X2: X-Men United

I was serving as a missionary in the Philippines when this movie came out so I wasn't permitted to see it but the ads were everywhere. Over ten years after its release, I got to see it on the big screen as part of a digital film festival. As a result, I have now seen every X-Men movie in theaters. "X2: X-Men United" is a little better than the first film but that isn't surprising. The simplicity of the first film provided the opportunity for its sequel to do so much more in terms of the story and characters. The filmmakers even held back on introducing some characters for "X2". The themes of the first film are utilized on a much more personal level so that allows for some great drama.

My favorite new X-Men is Nightcrawler. I didn't know exactly why I liked him after I saw this film for the first time but I realize it now. I am a man of faith just like Kurt. However, unlike Nightcrawler, I was not discriminated against because of my outward appearance but instead because of my religion. I love the scene between him and Storm on the jet because I also believe that faith has more power than hate. Nightcrawler was thought to be a bad guy from the amazing first scene but instead he was the exact opposite. This is another lesson about the dangers of being judgmental. Speaking of the opening scene, I love the use of Mozart during attack on the White House. I can't understand why Nightcrawler did not appear in "The Last Stand". The scene with Bobby's family is also reflective of today's society. I feel however that this scene can be interpreted in the wrong way so we must be careful. The filmmakers were looking at "The Empire Strikes Back" for inspiration so just like in that movie, our heroes split up and then reunite as the title infers. Unlike "Star Wars" though, two groups who were at odds with each other must work together to stop a common enemy. We got one subtle scene in the first movie that pitted Pyro against Iceman but this film really sets up the future faceoff. All the kids at Xavier's school are on a quest to discover their identity but John, as with many teenagers in real life, chooses a wrong path. I really liked the other scene in the climax where Logan makes a choice of his own. It proves that he is not entirely an animal, as Stryker believes. Stryker has prejudices just like Senator Kelly did but Stryker is even more villainous because he will use mutants to achieve his objectives. Lady Deathstrike in the climax is cool because she is a great challenger to Wolverine and their fight is well created. Another set up for the next film is the emergence of the Phoenix. To end the film, we get a great scene in the Oval Office thanks to the use of light, sound and acting. There was one plothole when Magneto opens the door of Cerebro 2. I thought that doing so was supposed to kill the Professor.

Because of the success of the first film, the filmmakers obviously got a bigger budget and that meant better special effects. Mystique's makeup now only took six hours to apply instead of the nine hours it took for the last installment. This was the first time that Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris collaborated with director Bryan Singer and all three would later reunite on "Apocalypse". Future Oscar winner John Ottman may have passed on the first movie but he agreed not only to score but also to edit "X2". I think I like his score better than Michael Kamen's. I could tell that "X2" had a different visual format from its predecessor when I watched both movies a day apart. "X-Men" was shot in anamorphic while "X2" was shot in Super 35. The acting was also good in this sequel. "Monster's Ball" was released a few months before filming began for "X2" and because of Halle Barry's performance in that movie, it led to more screen time for Storm (Barry would win an Oscar for "Monster's Ball" by the way). I may have first seen Brian Cox on "Braveheart" but it was this movie where I fully took note of him. Alan Cumming has a predominant vocal role on "Black Beauty" so I must have subconsciously recognized him from that, making Nightcrawler even more appealing to me.

In my opinion in today's society, there are less peaceful measures being taken to resolve the problems between different groups of people. Unlike what Xiaver would want, there is a lot more hate like Magneto has for people who are judgmental, racist, etc. People are inspired to stand up for their rights but then think of themselves as better than the other side and become the very thing they hated in the first place. This movie shows the evil that can come about from both sides of an argument. "X2: X-Men United" took the live action characters introduced in 2000 and sent us on a ride with increased action and drama. This was another entertaining experience.

4 Stars