They are gods among insects

Rating: 8/10 (3 September 2005)

The sequel to X-Men(2000) is a slicker, more complex vision, expanding on the groundwork laid out in the first one. It lacks the raw energy busting out in the first X-Men, which introduced all the major characters, so here we're sort of coming into the middle of a story. The first scene in the White House (intro Nightcrawler by Cumming, very effective) actually mirrors the original aspects of the first film, but after that, you see Wolverine (Jackman) briefly on a quest in snow country, then ambling back to the X-Mansion. You already know all about him and his friends at Xavier's place. It's almost like the 2nd episode of a TV series, with a $100 million budget.
The film seems to lack a focal point, which, in the first, was Magneto (McKellen) as the master villain planning a super-terrorist act. Here, Magneto is forced to briefly team up with the X-Men and the only villain is a lowly obsessive human (Cox as Striker, very good, as usual). A strong theme, however, emerges. The mutants in this film are hinted at and depicted as even more powerful than believed by comparison to the first film. Magneto spells it out in conversation with young recruit Pyro; in his view, mutants are gods among the human insects, who are just bothersome. Professor X (Stewart) especially, is revealed as capable of wiping out the entire planet's population under the right (or wrong) circumstances. Even without the help of special machinery, he can affect crowds of normal people effortlessly. It's a scary and exciting subtext to the usual super-heroics. It also shows that maybe normal humans have a right to be fearful and untrusting of these superior beings.
Another strong point to the film is the further development of many of the characters. More of Magneto's and Mystique's relationship is subtly revealed. Rogue & Iceman try to expand on their's. Wolverine, again, is hi-lited, more of his past is explained. After the wild action in the first scene with the President (adding epic scope to the story), we have to wait for the big fight between Wolverine & Deathstrike (Hu) for a similar adrenaline rush - and it's a doozy, surprisingly vicious and energetic. It's this scene where we get to see Wolvie unleashed, not the earlier one in the Mansion with the soldiers, which is somewhat subdued and darkened. With so many characters, it's not surprising that at least one would get short shrift, in this case Cyclops (Marsden), who disappears for half the film. But that's not really to the film's detriment. It does slow a bit in spots around the middle, tho not seriously. I think the only ones who would actually be let down by this entry are viewers whose expectations were way too high, such as expecting hordes of Sentinels to run rampant over the world.