| 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).
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
All Customer Reviews
5 out of 5 - 21 Feb 2006
Continuing a few of months following the events
of the first film events have moved on, the US president barely
survives an assassination attempt and Wolverine returns from
an unsuccessful trip to Canada to find Rouge with a boyfriend
and Jean’s powers growing. Added to this an extreme
branch of military intelligence has its sights set on Xavier’s
school for mutants with a sinister strategy of their own.
This film is a lot better than the original and the new additions
to the cast mesh well with the existing actors and the CGI
continues to improve. The film also sets things up for the
next in the series, and anyone who knows the storyline of
the comics should be able to do guess what is going to happen
next, and I must say I cannot wait.
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