X-ellent Again!

Rating: 8/10 (20 September 2007)

Though personally this movie is my least favorite X-Men film (for reasons I'll detail later), it is still an amazing movie with engaging plots, awesome characters, and killer graphics. I love the new Nightcrawler character. His teleportation powers were portrayed in a unique and masterful way. I love how he just poofs into black smoke and then re-appears behind his foe. My favorite scene in the movie was when Storm and Jean Grey encounter Nightcrawler in a church. That scene was just really moving and symbolic of how far mankind has fallen short of God's standards. Nightcrawler was a tortured soul, haunted by the sins of his past, and yet he found redemption of a sort as the movie progresses. Through an all-or-nothing leap of faith, Nightcrawler gains new powers and finds peace. In addition to the character of Nightcrawler, another plus this movie had was Ian McKellen (who played Magneto). The sinister sophistication with which McKellen portrays Magneto is awe-inspiring. I love the scene where Magneto and Mystique were laughing together in a corner over Rogue's new haircut.
Now, I'll explain why this movie was my least favorite of the X-Men trilogy. First off, I DID NOT LIKE THE VILLAIN. I found the scenes with Stryker in them to be boring and undramatic. As far as I am concerned, he was just a whiny bigot and perhaps the biggest jerk I have ever seen in any movie to date. Now, being a jerk is a fine quality for a villain, but only if that unsavory trait is accompanied by some sort of power. Yes, he had a small army at his disposal and a neat compound. But what threat did he alone pose to the X-Men? None really. Let's face it. A non-mutant bad guy in X-Men is just boring. Additionally, was it just me, or was that brawl between Wolverine and Deathstrike just kind of . . . well . . . boring? That was one cameo they could have left out, as I don't really think it served a purpose to the storyline. I also thought that Magneto joined up with the X-Men just a little too quickly and unconvincingly. But, a few flaws aside, X2 was a jewel of a movie that soars above the average film.