X2: X-Men United review **SPOILERS**

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

How pathetic am I? I took an extra long lunch break today to see the 12:00 matinee for X-Men 2.

Basic plot: After an assassination attempt on the President, military scientist William Stryker leads a raid on a "mutant training facility in upstate New York" -- Xavier's School, also the headquarters of the X-Men. Most of the adults are away from the school at the time -- Storm and Jean go to find Nightcrawler, the attempted assassin, while Prof. X and Cyclops are captured while visiting Magneto -- leaving Wolverine to babysit. Some students are captured, many others escape, and the X-Men have to join with Magneto and Mystique to save their friends and stop Stryker.

Quite simply, I thought the sequel is better than the first movie. Where the first movie was bogged down in a lot of introduction and exposition, this one gets right into the action and doesn't let up. So many great scenes and moments, I don't know which is a favorite.

And if you don't want any spoilers, stop now and come back after you've seen the movie.

Last chance ... spoilers are ahead.

Okay, don't say I didn't warn you.

Nightcrawler has been a favorite of mine and was played wonderfully -- the appearance of a demon but very pious with a romantic heart. The teleporting effects were outstanding and used very effectively. I really hope they keep him for the third movie.

Wolverine, once more, was front and center, and we get to see him cut loose. Literally. When Stryker's men attack the school, Wolverine is in take-no-prisoners, near-berzerker-rage mode.

Storm is used much more effectively this time around, and we get plenty of glimpses of other characters from the comics -- Colossus, Shadowcat, Siryn, even the Beast in the form of Dr. Hank McCoy being interviewed on TV.

The ending is a bit of a shocker. From the deleted scenes in the first movie to certain cues in this movie, they've been hinting at Jean's growing powers, possibly leading into her becoming Phoenix. I guessed her powers were increasing, but I didn't expect her to die in this one. It shouldn't be much of a surprise, though, since the Phoenix is the mythical bird that rises from the dead to live again. Now, the stage is set for her to return in a third movie.

 

[sorcerormickey]

I was SO shocked about Jean! It was so sad for Cyclops and Wolverine! It was really good to see her at the very end tho.

And Bobby's little brother...what a shmuck!

Overall, a very good movie! Bring on part 3!

 

[SeaSpray]

I agree 100% that this movie was better than the first! All of the characters were portrayed perfectly.

An aside: My DSs seemed to KNOW that Jean, at some point, would turn into Phoenix, so they weren't at all surprised when she "died"..... They have been big XMEN fans since they were preschoolers, and are now 15 and 12. I can still see my DS15 at age 5, wearing his toy Wolverine claws, his light-up Cyclops helmet, and he also had all the little figures.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

I was so glad to see the real Wolverine & not a watered-down, sanitized version of him.

Storms lines were much better this time around too.

I had a strong feeling from the trailers that they'd be going with the Phoenix angle & it's that they are.

Magneto's escape was well done.


Greatness!

 

[Planogirl]

This was a great movie IMO and now I can't wait for the third one!

By the way, did anyone notice the name Remy LeBeau when Mystique was looking through the list on the computer in Stryker's offices? I'm hoping that this and showing Hank McCoy indicate that the filmmakers plan to include Gambit and the Beast in the next movie. I remember that the story of Phoenix seemed to include almost every one of the active X-Men at some point so it could get very interesting! Archangel? Cable? Longshot? etc...

 

[Jeff in BigD]

I'm sure they'll figure some way to jam Gambit in there, even though I'd totally prefer to see Collosus or Longshot.

 

[Rajah]

Excellent excellent EXCELLENT! Much better than the first, and I loved the first!!

I've been a fan of the comics for several years now, and am also a fan of Kurt's. I was afraid of how they were going to portray him in the movie, but they did a fantastic job. And that opening scene with him -- beautifully done! I don't think I've ever seen any active (animated) use of Kurt's powers to such a degree and it really shows his potential!

I loved all the cameos of the various characters -- though did I see/hear wrong or did Logan call Colossus something like John or something other than Piotr during the evacuation? Or was that someone besides Colossus that Logan handed the kid off to? Or maybe he called him Pete? Or Kid?

Was this story line one basically from the comics that I'd missed, or was a large part of it totally new to everyone else as well? I know several of the storylines (including the Phoenix Saga, which was one of the best!! Surpassed only by maybe Dark Phoenix IMHO), but I don't remember ever encountering Jason Stryker? I do know of Logan's background, I just don't remember Stryker.

Including Siryn at that particular point was great! Though who was the kid who kept changing the TV channel by blinking? I can't place him...

And yeah, I caught Remy LeBeau's name, and Hank's. Two more well-loved characters.

I personally would like to see more of Kitty, too.

Oh, and the interactions with Magneto and the X-Men were fantastic. I think they showed much more of Erik's character. And Pyro was well done.

I really hope they keep Bobby, Pyro, and Kurt (especially Kurt!) in the next one!

Bring on X3!!!

 

[Jeff in BigD]

I'm not sure what Logan called Collosus, but I was hacked at 3 things:
1-he's metal for all of 2 seconds & then changes back?
2-he should have been mixing it up.
3-he's only on screen for a minute tops.


This storyline was basically an amalgam of previous stories. Stryker (I'm not sure if he was mentioned by name) was in the Weapon X series. The soldiers were similar to the Genosha storyline. I'm sure we'll see the sentinels in the next one.

 

[Rajah]

Okay, so I didn't miss a major storyline. I remembered and recognized Weapon X, didn't really catch the Genosha thing but that fits, and I suspect you're right considering according to the cast list, Shaw was in this one somewhere and he's a key player in the Sentinals.

 

[UncleKyle]

All around an awesome movie, I'm still waiting for my favorite Gamit

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Haha, I guess I'm one of the few people that doesn't like Gambit. *shrug*

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

I'm not a huge Gambit fan either, Jeff.

In the graphic novel God Loves Man Kills, the main villain was Rev. William Stryker, an evangelist leader of an anti-mutant movement. Jason Stryker seemed like a combination of two characters -- in the graphic novel, Stryker had a mutant son, and the X-Men had an enemy named Mastermind, who could cast realistic illusions like Jason Stryker. He figured prominently in the Dark Phoenix Saga, and his name was Jason Wyngarde.

I don't remember any of the names from Weapon X, but the lab sure did resemble the one in that story.

Rajah, I don't think the kid watching tv was supposed to be anyone from the comics, but at least one review I read noted that he resembled a kid from another certain special school.

 

[Desiree]

I, too, thought this one was better than the original. I loved the opening sequence with Nightcrawler. (Chris has been teleporting around all night, making the "whhooshhh" sound to boot!) That was amazing. I loved seeing how the characters have progressed since the first movie.

All in all I thought it was really well done. I'm going to have to go back and start finding and reading the comics I think!

 

[jana]

Loved the movie. Also thought it much better then the first one. I would love to see Rogue fly. How did she get that power I forget now. Not overly in a hurry to see Gambit.

 

[adamak]

I like the movie, but I already forgot the first one's plot. And I never read Xmen comic books. So this is pretty confusing for me in the beginning. I still enjoy it.

BTW, is there a XMen for Dummies book? DH has to explain to me later about the Phoenix thing.

 

[Jeff in BigD]

Originally posted by jana
I would love to see Rogue fly. How did she get that power I forget now.

She had absorbed the powers of Ms Marvel (Carol Danvers). This also caused a multiple personality disorder with her switching back & forth from Rogue to Carol. When she joined the team Wolverine hated her for what she had done to Carol (a friend of his).

If they have her being able to fly & nearly invenerable, which I would love, they'll likely pick a less complicated way for it to occur.

I liked how they had Rogue using Bobby's powers.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Jeff, I thought Rogue used her powers to absorb John's (Pyro) to diminish the flames and also to stop him.

Adamak, I wouldn't be surprised to see a X-Men for Dummies book. Until then, you'll have to depend on comic book geeks like me and Jeff.

Here's a little background for those who may not know the story of Jean/Phoenix from the comics.

The X-Men had just escaped capture and were in space returning to Earth in a space shuttle. The heat shielding was damaged, so Jean telepathically put Scott (Cyclops, the usual pilot) into a nap while she used her telekinetic powers to protect herself as best as she could. The shuttle made a hard landing in the ocean and Jean emerged as Phoenix.

Flash forward years later -- most of the X-Men have finally returned from being lost and believed dead following another adventure. Jean had been romanced by a mutant named Mastermind, who's powers were similar to that of Stryker's son in X2. As part of his initiation into a group called the Hellfire Club, he projected powerful images in her mind in an attempt to draw out her darker side. He succeeded, but wasn't able to control her the way he thought he would, and Jean became Dark Phoenix.

Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and Phoenix was near absolute power. She fed her power by flying into space and absorbing a star, causing it to go nova and obliterate an inhabited planet. She returned to Earth and her friends fought her to help her. Just as Professor X managed to telepathically help her regain control, the Shi'ar showed up to put Jean on trial for the destruction of the planet and the murder of billions.

(The Shi'ar is an empire from another galaxy, and Professor X is the consort of the Empress Lilandra -- it ought to be interesting if director Bryan Singer works THAT into the movies!)

Professor X issues a challenge -- much like a cosmic duel between the X-Men and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard. They fight in this hidden area on the moon where aliens had a base one time. The X-Men are outnumbered and are losing ...

... until Jean becomes Dark Phoenix again. She's knocked out a good portion of the Imperial Guard and the X-Men have to fight their friend again. Colossus (the guy that turns to steel in the movie) literally knocks some sense into Jean, who runs deep into the base. Cyclops chases after her, but she stop him, says her goodbyes, and commits suicide by telekinetically activating a cannon.

Yeah, I know it may sound really far fetched, but the Dark Phoenix Saga remains one of the best storylines in comics 23 years after it's conclusion. It will be interesting to see them adapt it to the movies.

 

[Rajah]

Obi-Wan -- thanks for the summary of the Phoenix saga. I'd forgotten many of those details, I just remembered it being fantastic!