A Superhero film that delivers the goods!

Rating: Null/10 (4 May 2003)

There may be a new trend in Superhero sequels, and I have to admit, I like it. First seen in Blade II, where the bad and the good join forces to fight an even more menacing force, it is perfected in the new X-Men sequel X2.
The movie picks up shortly after the conclusion of the first and we are quickly re-introduced to the mutant gang of Professor Xavier's school for the gifted. For those of you not up to date with the mutant cast of characters, Patrick Stewart (Star Trek) is back as Professor X, Halle Berry (Monsters Ball) is Storm, Anna Paquin (The Piano) is Rouge, Famke Janssen is Jean Grey, James Marsden as the laser eye shooting Cyclops, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman and everyones favorite Canadian Superhero, Hugh Jackman (Swordfish) is back as the adamantium clawed Wolverine. Some of our favorite villians are back for an encore, Ian McKellan (Lord of the Rings) plays the metal manipulator Magneto, and Rebecca Romijin-Stamos is back as shape-shifting Mystique. And finally, what would a superhero sequel be without the marketing of new characters? Aaron Stanford plays the fire manipulating Pyro, Kelly Hu plays the quiet but deadly Deathstrike and Alan Cummings steals the show as the blue faced teleporter Nightcrawler.
With a cast of characters as strong and dilluted as X-Men 2, you would think that no character would have time to establish themselves to the audience, however, director Brian Singer (The Usual Suspects) manages to string each of the mutants out in comic book fashion ensuring that no matter who your favorite, you will not be disappointed.
The story is thin, but lets face it, we throw down the $10 per ticket for a movie of this genre to be bedazzled by the special effects and blown away by the rumbling sounds. For what script there is, the President of the United States is convinced by the evil General William Stryker (played by Brian Cox), that the mutants are a threat to mankind and must be rounded up to prevent the threat they impose. Since all mutants are targets regardless of their good or bad nature, Magneto (once freed from his non-metallic cell) and Mystique join forces with the X-Men to rescue the Professor who is being forced to mentally link with all the mutants on earth, for the purpose of their destruction.
There are many subplots in X2. IceMan and Rogue continue their teenage foreplay, Wolverine continues to try and understand his past, there is the love triangle between Cyclops, Jean Grey and Wolverine that continues to sizzle and there is the wild card Pyro who seems to have problems with authority and anger management. But when you get right down to it, the story doesn't matter much. Brian Singer spends his $150 million dollar budget wisely, and the special effects are top rate, and the body count (missing from the first movie), piles up fast.
Wolverine commands the biggest presence on screen and his battle with the intruders to the school and later with DeathStrike, is better than anything filmed in the earlier released superhero film Daredevil.
Those comic book enthusiasts will not leave disappointed and will have an advantage over the average movie goer. You will get glimpses of Colosses, Kitty Pryde, and there are enough scenes of the Blackbird that the plane should have been given an acting credit.
Mostly, Brian Singer does what Peter Jackson has done before him. He made a film that is a lot of fun, but is a tease for a third. Although no official announcement about X3 is evident, X-Men 2 ends with the death of major character (no worries, the Pheonix will rise) and with Pryo taking his place amongst Magneto and Mystique as a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Especially in today's real world, it is promising and refreshing to see both good and bad characters join forces whenever evil threatens all. Don't expect Bullseye and Daredevil or Batman and Joker to team up, but that just keeps movies like this even more enjoyable.
In short, a good film. Better than the first and hopefully, just a launching board for the third. B+.