X2

Note: This review contains spoilers for X-Men

Like many other superhero films, both past and future, 2000’s X-Men proved so successful that Fox immediately commissioned a sequel, X2 (also marketed as X2: X-Men United). While the production didn’t proceed without its own hiccups, including budget cuts, rewrites and on-set disputes, Director Bryan Singer’s concept of a more personal angle and having a human villain persisted throughout the writing process, with the initial outline based on Chris Claremont’s X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel (which we haven’t read at the time of this writing). When X2 finally released in 2003, it received rave reviews, with critics considering it a rare time when a sequel surpassed the original (although this sentiment wasn’t universal). As a modern viewer experiencing the full X-Men film series for the first time, I found myself agreeing with the critics of the time and thought the film actually aged pretty well and felt like a breath of fresh air from other superhero films from recent memory.

Following an attack on the President of the United States, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Cyclops (James Marsden) go to confront the imprisoned Magneto (Ian McKellan) about potential involvement while fellow X-Men Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) go to retrieve the mutant involved, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), whom Xavier located with the aid of the computer Cerebro. Meanwhile, Logan (Hugh Jackman), who has returned from an abandoned military installation in Alkali Lake, defends Xavier’s students as a strike force attacks Xavier’s mansion. As Logan helps students Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford) escape, he runs into Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox), a scientist who may have the missing link to his past. Stryker also has his eyes on Cerebro for a plan so deadly to mutantkind that the X-Men have to team up with Magento’s Brotherhood of Mutants to stop it.

Already, the original X-Men film had solid writing and did a good job at setting up the characters and opening up potential for future stories. With that groundwork laid out, X2 takes advantage of the opportunity to focus more on exploring its world and following up on plot threads form the original while telling its own unique story. The result is a darker and more ambitious film that runs half an hour longer, yet it balances all of its elements very well. Despite its more complex plot and layered subplots, it’s very easy to follow and keep track of everything that’s going on and the pacing is tight enough to keep the audience engaged without coming off like a speedrun. Stryker feels like a major threat despite not having any mutant powers of his own, but his plan and presence have the positive side effect of neatly revealing Wolverine’s backstory as a Weapon X test subject (without going into every detail) and mining details from Xavier and Magneto’s relationship in a bit of clever writing regarding Cerebro. While Stryker also has a plan that can potentially harm the entire population of Earth, I appreciate that the solution didn’t involve the large-scale destruction more common in modern superhero fare, with casualties and collateral damage kept to a minimum. Then there’s the tease of Phoenix at the very end, which is subtle, but enough to get the audience excited about a third installment.

Although he's only human, Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox) feels like a real threat.

A bigger story also means a bigger roster, which includes not just who we already met in the previous film, but also the introduction of characters like Pyro and Nightcrawler and the expanded roles of other characters like Storm and Iceman. While other superhero films struggle with a large cast, X2 somehow expertly juggles everyone’s screentime and gives them just enough material that you care about who they are and what happens to them. Iceman, for instance, has a subplot that shows the thorny road of coming out a mutant to his family, which also ties into Pyro’s character arc in how his response to escalating tension sets up his fate at the end of the film. Rogue’s own deepened relationship with Iceman does a good job at advancing her character in her attempts to open up romantically while also reminding the audience that she is, indeed, a teenager. Nightcrawler’s subplot efficiently introduces his backstory and mutant abilities, as well as his German and religious backgrounds, and makes him sympathetic.

X2’s larger budget also means improvements elsewhere, including better action scenes and more creative applications of everyone’s powers, which includes a use of Magneto’s ability that, as a modern viewer coming in late, reminded me of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 5: Golden Wind. Another previously unseen application of Xavier’s power to freeze people in place is possible thanks to an impressive use of professional mimes that lets those scenes stand the test of time. Although some CG looks obvious by modern standards, it’s still an upgrade from the original and comes with the still-impressive practical effects. It’s also clear from looking at Nightcrawler how they needed a higher budget to implement him, as they not only needed to render his tail with CG, but also apply four to nine hours’ worth of makeup to Alan Cumming depending on the scene. While the filmmakers still couldn’t include Beast into the roster, as they had considered since the original film, they did tease him coming in later with a background appearance of Dr. Hank McCoy.

Applying Nightcrawler's (Alan Cumming, left) makeup took up to nine hours at a time.

As an interesting tidbit, Chiara Zanni, who voiced the mutant Jubilee in X-Men: Evolution, plays a White House tour guide at the beginning of the film. While a very minor role, it’s cool that someone already familiar with the world of X-Men (especially the series I enjoyed the most) got to cross mediums in any capacity.

It goes without saying that like the first film, X2 has very strong acting, especially from the bigger names like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan and Hugh Jackman. Alan Cumming, by then an established actor in his own right, proves himself a perfect choice for Nightcrawler thanks to his skill and convincing German accent, not to mention his fluency in the language. The actors for the individual X-Men and Xavier’s students bring more out of their characters thanks to the script giving them more room, including Halle Berry, who had won an Oscar for Monster’s Ball during production, which also influenced Storm’s screentime. While Kelly Hu is great in her action scenes as Yuriko Oyama, aka Lady Deathstrike, she unfortunately doesn’t get to do or say much otherwise, which unfortunately means she feels flat compared to other depictions.

While the original X-Men film was already great, X2 somehow improves upon it in a meaningful way and does a great job at exploring more of the potential of its world while opening the door for more. If you already liked the original film, it’s worth diving back in for this one. If you already liked X2, there’s no reason not to give it another watch.