What was X-cellent is now Xtraordinary

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2006)

With X-Men 3 just around the corner, and having just written a review for the original film, here comes Part 2. And like Spider-Man 2, the action is grander, the characters seem fuller, and the special effects are better than ever. Add to that a much more multilayered storyline and we have ourselves a very impressive 2 hour film.
Picking up not long after the first, Wolverine (the ever impressive Hugh Jackman) has gone to the Canadian Rockies to look up his past, and has found an abandoned laboratory complex and not much else. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) has been having nightmares ever since Liberty Island, and predicts something dangerous on the horizon. And she's quite right.
X2 has a cracking opening scene that is not only a showcase of special effects work but a terrific action sequence. A blue-skinned mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) infiltrates the White House with his power of teleportation, dispatches Secret Service guards left, right and center in an attempt to assassinate the President, and is forced to retreat when he fails.
Jean and Storm (Halle Berry) are sent after Nightcrawler while Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) continues to look in on Magneto (Ian McKellen) who is still imprisoned in a plastic cell. Magneto also gets another visitor in the form of William Stryker (Brian Cox), a military colonel who hates mutants. Stryker interrogates Magneto about the X-Men mansion, and most importantly, Cerebro, Xavier's device that can locate mutants all over the world.
What our heroes don't realise is they're all the victims of an elaborate trap. Stryker ordered the hit on the President to substantiate his claims that mutants are a threat to society. Nightcrawler is really an innocent who was controlled by Stryker through a special serum. Stryker captures Xavier and Cyclops (James Marsden), then storms the mansion, stealing technical specifications for Cerebro. Stryker intends to use Xavier's exceptional powers of telepathy, amplified by Cerebro, to eliminate every mutant off the face of the Earth.
Wolverine manages to get Rogue (Anna Paquin), the cold-inducing Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and the fire manipulating Pyro to safety. While they head off to reunite with Jean and Storm, the shapeshifting Mystique breaks Magneto out in a truly ingenious way that has to be seen to be believed. They form an uneasy alliance with the X-Men to stop Stryker's insane genocide plan.
Well, that was quite a bit of exposition to wade through! And although X2 requires a great deal of concentration, it's worth it. Bryan Singer has upped the ante, and took everything that was excellent about the original and turned it into something extraordinary for Part 2.
Wolverine gets to have most of the fun again, learning that his and Stryker's pasts are linked, acting as babysitter to the young ones, being seduced by Mystique, and getting into a serious fighting match with Lady Deathstrike, a steely eyed vixen with a few steel claws of her own.
Rogue and Iceman get to have a bit of a romance, not to mention how interesting it is to watch how they can be together without any physical contact. Some of the gay politics surface again in a 'coming out' scene, when Iceman has to confess to his parents he's a mutant. And Pyro is a mutant who likes his power a little too much. X2 has so many good ideas I could go on all day.
The special effects are flawless and perfectly integrated with the characters. There are some marvellous sequences like Storm conjuring up tornadoes, seeing the inside of Xavier's mind, and the gripping finale at Stryker's laboratory.
Jean's role is expanded upon, and her feisty nature is played up thankfully. She gets to be the big hero in the end, when she makes a noble sacrifice for the rest. Even Storm seems more improved. Halle Berry is enjoying herself more this time, and her performance is all the better for it. Magneto still continues to impress, throwing out dry insults at every turn, and proves in the end that he still believes in his cause. No wimpified turns of character here!
But where some of the characters are given great exposure, others are not. Cyclops is again relegated to the sidelines, and half the film he is absent. Still, James Marsden has yet to impress me as an actor, and he just can't bring Cyclops to life the way the character deserves. And I would have liked to see more of Deathstrike, because she makes a huge impression whenever she's around in a Lucy Liu kind of way.
Patrick Stewart is sadly sidelined as well. In terms of plot, it seems necessary, but he made such a huge impression last time it's unfortunate he's not given enough to do. But he does what he can, and it's safe to say Stewart has finally carved out a character all his own, just as he did with Captain Picard.
Alan Cumming is a bit of an odd choice as Nightcrawler, but somehow he's quite effective in the role. He's an amusing character, especially the way he's always reminding people of his days in the circus. His teleporting is a definite highlight, and the make-up work is superb.
X2 is a marvellous adventure. Everything seems to lock into place in it's own way, firing on all cylinders and hitting the bullseye every time. With a shocking twist at the end creating a grand finale, X2 is up there with the best superhero films. And I'm left with no doubt X3 will be this series crowning achievement.