X-Men 2

Reviewed by:
Paul Ulane

Let thy chat rooms be exorcized of anti-sequel prattle. Let thy comic book fanatics’ thirst for historical Marvel accuracies be satiated. Let thy Internet nerds get laid. Yes, X2 is good—maybe even good enough to work some miracles.

Any apprehension we had about the introduction of new mutants was quickly—bamf—gone by the opening sequence thanks to a determined Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), who leads by example in this two-plus-hour kick-, scrap-, and in Wolverine’s case, carve-your-fucking-chest fest. Since it’s a sequel, none of the introductory claptrap is necessary, and after some tense (for us) moments of expository chatter, we’re thrown right back into the mutant-on-human action. The biggies are back, accompanied by expanded roles for some of the junior X-Men: Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) freezes, Pyro (John Allerdyce) flames, and Rogue (Anna Paquin) breathes new life into her role and heaving bosom. Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) even join the good guys versus latest evildoer William Stryker (Brian Cox), who’s seminal plot threatens to rid the world of mutantkind forever. The new stunts and fighting sequences are brilliant, while the effects make the original X-Men look like F Troop. Magneto flexes his metal, Wolvie delivers smuttier wisecracks (and more gruesome ass-whuppins), and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) gives the devotee and casual fan alike plenty to get his phoenix rising. The rest of the gang get theirs, too. (Do you really want spoilers?)

But X2 doesn’t just kick off the summer movie explosion with style, substance, and a nearly naked Rebecca Romijn-Stamos; it should also do enough to satisfy comic book nerds—erm, of course, we mean purists—with its commitment to the original story and devoted reading of subplots, doubtless in preparation for any number of sequels to follow. We only hope that all of the summer’s blockbusters can deliver like this one.

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