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X Men 2 [2003]
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The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous--from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one)--with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first installment. But that's just a minor quibble--X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. --Robert Burrow Dr Jean Grey (Famke Janssen, Goldeneye) reaches extraordinary new levels using her powers of telepathy alongside weather-manipulator Storm (Academy Award winner Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball), life-force zapper Rogue (Anna Pacquin, Buffalo Soldiers), laser beam Cyclops (James Marsden, Disturbing Behaviour) and the cool Ice-Man (Shawn Ashmore). United with further newcomers including the iron claw-clad Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu, The Scorpion King) and fingertip firestarter Pyro (Aaron Stanford), X-Men 2 contains the most spectacular array of super-hero powers you have ever seen! DVD Technical Information:
RRP: £15.99
Our Price: £0.51 (subject to change)
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
X-Men 2 picks up almost directly where X-Men left off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian McKellan) is still a prisoner of the US government, heroic bad-boy Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is up in Canada investigating his mysterious origin, and the events at Liberty Island (which occurred at the conclusion of X-Men) have prompted a rethink in official policy towards mutants--the proposed Mutant Registration Act has been shelved by US Congress. Into this scenario pops wealthy former Army commander William Stryker, a man with the President's ear and a personal vendetta against all mutant-kind in general, and the X-Men's leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in particular. Once he sets his plans into motion, the X-Men must team-up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), as well as some new allies (including Alan Cumming's gregarious, blue-skinned German mutant, Nightcrawler).
Editorial
DVD Description
When new teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming, Goldeneye) appears inside The White House and attempts to assassinate the President, the X-Mens’s world is thrown into danger. Rebel baddie Stryker (Brian Cox, Manhunter) is behind it and plots an elaborate plan to capture all mutants including the pupils at Professor Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart, Star Trek) School for the ‘Gifted’. It is then up to the indestructible Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, Swordfish) to discover the truth about what is going on, and in the process, the story behind his own identity. Meanwhile, the villainous Magneto (Ian McKellen, Lord of the Rings) breaks free from prison with the help of his shape-shifting comrade, Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Femme Fatale), creating more cataclysmic events for the X-Men. As danger beckons, the mutants call upon their powers to an even greater extent.
Editorial
Special Features
Editorial
Synopsis
X2: X-MEN UNITED, the remarkable sequel to X-MEN, picks up shortly after the first film's finale. At the White House, a would-be assassin--the acrobatic, teleporting blue mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming)--menaces the president. Meanwhile, in the Canadian Rockies, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) searches for answers to his mysterious past at the top-secret facility where he received his metallic skeleton and claws. Back at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) instruct students Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Pyro (Aaron Stanford), while Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Cyclops (James Marsden) pay a visit to the imprisoned Magneto (Ian McKellen). However, Magneto has a secret weapon in the shape-shifting Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). Soon allies and enemies alike will unite to defeat the hate-filled military scientist William Stryker (Brian Cox), who wants to rid the world of mutants. When Stryker launches a ruthless two-pronged attack that leaves the school under siege and Xavier and Cyclops captured, Wolverine and the remaining X-Men must spring to action to save their friends and prevent all-out genocide.
Even better than its excellent precursor, X2 delves deeper into the X-Men mythology, introducing new characters and touching on essential storylines from the decades-long run of the Marvel comic book series. Providing larger action-packed set pieces and more advanced special effects, director Bryan Singer further develops the characters of Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler, Rogue, Iceman, Pyro, and Mystique. Each member of the cast breathes vitality into their mutant characters with Wolverine, perfectly portrayed by Jackman, once again the wild heart at the centre. A love letter to longtime fans of the comic and an amazingly entertaining movie for everyone else, X2: X-MEN UNITED is that rare breed of sequel that manages to improve on the original in every way.
Exemplary
Review date: 2008-07-30 Rating: 10 out of 10
The introductions had been done in the perfunctory but enjoyable X-Men leaving room in the sequel to expand both the roster and the ideas in the movie. The comic book franchise is always at its best when the enemy the team is fighting is the nebulous concept of prejudice rather than just pounding on another super villain (even if it is the gloriously conceptualised Magneto) and Bryan Singer wisely uses that here making one of the best Marvel films to date.
Based on the critically acclaimed God Loves, Man Kills storyline featured in the X-Men comics this film sees the eponymous heroes facing an increasing tide of fear and intolerance amongst the human race. The situation has reached balance point with politicians unsure what to do as relates to the "mutant menace" after Magneto's plot in the previous film. Unscrupulous military man William Stryker seizes on an assassination attempt against the President of the US to lead an attack on Xavier's School, and in the course of it reveals he knows more of Wolverine's past than the man himself does. At the same time Magneto makes his escape from his special plastic prison (in an absolutely amazing and stunningly shot sequence) and finds himself facing a common enemy with his erstwhile foes.
Ian McKellan is, once again, fantastic as Magneto and gets all the best lines in the movie. The scenes where he seduces young Pyro to his cause are fantastic and his slightly camp, bitchy asides ("we love what you've done with your hair") flesh the Master of Magnetism out even more. Brian Cox is similarly charismatic and commanding as Stryker while Patrick Stewart gets taken out of things too soon (a recurring theme in the series). Shawn Ashmore and Aaron Stanforth are well cast as the yin and yang pairing of Iceman and Pyro. The best of the new characters though is Nightcrawler, played with astonishing sensitivity by Alan Cumming under layers of makeup. None of the cast are disappointing (even Halle Berry) and most are pretty decent.
The movie's mix of action and message is well-judged. The opening scene with Nightcrawler making an attempt on the President's life is absolutely stunning and all of the fight scenes are well choreographed and do not outstay their welcome. Equally the segments of the film that dwell on the nature of prejudice and the way that even those we love most can reject what they don't understand will resonate with many people. Iceman's "coming out" scene employs the question of whether he could simply stop being a mutant for humour but it's a sharp humour and a slightly bitter one. We feel for these people, we understand their struggle, and in this movie we can really root for them because they face a bigot- a man who will steal children from their beds and inter them in a hidden camp just because he doesn't like what they may become. It's a high watermark from Bryan Singer and his team and gave the franchise phoenix wings- its just a pity that Singer didn't stay.
Similar Products
- X-Men [2000]
- X-Men - The Last Stand [2006]
- X-Men 3: The Last Stand [2 Disc Edition] [2006]
- Spider-Man [2002]
- Spider-Man 2 [2004]
Reviews
Not quite as good as the first.
Review date: 2008-07-01 Rating: 8 out of 10
The sequel builds on many of the strengths of the original- the quality of acting and the care which is taken to develop the characterisation. It starts with a strong opening sequence, an attack on the Oval Office, carefully choreographed and then a sequence in a museum in which the young mutants' field-trip is interrupted by discrimination. Carefully and economically, the film establishes the scenario of distrust and repression in which the themes of the film are to develop.
The first hour is excellent and the quality of the dialogue matches the original however as the film begins to develop and move towards its finale, it becomes slightly less rewarding- perhaps because the compex web of relationships that bind the characters together does not feel as intimate as the first film but also because Brian Cox's General Strker lacks the intellectual menace of Ian McKellen's Magneto.
It is an enjoyable film but in my opinion it is just a bit too long.
one of the best comic book movies ever
Review date: 2008-06-07 Rating: 8 out of 10
excellent movie that has first class action and effects but it also a very character driven flick so it has a bit more substance than other comic book flicks
A rare modern sequel that out-performs it daddy!
Review date: 2008-01-25 Rating: 10 out of 10
I remember watching the first X Men film and thinking how fantastic it was - great characters, smart effects, and not too 'over done'. I first watched this sequel a few years back, and have been watching it over and over again since! Its rare we come across a sequel these days that can better its predecessor, but this one does, and what a film it is. The acting is superb, the storyline unfolds neatly, and it doesn't over-complicate the whole saga.
If you loved the first film, this is simply a must!
IF ONLY ALL SEQUELS WERE LIKE THIS
Review date: 2007-08-08 Rating: 8 out of 10
Considering what happened with the Batman series, particularly after Tim Burton left, and considering what has happened in plenty other comic book adaptations such as Spider-Man or Daredevil, nobody would be blamed for having bet that an X-Men sequel would be a disaster. But X2: X-Men United, as it is billed here, is a sequel that can be mentioned in the same breath as Aliens or The Godfather Part II.
Like the original, this new sequel has something to say about how our society deals with people who don't look the same, act the same, think the same, or feel the same as all the drones out there. The spirit of the comic books it is based on is very much alive in this film, and that's a big part of what makes it such compelling viewing. In today's society, people with a serious mental illness will be rooting for characters like Wolverine, or Magneto if they have a sadistic side, all the way. In tomorrow's society it could be people who undergo genetic engineering to rid themselves of cancer or other horrible diseases. Who knows? That's the truly sad part of these stories - they only seem to either stay relevant or get more relevant as time goes on.
Ian McKellen is in fine, fine form as Magneto, the angry mutant whose justification for waging war on "normal" society is all but handed to him on a platter in this episode. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos actually gets to do something other than sit there and look pretty this time, and Halle Berry proves once again that she cannot act her way out of a wet paper bag. But once again, Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin steal the show, in spite of the latter having a significantly reduced role compared to the first film. Shawn Ashmore also squeezes his head in and manages to prove he is there for a reason, too.
Unlike the original X-Men, in which the true bad guys are mostly undefined except for a rather nasty Senator, one will not be able to walk out of X2 without pathologically hating the bad guys here. Brian Cox plays the mad general so well that anyone with a truly compassionate bone in their body will want to leap into the picture and tear the head off the kind of man who could do THAT to his own son. And the film is all the stronger for it, because it brings the message that the normalists who would give us all gene tests when deciding who should live or die are the real bad guys, not the mutants who have been made bitter and angry by their behaviour. I know a whole family of utter creeps who would do well to be nailed into a chair and forced to watch this film with their eyes pried open, Ludivico-style.
I won't say anything about the ending except for two small points. One is that it makes Ray Park's line in the first film ("Don't you people ever die?") seem all the funnier, except it really isn't the sort of point where one should laugh. I did, but that is just the kind of person I am. The other is that it proves anyone in this film can out-act Halle Berry, even another former Bond girl, in this case Famke Janssen. She gives the film an end-sequence of the kind that I've only seen in other films like Gladiator and Rollerball (the real Rollerball, I mean).
To summarise, out of 125 minutes of near perfection, I have only three minor complaints. The editing of the final battle sequence, particularly when Patrick Stewart is in the new Cerebro, is a little too loose for my liking. Parts seem to have been repeated just to stretch out the running time. I also found Nightcrawler's constant prayer recitals annoying. If this was supposed to enforce the idea of Christian good guys, it doesn't work because we've seen before how their kind are little different from the William Stryker caste. Lastly, they really should have got someone other than Halle Berry to play Storm. I don't care who, just anyone. She is the biggest personality vortex I have ever seen on the big screen, and I kept expecting Anna Paquin to turn to her and say "I *earned* my Oscar".
But at the end of the day, I wish all sequels could be as good as this effort. Ten out of ten from me. It did lose a point because of the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but it gains it back (and then some) whenever Hugh Jackman or Anna Paquin say something. Those two should work together more often.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Hugh Jackman|Halle Berry|Ian Mckellen|Patrick Stewart
Creators:
Hugh Jackman|Halle Berry|Ian Mckellen|Patrick Stewart (Primary Contributor)
Director(s):
Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036015035
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2003-11-10
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 128 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003-05-02
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: German (Original Language)
Language: Italian (Original Language)