Super-Cember Day #5: X2: X-Men United (2003)

(Originally posted December 5th, 2017)

The first sequel of the month and the film I saw today was X2: X-Men United (2003), starring Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X, Ian McKellan as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Halle Berry as Ororo Monroe/Storm, Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey, James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Anna Paquin as Marie D'Ancanto/Rogue, Brian Cox as William Stryker, Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman and Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike.

X2: X-Men United (2003)

You guys already know my opinions on the first X-Men movie: I loved it. Therefore, I was really looking forward to sitting down and watching its sequel: X2. I'd heard from a lot of people that this was the high point of the X-Men movie franchise. So, did I think it was better than the original? Well, no. But did I think it was worse? Again, no. I thought this was an perfect companion piece to the first X-Men movie, and it does everything a good sequel should do. I'm not sure yet if I prefer this movie or its predecessor, but for now, I consider them on equal footing.

The cast of X2

All of the main characters from the previous film return in some capacity, and they all do a great job, just like in the previous. One thing this movie does really well is it knows how to use its cast. If a character isn't needed, they don't overstay their welcome. Cyclops appears at the beginning, then disappears entirely until the climax. Don't get me wrong, I like Cyclops, but I do think he would have made the movie feel a little too cluttered, and I liked how they used him. Once again, I've got to give it up to Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan, as they all give powerhouse performances.

James Marsden as Cyclops

There are a couple of new additions to the main cast that are worth talking about. One of which is Nightcrawler, and I thought I liked him while I was watching the movie, but imagine my surprise when I looked up his actor. Alan Cumming does a fantastic job of not seeming like Alan Cumming, as I didn't even recognise him until I looked up the character. I also loved how they ended up using Nightcrawler, and it's interesting to see a religious mutant. Also, Shawn Ashmore reprises his role as Bobby Drake/Iceman, but he has a much bigger role this time. I thought they were going to go with the jealousy route with Logan and Rogue, but it ends up dealing with his family, and it's all very nice and heartbreaking. Shawn Ashmore gives a great performance in this role, and I hope I see more of him in the next movie.

Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler

And, now the villain. Stryker was a formidable villain for this story, and I love how unapologetically evil his plan is. He's a man with a prejudice that's completely overtaken him, but the movie devotes just enough time to his character to make you see his motivations. Granted, it never allows you to sympathise with the character, and I wouldn't have wanted that, but it's just enough to make him three-dimensional enough to be believable. You can believe someone like this would exist in a world of mutants, and his connection to Logan will be interesting moving forward.

Brian Cox as William Stryker

Are there problems? Yeah, but not very many. First of all, as someone who loved Rogue in the first movie, I didn't like how underused she was in this. Yes, she gets a relationship and they explore that for roughly 5 minutes of total screen-time, but we never really get to see her use her abilities to help in the climax. Also, for how powerful Charles is, how was able to be manipulated so easily by Jason Stryker? We even see him shake off his control, but then, almost immediately, he's back under again. This is one of the most mentally powerful mutants in the world, but we never get a sense of how he was able to be controlled like that. It wouldn't be much of an issue if the villain's entire plan didn't revolve around controlling Charles. i would have liked even just one line explaining how they made that work, and I would have been more satisfied.

Cerebro

Overall, X2 (2003) was a fantastic movie and a brilliant sequel. I watch the conclusion of this trilogy in another 5 days, and I cannot wait. 9/10.

Tomorrow: it's time to get angry with Hulk.