That's because it's a SEQUEL, and well, if it didn't have any continuity from the first movie, we'd be ripping on it for that, too.
One thing is for sure, it's a huge improvement on the original and the addition of John Ottman's score definitely makes a difference. The majority of the cast are great in this, particularly Halle Berry and Alan Cumming - who really shines as Nightcrawler, by the way. The only person who seems to be at somewhat of a loose end is Cyclops (James Marsden) and considering the lack of quality in his performance, that's probably a good thing.
The cameos are cool, too; watch out for Colossus, Siryn and Banshee. Also, watch the screen when Mystique hacks into Stryker's Mutant Files - I'm a comic geek, so I got a big thrill out of seeing other X-Men's names come up on that computer screen.:)There's far more action in X2 than there was in the original, and what there is a lot slicker and more exciting than in the original. The conflicts seem far more convincing, too. Don't get me wrong, this was never going to be Academy Award winning material but it's surprisingly good. The script is sticky in places (boy, can't you tell that the re-writers were totally inexperienced!) but it's a fun movie. Well worth checking out.