Firing On All Cylinders

Rating: 9/10 (20 February 2017)

The first X-Men is a fine film but it follows a similar formula than plenty of other comic-book adventures. It felt original and fresh at the time, but it doesn't hold up as well on repeated viewings as X- Men 2/X2/X2: X-Men United does. In fact, X2 gets better every time I watch it. Exceptionally directed by Bryan Singer with just the right amount of action and timely emotion, X2 is one of the best X-Men films to date.
I'll always contend that the X-Men films are best when Magneto and Professor X aren't necessarily on opposite ends. Magneto has never been a cut and dry villain. There's always a grey area to him, and I think X2 nails that as well as any other X-Men film. Just like in Days of Future Past, he doesn't have an agenda until he's brought back into chaos. This time, the chaos is brought on by none other than William Stryker. Stryker is in charge of the facility which keeps Magneto captive, and is also the one who holds the answers to Wolverine's past. That in itself boasts some fascinating prospects for the film.
But what's more impressive is how well this film once again balances all of its story fighting the "bad guy" while also having the ultimate antagonist (humans) feature so prominently in the story. It's not to the extent that the original deals with it (registration act), but at its core you know this film is about humans vs mutants. The two butting heads has always and will always be the way to take the X-Men's story.
We get introduced to a few new mutants, and an extended look at Pyro and Iceman, but it's Nightcrawler that makes the biggest impression. The opening sequence at The White House is known as one of the best comic-book scenes to date, and rightfully so. It's terrifying and thrilling, which doesn't really describe his presence throughout the rest of the film, but it's quite the opening. Iceman is used more as a love interest for Rogue than anything else, but Shawn Ashmore is charismatic enough to verify his presence. Pyro, however, feels like the prototypical kid who was inevitably going to turn on his friends. You never truly believe that he's going to stick it out on the good side.
With much higher stakes than the first film as the human race is at risk, it's no wonder the runtime is significantly longer than 2000's X-Men. There is rarely a second wasted, but having the entire last hour of the film take place at Alkaline Lake was risky. With so many mutants running around, it's easy to find someone to take up screen time, but that's a long time to spend at one particular location. So I can see where it may feel a little long and dragged on by the time we leave the place.
The important thing here is that Singer keeps us on track with the story he wants to tell. It has more action, characters, and surprisingly more heart than I expected. X2 is a triumph on almost every front and set the franchise up for limitless possibilities and adventures. Unfortunately, we all know what happens in X-Men 3.
+Balanced
+Magneto blurring the lines
+Emotionally resonant
+Higher stakes
-Could have done without Pyro
9.0/10