X2 (2003)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers (WGA):

Zak Penn (story) and
David Hayter (story) ...

Release Date:

2 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The time has come for those who are different to stand united

Plot:

The X-Men band together to find a mutant assassin who has made an attempt on the President's life, while the Mutant Academy is attacked by military forces.

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | Prison | X Men | Storm | Assassin

Awards:

4 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

Patrick Stewart	...	Professor Charles Xavier
Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Ian McKellen	...	Eric Lensherr / Magneto
Halle Berry	...	Storm / Ororo Munroe
Famke Janssen	...	Jean Grey
James Marsden	...	Scott Summers / Cyclops
Anna Paquin	...	Rogue / Marie D'Ancanto
Rebecca Romijn	...	Mystique / Grace (as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos)
Brian Cox	...	William Stryker
Alan Cumming	...	Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler
Bruce Davison	...	Senator Kelly
Aaron Stanford	...	John Allerdyce / Pyro
Shawn Ashmore	...	Bobby Drake / Iceman
Kelly Hu	...	Yuriko Oyama / Deathstrike
Katie Stuart	...	Kitty Pryde

Also Known As:

X-Men 2 (Singapore: English title) (USA) (working title)
X² (USA) (alternative spelling)
X-2 (USA) (poster title)
X-Men 2: X-Men United (USA) (promotional title)
X2: X-Men United (USA) (promotional title)
X2: X-Men unis (Canada: French title)
X-Men 2 (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Люди Икс-2 (Russia) [ru]
Iks-men 2 (Serbia) [sr]
X-Mehed 2 (Estonia) [et]
X-Men 2 (Brazil) [pt]
X-Men 2 (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
X-Men 2 (Germany) [de]
X-Men 2 (France) [fr]
X-Men 2 (Finland) [fi]
X2 (Denmark) [da]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action/violence, some sexuality and brief language.

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Bern) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39703)

Filming Locations:

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Marvel Enterprises

Trivia:

The set from the bathroom scene where Mystique incapacitates the prison guard and injects him with a foreign substance is actually an unused set from X-Men (2000). The scene in question (written and storyboarded, but not shot) involved Cyclops manifesting his powers as a teenager, destroying a high school bathroom.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the attack on the mansion, the soldiers' P90s all have silencers attached, yet whenever the guns are fired, there are muzzle flashes and the shots are louder than they should be.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Professor X: [voiceover] Mutants. Since the discovery of their existence they have been regarded with fear, suspicion, often hatred. Across the planet, debate rages. Are mutants the next link in the evolutionary chain or simply a new species of humanity fighting for their share of the world? Either way it is a historical fact: Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute.

Movie Connections:

References Them! (1954)

Soundtrack:

Dies Irae from Mozart's Requiem in D Minor, K.626

One Of Those Few Sequels That Surpass The First By Leaps And Bounds

X-Men 2: X-Men United

X2 gets to join that small list of sequels that exceed the originals. The first was deeply flawed, and this installment not only fixes those flaws, but goes beyond them.

The largest flaw of X-Men, was that it lacked character development. Well not only does the sequel develop the original stellar cast, but it adds more characters...who are ALSO developed!!! Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) haunting past is laid out. He has choices to make, discoveries to find, memories to rediscover...Rogue (Anna Paquin) has a boyfriend Bobby/Iceman (series newcomer Shawn Ashmore) and they are both trying to get close to each other, while overcoming Rogue's devastatingly unique talent (for those who don't know she sucks the life from people who make physical contact with her). Jean Grey's powers are growing out of control, and she has to try and contain them, while also finding out why. Not to mention she's tangled in a love triangle with Wolverine and Cyclops (James Marsden). And Mystique (Rebbecca Romijn) is trying to interject herself into that as well. Even professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) seems to be in a rut, the thought of a former student (Michael Reid MacKay) on mind.

Among the newcomers are Pyro (Aaron Standford), a temperamental teen with a flare (HA!) for playing with fire. And maybe joining the brotherhood (Magneto's band of mutant terrorists)...? And Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), a teleporter, who has deep catholic faith, and nearly (though he doesn't know why) killed the president. And a silent assailant/bodyguard, Deathstrike (Kellly Hu). With some future mutants hinted at (such as Colossus).

The story is also much better this time around, finding a far more radical villain (William Striker, played with uncanny ability by Brian Cox) trying to permanently exterminate mutants. The stakes are high, and it plays out awesomely, featuring truly amazing action sequences along the way (a breath-taking opening assault on the white house; and an intense raid on the mutant school).

There's light humor spread here and there (Wolverine hears a noise, and unleashes his claws on...a cat, who proceeds to lick them), and the atmosphere of the first (a perfect capturing of mutant segregation) is still intact (notable most, when Bobby Drake/Iceman goes to his parents to tell them what he is). Bryan Singer has done an amazing and commendable job. 10/10.

"Have you ever tried...not being a mutant?"-X2: X-Men United