Another decent comic book movie, like the first "X-Men", but slightly superior

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2008)

When I went to see this in the theatre back in 2003, I had never seen the first "X-Men" movie, but could remember some of the main characters fairly well, thanks to certain childhood memories, mainly from watching the animated TV series. I'm not exactly sure how impressed I was when I saw this sequel to the 2000 blockbuster, so it obviously wasn't the greatest movie-going experience I've ever had, but it definitely was better than going to see "Hulk" about a month later. Since then, however, I have seen all three movies in the trilogy more than once, and would say this is the best one, the worst being the third.
During a White House tour, a mutant comes along and soon attacks, attempting to assassinate the President! The President is saved, but after this, the mutant population is once again in danger, as the fear and hatred of mutants from the rest of humanity increases! A scientist and military leader named William Stryker, a major threat to the mutant population, gathers information from the now imprisoned Magneto about the X-Mansion! He then comes to the mansion with his armed forces, where they attack the school! Some mutants manage to escape, including Logan, Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro, who go and meet up with Jean and Storm. Meanwhile, Stryker has managed to capture Professor Charles Xavier and intends to use him for his evil plans against mutants! Magneto soon escapes from his prison cell, and he and Mystique meet up with a group of X-Mansion residents. The mutants must put aside their differences for now and unite to stop Stryker!
Like its predecessor, and like most other comic book movies from recent years, "X2" has some fairly weak moments. The White House attack scene could have been better, and perhaps choral music wasn't the best choice for it. However, overall, this is another comic book movie that works. For those who want action and suspense, there's lots of that in this film, as well as some excellent sets and special effects (not unlike the first film), but that's not all. The movie adds another character who was not in the first movie named Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, a mutant who turns out to be good. He's a good addition to the story, and what he tells Storm and Jean when they find him is a very moving moment in the film, which reminds me, the story here is a bit deeper and more moving than that of the first live action "X-Men" feature. Like the original, there are also some good humorous moments, such as a cat purring and licking Wolverine's claws. Lastly, the dialogue in the film is sometimes weak (which can be expected in these comic book movies from the past ten years or so), but some of the dialogue is quite strong (including the Kurt Wagner speech I mentioned), which cannot be said about some of the other recent comic book movies, some of which are pretty lame.
If you didn't like the first movie in the "X-Men" trilogy, or you dislike recent comic book movie blockbusters in general, then you're probably not missing much if you haven't seen this sequel. As you probably know already, you might as well skip it. Some people generally don't care for films of this type, whether the films are well-received or not. However, I'm sure most people who have been impressed with the 2000 comic book movie have also been impressed with this sequel, many of them more so than they have been the original, and I think that includes me! Sequels are usually expected to be inferior to their predecessors, but occasionally, there are times when they turn out to be superior, and I guess this is one of those cases, even though the third installment, " X-Men: The Last Stand" turned out to be significantly inferior to both of the previous installments, unfortunately.