X2 - X-Men United

Buy This Item X2 - X-Men United by 20th Century Fox  Available from Amazon  $9.98  on 11-29-2008     <I>X2</I> does a fine job of picking up where <I>X-Men</I> left off, giving fans more of what they liked the first time around. Under the serious-minded custody of returning director Bryan Singer, the second film of this Marvel comics franchise ups the ante on Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and the superhero mutants from the first film, pitting them against a mutant-hating scientist (Brian Cox) who's determined to wipe out the mutant race by tricking Xavier into abusing his telepathic powers. More a series of spectacles than a truly satisfying thriller, <I>X2</I> introduces new mutant allies while giving each of the <I>X-Men</I> alumni--notably the temporarily helpful Magneto (Ian McKellen)--their own time in the spotlight. Well aware of the parallels between "mutantism" and virulent intolerance in the real world, Singer lends real gravity to the proceedings, injecting dramatic urgency into a continuing franchise that, in lesser hands, might've grown patently absurd. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I> Reader Reviews While there's still a good bit of Wolverine in this second entry into the franchise, X-2, as I had hoped it would, also gives the chance for other members of the team to shine. We join them as Wolverine returns to Prof. Xavier's school after a fruitless journey to Alkali Lake in Alaska, where he believed he might find clues to how he became what he is. Meanwhile, anti-mutant hysteria is mounting in Washington, fed by the sinister Southerner William Stryker, who has a secret agenda. In pursuit of it, he interrogates the imprisoned Magneto under drugs and learns of Prof. Xavier's supercomputer, Cerebro, with which the Professor can literally find any human mind in the world--or even billions of them at a time. Stryker captures Xavier and Cyclops while they are visiting Magneto's prison and sends a Special Forces detachment to invade the school, knowing that Storm and Jean Gray are away. The only thing that saves most of the students from capture is Wolvie, who proves to be a ferocious fighter in their defense and delays the military long enough for the bulk of them to escape through a series of secret tunnels. Meanwhile, Magneto's cohort Mystique arranges his escape from prison, and he seeks out Xavier's pupils, knowing that in order to save mutantkind from extermination they must find and rescue the Professor. I was delighted to see in this film the introduction of one of my favorite X-ers, Kurt Wagner/The Incredible Nightcrawler, a demonic-looking teleport (and devout Catholic). There's also a brief view of someone whom I suspect is Colossus, the young Russian who can transform his body into steel. The effects, of course, are fantastic, and the scenes in the beleaguered school and in Stryker's secret base under Alkali Lake (where Wolverine finally learns the truth about himself--or at least part of it) are non-stop thrill-a-minute action told with wonderful pace and careful attention to necessary exposition. Magneto displays once again the flashes of decency that make him one of the most intriguing of Marvel villains. And, of course, Xavier and his team are splendid. This film has convinced me that I definitely want the X-Men to have shelf space in my DVD collection, and I'll be adding both it and its predecessor as soon as I can.

X2 - X-Men United Available from Amazon Price: $9.98 Updated on 11-29-2008.

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