A Fair Review

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2003)

SPOILERS!
Before I even begin, I have to stress out my point that this is a review of X2 as a stand-alone movie. We all know that this is a sequel, but to give a fair review, I have to write about this film without having to compare it to the first installment.
The whole plot of the film zeroes in on a military officer named Mr. William Stryker. His disappointment in life lies in the fact that his son is a mutant. Therefore he goes out on a mission to destroy every living mutant on the planet. We also learn later on in the film that it is this character who was responsible for the creation of the X-Men character, Wolverine.

Because of this sudden appearance of Mr. William Stryker, the X-Men and the other mutants Magneto and Mystique are forced to join forces whether they like it or not. New X-Men characters are introduced in this film and are given more character depth- namely Iceman (a.k.a. as Bobby Drake), and Pyro. Iceman has the ability to create all forms of ice either with a simple touch, or one breath. Pyro has a similar power, the difference is that he can manipulate fire in all forms and use it to destroy his enemies. His weakness is that he can only control the fire, he cannot ignite it. Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Halle Berry, and Famke Jemsen all come back to reprise their roles as Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, and Dr. Jean Grey. The same goes with Ian McKellen and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos as Magneto and Mystique.
In X2, the title can't be more apt because despite their differences in opinion about how to deal with the human race accepting the mere existence of mutants, they are uncomfortably forced to unite to defeat their enemy, Mr. William Stryker.
I find this film impressive because a lot of comic book characters have been turned into movies such as Superman, Spiderman, Batman, and Daredevil. However, director Bryan Singer manages not to create a film that is not too comic booky, silly, or downright stupid. It has a PG-13 rating because kids are not going to totally absorb the lesson in this film. Children may walk away wishing they had extra-ordinary powers and become X-Men as well, but they still won't be able to grasp the whole genesis of X2- with the exception of the (no pun intended) intellectually gifted kids. Some of the characters of this film are given a lot of character depth; which is imperative in every film.
My disappointment in X2 lies in the fact that I its one hour and 55 minutes of screen time, they still fail to give character development in Cyclops, Storm, and Mystique. We delve deeper into the psyche of Wolverine and why he has all this rage exploding inside him. We also are entertained into how Iceman's family reacts when they learn that their son is a mutant. I was laughing when Iceman's mother asks him, `Have you ever tried.not being a mutant?' This can very well be a metaphor for homosexuality- mothers asking their gay children if they could convert to heterosexuality, which is an impossible feat.
All in all, X2 is an entertaining, sci-fi action flick that surprisingly makes you ask questions about yourself- was there a time that I was considered a misfit but I still felt better about it? Was there a time that I feared someone because he or she had something out of the ordinary?
I give this movie three out of four stars. It is very rare that I watch a movie and then find myself aching to watch it all over again until it surfaces on DVD format. Go see it and you will see what I mean.