...
So imagine my suspicions-stroke-delight when the mildly disappointing X-Men franchise got given the go ahead for another slice of the cash pie.
Let us delve into the plot, eh? Oh, let we, let we.
***THE PLOT***
It’s pretty much straight after the events documented in the first ... Read review
X-Men 2picks up almost directly whereX-Menleft off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian ... more
McKellen) 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 ...
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X-Men 2picks up almost directly whereX-Menleft off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian ... more
McKellen) 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 ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
The time has come for those who are different to stand united... The X-Men have to band ... more
together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the President's life while the Mutant Academy at Westchester is attacked by military forces promptin...
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Hatred and distrust brew between human and mutantkind. An unprovoked mutant attack on the ... more
President gives General William Stryker (Brian Cox) his long awaited opportunity to wage all-out war against the mutants. A war that would leave only one race vic...
Hatred and distrust brew between human and mutantkind. An unprovoked mutant attack on the ... more
President gives General William Stryker (Brian Cox) his long-awaited opportunity to wage all-out war against the mutants.A war that would leave only one race victorious. Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Storm (Halle Berry) and the other X-Men must unite with their old adversary Magneto (Ian McKellen) to prevent a devastating confrontation that could destroy everyone on the planet.In X-Men 2, acclaimed director Bryan Singer delivers state-of-the-art special effects, explosive action and one twist after another. X-Men 2 takes excitement to the Xtreme!
Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Advantages: Another good comic book movie Disadvantages: Bit too long. Too much and yet not enough happens.
...suspicions-stroke-delight when the mildly disappointing X-Men franchise got given the go ahead for another slice of the cash pie.
Let us delve into the plot, eh? Oh, let we, let we.
***THE PLOT***
It’s pretty much straight after the events documented in the first X-Men (synopsis: Mutants exist. They meet each other. Save world leaders. End), and facial-hairily-challenged Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is in ... ...knife in the President’s vitals! X-Men to the rather relaxed investigation!
Along with all the other good X-folks (Jean Grey, Cyclops, Rogue, Iceman, Pyro, Storm…the list goes long), Professor X soon finds that his old buddy-slash-nemesis Magneto has spilled his brains to human anti-mutant type Stryker. Soon the entire X-Men program (secretly run by Prof. X in his special school) is under threat, and all the X-Men must team up with ... more
Sigh and harrumph.
I dunno what’s the matter with me when it comes to movies. I’m all disenchanted with all the pieces of sh*t that make a buck or two being immediately optioned for franchises (2 Fast 2 Furious stand up and then f**k off).
So imagine my suspicions-stroke-delight when the mildly disappointing X-Men franchise got given the go ahead for another slice of the cash pie.
Let us delve into the plot, eh? Oh, let we, let we.
***THE PLOT***
It’s pretty much straight after the events documented in the first X-Men (synopsis: Mutants exist. They meet each other. Save world leaders. End), and facial-hairily-challenged Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is in Canada trying to dredge up nuggets of his murky past (for more of the same, watch Van Helsing. Jackman is not exactly breaking the mould there). But wait! There’s no time for amnesia-curing japery! Some blue-furred freak (Nightcrawler – played by Alan Cummings) just went and nearly stuck a knife in the President’s vitals! X-Men to the rather relaxed investigation!
Along with all the other good X-folks (Jean Grey, Cyclops, Rogue, Iceman, Pyro, Storm…the list goes long), Professor X soon finds that his old buddy-slash-nemesis Magneto has spilled his brains to human anti-mutant type Stryker. Soon the entire X-Men program (secretly run by Prof. X in his special school) is under threat, and all the X-Men must team up with all the bad guys – well, the two of them (the other is the shape-shifting Mystique, who I believe doubles as a popular R’n’B combo) to stop Stryker fulfilling his naughty plan to KILL ALL MUTANTS!
***THE SAGA CONTINUES***
The mood of this movie is very odd. It doesn’t seem to know what it is – at once it is a geek’s dream, with mutant cameos (Hi Colossus! Weren’t you meant to be Russian?) and the long-awaited “berserker rage”. Then it is a continuation of the first movie, but with no real explanations forthcoming for a lot of the new stuff (Pyro seems tacked on, Storm’s accent is totally different…). It just seems so…relaxed. And over-confident.
Firs off, there’s the action sequences. Undoubtedly spectacular and somewhat believable – but for me, some of them failed to engage. There is a plane chase through some nifty hurricanes, which sounds great but ends up being about 2 minutes long. The raid on the school is only good because Wolverine goes apesh*t (He needs his own movie. Noooooow!)
Ah! I’ve got it! There are simply TOO MANY set pieces, and all short ones. This is bound to happen though, because each X-Man has a particular property that – even in the cartoon – is best highlighted by concentrating on the individual. Hence Pyro’s attack on the police cars is phenomenal, and the Wolverine/Lady Deathstrike one-on-one is both impressive and makes me tense the shoulders in reaction (check out the bit where Deathstrike turns Wolvie’s back into so much shredded lettuce – OWCH!). That said, if we were treated to the mutants teaming up against a common foe (Sentinels please!) then I’d be a happy widdle geek-boy.
For the most part, director Bryan Singer keeps a close eye on what demands attention, but I do think he left a little too much in. Still, I would probably still moan if he’d left bits out. I can’t get over the fact that this feels like a merry little ride, rather than a nail-biter. Maybe because the movie still has Wolverine at its core, and it is his voyage of self discovery that clogs up the full-on action. Plus you don’t really find out THAT much about him. Better to read the comics, where the relationships are far more complex. And well-realised.
So now we come to the score, which I will mention before the acting for one reason alone. Only King Kong could produce a turd this large. And at least it would smell vaguely of bananas. The score is intrusive in the only way a blockbuster movie score can be. It TELLS YOU HOW YOU SHOULD FEEL. No! I refuse to give in to your fascist musical propaganda! The scene where Storm & Jean Grey encounter the magnificent Nightcrawler (easily my favourite X-Man ABOVE Wolverine) screams out a musical cue so overblown and loud that it makes me want to hurl the television into my imaginary swimming pool each and every time. I like quite scores, if any at all, thank you. This one needs burning along with Avril Lavigne and possibly the person who invented Snack-A-Jacks.
***X-PUN***
Now, the acting. “Yeah, I thought Jean Grey was accurately portrayed”. “The characterisation of Professor X was marvellous”. No. These are not the comic book personas brought to life (expect Wolvie and Nightcrawler mebbe). As someone else has pointed out to me – and I agree – this is like an “alternative universe” of the X-Men. You will know how hammy the dialogue can be in the X-Men cartoons, right? But nonetheless, still enjoyable. The X-Men Evolution cartoon suffers a similar fate but is still good. And in the same way, this moves the cartoon dialogue into more of a “real-world” setting. Hence only the most interesting characters remain interesting. In the cartoon, Storm would often utter “winds of the earth, hear my plea!” and so on. In the movie, she is reduced to spouting tepid drudge like “sometimes anger can be good” or “it’s about to get very cold”. Give me hammy weather commands any day! In the comic she was a regal queen of the skies! Now she’s Halle bloody Berry! A young Angela Bassett for the inevitable remake please!
As for the rest – well, nowt special. Anna Paquin only vaguely steps up the Rogue character – but still not the ass-kicking sardonic flying juggernaut from the comics. Iceman has some – oh sod it, I’m gonna say it – “cool” moments – but I want giant ice-slides like the cartoon! Pyro is the most intriguing character but soon gets pushed into the background. All the characters have story arcs but few of them really stick in the craw – except Jean Grey’s “evolution”. At the end of it all, I was left with the sense that 20 minutes less exposition and a lot more team-up ass kicking would have set this in stone as a great action/sci-fi movie.
After having watched this about 5 times now, I find myself waiting for the cool mutant action and not giving a damn about the story – which you could fit on the back of a regulation-sized postal stamp. “Man wants mutants dead. Mutants team up to stop man. End.” It just leaves me feeling like I’ve wasted my time, even though I am a huge fan of the X-Men universe. Maybe that’s the problem. Some non-X-Men fans seem to really dig this – so if you liked the first one (or if you didn’t – this is a lot better) then give this a whirl. It may not change you life, but at least it has a heart, and a bit of characterisation. Better this than Matrix Revolutions, anyway.
One word review – “meh.”
I now want X3 to be a full on mutant jamboree. I want Beast. Gambit. More Colossus. More Jubilee (and actually using her powers, please!). Rogue must fly. Full-on comic action can be good! It MUST be good! ARE YOU LISTENING YOU HOLLYWOODLAND MONKEYS?!@# THE GEEKS ARE COMING!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LESSONS LEARNED:
o Mutant brain-juice is powerful ju-ju o Even mutants become lazy in front of the TV o Ice is nice but fire is cooler o Cats like claws and frozen coffee
Advantages: Fantastic characters and effects Disadvantages: Can't think of any at the moment!
...it! It's called:
X-MEN 2
***ACTORS AND ACTRESSES***
Patrick Stewart - Star Trek Films, The Prince of Egypt, A Christmas Carol
Ian McKellan - Lord of the Rings movies, Rasputin, Bent
Halle Berry - Cat Woman, Die Another Day, Gothika
Hugh Jackman - Kate and Leopold, Van Helsing, Someone Like You
James Marsden - Sugar & Spice, Gossip, Heights
Famke Janssen - Hide and Seek, Made, I-spy
Alan Cumming - Spy Kids, Spy Kids 2, Pits
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos ... ...the wisest of all the X-Men and leads them in their continuing stuggle.
Ororo Munroe/Storm
Played by actress Halle Berry. Storm (as she'll be known from now on) came to Xavier with a very destructive power. Storm has the ability to manipulate the weather at will. She can create monsoons, cyclones, rain storms, thunder, lightning, fog, anything to do with the weather. Storm was one of Xavier's first students and he taught her to control her power. ...
LR_17 17.12.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of X-Men 2 (DVD)
Advantages: Excellent acting by Hugh Jackman and Alan Cumming Disadvantages: Unrealistic storyline (even for a comic book adaptation)
...and directed by Bryan Singer X-Men 2 is the follow up to the hugely successful X-men, released back in May 2003.
==Plot==
Just as the dust had settled and things were getting back to normal, Whitehouse security is breached and there is an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the President of the USA (Cotter Smith) by a mutant that goes by the name of “Nightcrawler” (Alan Cumming). The failed attempt naturally makes the headlines resulting in a ... ...a lot more violent in X-Men 2 than X-men 1, which is a good thing. It seems that Jackman can do no wrong in his role but then Wolverine is a crowd favourite and it is always difficult to criticise your favourites. That said, Alan Cumming is also particularly good as Nightcrawler.
There is also plenty of eye candy, which also helps to keep the audience interested. Once again Famke Janssen looks absolutely stunning, Halle Berry looks great (but in ...
yackers1 20.10.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of X-Men 2 (DVD)
Advantages: Great Cast, wicked Speacile Effects, Deeper than Original Disadvantages: Halle Berry Criminally Underused, Maybe To Long, and Script Flounders At End
...first one!
Story
The X-men are mutants, people born with weird and wonderful powers. Charles Xavier's School for the gifted is where mutants are trained how to use their gifts, but also how to become accepted in the mainstream world. They all seem to be pulling together as a community, but a secret government conspiracy, is digging away at the surface of there extended family, until one night, they declare an all out war with the mutants, they ... ...young, and older students get out in reasonable good condition. Wolverine, Rouge, Bobby, and Pyro, go to Bobby’s parents house, for refuge, but his parents are unaware, of Bobby’s well, gift. As the day progresses Bobby’s family become more and more nervous around him, until his brother phones the police and they are completely surrounded. Wolverine, Bobby and Rouge try to reason with the police, but it turns out that Pyro is a bit of a dark horse, ...
JayHall1991 06.10.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of X-Men 2 (DVD)
Advantages: Hugh Jackman. Hugh Jackman. Oh, and Hugh Jackman. Disadvantages: you do really need to see the first film before this
...minutes between the release of X-Men and the filming of this sequel. His cast (who were signed up to return for at least one sequel) were going to make him big bucks on the 2nd installment of the comic book adapatation. Since X-Men, Halle Berry has won an Oscar, Ian McKellan has played Gandalf, Hugh Jackman has hit the bigtime with films like Swordfish and Kate & Leopold, and Famke Janssen has....had her hair cut? (Ok, she was in I Spy, but Owen ... ...over the trailors on the X-Men 1.5 DVD, waiting for the 2 hour Hugh-fest that is X-Men 2. I even have two X2 movie posters on my wall at this very moment.
Don't commit me just yet, please.
Before you see this film, I would recomment renting or buying X-Men, the first in the series, to get an idea of what's going on. It's not necessary but it will clear up a few queries you might have, and introduces the characters in more detail. In X-Men 2, we ...
PrincessGem 15.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of X-Men 2 (DVD)
Advantages: Some good action sequences and performances. Disadvantages: Dull, unimaginative, too long
...(understandably) is being marketed as X-Men 2. Do they think that that somehow sounds cooler? I can’t imagine…
Anyway. This is perhaps the first sequel I’ve ever seen without first seeing the original. I think you can get away with it if you have some familiarity with the background of the (sorta-) titular X-Men of Marvel comic book fame. I’m not so sure you would if you don’t have that knowledge, however. Returning ... ...explanations, which was apparently a flaw of the first film, but gets right into the action.
It starts with a kinetic blue mutant blasting his way into the White House, seemingly unstoppable. He gets all the way to the President, dodging bullets and slamming Secret Servicemen in a blurred frenzy. But just when you thing he’s up to no good, he doesn’t kill the Big Man but merely leaves a calling card, or, actually, knife. It seems it ...
Crazy-Christian 03.06.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of X-Men 2 (DVD)
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Reviews which might be of interest for "X-Men 2 (DVD)"
Advantages: Better action than some with story line Disadvantages: slow in parts
If you love the first X-MEN then X-MEN2 is a must have, with less story building than the first this film has a lot more action - packed fun for all to love.
There are a few slow parts in the film but overall its a must. the charachters realy start to evolve and if you were a fan of the cartoon then the end makes a lot more to you than if you just watch the film.
Although you are left felling that they could have done more.
E.g. Magneto (Lan Mckellen) and the X-men could have helped eachother a little bit more instead you could still see they didn't want to work together to save the mutants.
Patrick Stewart ( Professor Xavier) still owns the show even though he is in a wheel chair. A top actor for a Top Film.
Fantastic four is again much like X-men 1 you have to wait for the best bits as the story building takes its time however ...
Advantages: Deep and clever plot, good acting and special effects Disadvantages: Drags a little in places
When Bryan Singer directed XMen in 2000, he always maintained that it was merely setting the scene for a bigger and better film version of the much loved comic book. In 2003's XMen2, he shows what he meant as he directs a returning cast on top form and with a meaningful plotline.
A Little History
X-Men is a comic book creation from Stan Lee and Jack kirby. Conceived in 1963, the comic book still goes strong to this day, and tells adventures of a group of humans who differ due to genetic evolution and are known as 'mutants'. This is the second feature film of the comic book series.
The Plot
This second installment of the XMen films hits s much deeper note than the first, touching on the effect the mutants and their exposure has on the rest of the world, as well as the fear of the unknown and the unfamiliar. After ...
pmcds 17.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of X-Men 2 (DVD)
Advantages: The first is good the sequel is even better Disadvantages: Second may be a little long for some
Wow. Simply wow. Call me backwards but after catching bits of X-Men on TV quite some time ago I didn't think anything of it, but then when I received X-Men2 as a gift and watched that I had to rush out and buy X-Men to watch it properly. And boy was it good. Now I mean call me backwards because of the order I watched the films in, not because I thought X-Men was geeky.
But if X-Men is still geeky then call me a geek, but the comic and cartoon series going Hollywood has set it on the map as a credible franchise. Both films are 12 certificates, with the sequel being just over 2 hours compared to the first 100 minutes. Where to start? The beginning.
X-Men. X-Men 1. Here we are introduced to Wolverine, who just so happens to be the most recognisable X-Man so it was a good place for the director to start. He is still trying to put ...
The X-Men led by Professor Xavier once again return to save the world from a group of mutant creatures... In the White House, a would-be assassin, an acrobatic, teleporting blue mutant Nightcrawler menaces the president. Meanwhile in the Canadian Rockies, Wolverine 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 and Storm instruct students Rogue, Iceman and Pyro, while Professor Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart) and Cyclops pay a visit to the imprisoned Magneto (played by Ian McKellen). Soon these enemies will unite to defeat the hate-filled military scientist William Stryker (played by Brian Cox), who wants to rid the world of mutants.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox
Release date
03/05/2004
No of Discs
2
Catalogue No
24224 CDVD
Barcode
5039036015011
Screenwriter
Tom DeSanto, Bryan Singer, David Hayter, Daniel Harris, Michael Dougherty, Zak Penn
Stan Lee, Lauren Shuler Donner, Avi Arad, Bryan Singer, Tom DeSanto
Creator
Stan Lee
Composer
John Ottman
Editor
John Ottman
Languages
Main Language
English
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Audio Commentary From Director Brian Singer John Ottman And Tom Sigel, Audio Commentary From Lauren Shuler Donner Ralph Winter Michael Dougherty Dan Harris And David Hayter, The Secret Origin Of X Men, Nightcrawler Reborn, Nightcrawler Attack, Evolution In The Details Designing X2, United Colours Of X, Wolverine Deathstrike Fight Rehearsal, The Second Issue Of X Men Making Of X2, Introducing The Incredible Nightcrawler, Nightcrawler Stunt Rehearsal, Nightcrawler Time Lapse, FX2 Visual Effects, Requiem For Mutants, X2 Global Webcast Highlights, 11 Deleted Scenes, 8 Static Image Galleries Featuring Over 800 Pictures, 3 Trailers
Aspect Ratio
2.40 Wide Screen, 16:9 Wide Screen
Sound
DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound
DTS 5.1 English Dolby Digital 5.1 English
Professional reviews
Review
"...It lives in the present, providing one amazing spectacle after another..." (Chicago Sun-Times, p.29, 02/05/2003)
"...X2 is 2 good to be 4-gotten. Brisk and involving with a streamlined forward propulsion....One of the unexpected aspects of X2 is the way its concerns seem to be uncannily relevant today..." (Los Angeles Times, p.C1, 02/05/2003)
"...A symphony of crescendos and pauses, orchestrated toward a big seat-rattling climax, during which an enormous dam breaks, veins bulge on both villainous and heroic brows, and a lot of computer-generated images pop, wiggle and shimmy to the throb and roar of John Ottman's music..." (New York Times, p.E1, 02/05/2003)
"...Hugh Jackman is again in fierce, lupine form as Wolverine..." (Rolling Stone, p.70, 29/05/2003)
...No other film-maker has better dramatised superpowers in action and yet remembered the human cost of all the trickery. X2 is full of double-edged power fantasies that manage a frisson of awe amid the excitement..." (Sight and Sound, p.59-60, 01/06/2003)
"...The cast is full of actors who are fun to watch..." (USA Today, p.11D, 02/05/2003)
DVD Description
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.
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