No way!

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2003)

Not only do we get a good comic book based film (a rarity), now we have a good comic book based sequel to a good comic book based movie. This hasn't happened since Batman Returns. (Please don't let X3 go the way of the Batman franchise).
Bryan Singer reunites most of the cast of the first X-men film and we go on to chapter two. The first big surprise for me came right at the beginning with my new favorite character from the X-men universe--NightCrawler. The X-men based comic books and video games cannot do this mutant's power justice. X2 you find out how bad the little blue guy really is.
The second big surprise comes with Wolverine's first berzerk sequence in the film--the creators are no longer afraid of a body count in the movie. Now we see what the mutant powers can really do, and the blood they would really bring out of us mere mortals.
I found it funny that this film's pacing seemed just a tad too fast and the first film felt just a tad too slow . . . but it's not even significant to mention really. Pacing is good, but not "perfect." For the most part, X2 expands the universe of the first film, incorporating more characters and plot lines and tangents from the comic book universe.

At first, I felt one underlying tangent (X-men veterans will know what I'm talking about) was't appropriately developed, but after watching the first film again I did notice the seeds were actually planted there with a Cerebro sequence and X2 exploits the first budding glimpses of one of the next film's plot.
X2 improves everywhere where the first film can be improved, and everything else matches the first film eye to eye. And initially I was disappointed that Michael Kamen did not return to X2, though I thoroughly respect John Ottman (I'm just a big Kamen fan). Ottman's score took me by surprise . . . for the first time in film history has a sequel taken an almost entirely new musical turn and not disappoint me. Ottman offers a very different musical interpretation of the X-men characters, and though if I had to choose I'd lean towards Kamen's score . . . I really like Ottman's vision too.
So I'd say for people who enjoyed the first X-men film, X2 will not disappoint.