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| X2: X-Men United |
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| Anticipation Level: |
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| How excited (or not) I am to see this movie... |
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5/14/2003
Before you read this, be advised I give away spoilers. Don't read if you haven't seen the film, please.
*waits*
Still with me? Good! Here we go...
I saw "X2" on opening day, and again last Friday. While "X2" is one of my favorite movies ever (it's currently #5), it's not as good as its 2000 predecessor "X-Men" (which is my #2 favorite).
There's no major character background or development for much of the characters, such as Storm (Halle Berry), Cyclops (James Marsden, who is so under-used in this film, it's not even funny), Deathstryke (Kelly Hu), and so forth.
The only ones with any major backgrounds are Wolverine (Hugh Jackman, in all his berserker rage glory), and Stryker (Brian Cox) and Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming, perfectly cast and nicely teleporting in several cool sequences), who have their backgrounds explained instead of shown.
And some of the characters are far too under-used. Deathstryke, Rogue (Anna Paquin, who uses her powers twice and STILL doesn't have her other powers like her comic-counterpart), and even Xavier get lost in the shuffle, because there're too many characters in the film. Cyclops, in particular, gets a wasted role with only 15 or so minutes on-screen in the two-hour plus film (though he does get some of the best moments, particularly when in fight sequences or mourning the loss of Jean during the Alkali Lake compound's flood while in the X-Jet).
If you never read the comics and never saw the first film, you won't get "X2" at all. Example: Cyclops tells Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) she's been different since Liberty Island. But with no other explanation than that, people may wonder what DID happen to Jean at Liberty Island, leaving new viewers confused.
And call me crazy, but why did they replace Michael Kamen (the man who did the first film's music) with composer/editor John Ottman? His music was fine, but wasn't as memorable (though his X-theme and the music heard during the last fifteen minutes of the film is nicely done).
Though it does have its good points: Wolverine, Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), Pyro (Aaron Stanford, but sadly without giving Pyro his Australian accent), Jean Grey, Magneto (the under-used but enjoyable Sir Ian McKellen), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, with more than one line of dialogue and more fights in this film compared to "X-Men") and Nightcrawler are the best to watch performance wise. (Though they don't explain the mother/son relationship between Mystique and Nightcrawler - darn!)
The visual effects are better, the sound is better, the make-up is better, the costumes are cool and the sets are some of the best the X-series has to offer. Even the cameos (like Daniel Cudmore as Colossus and Steve Bacic as Dr. Hank McCoy on a TV screen in a bar scene) are nice touches for fans.
And the whole Jean Grey/Phoenix thing was nicely handled and showcased.
But still, I call this "the sequel that could've been". I expected more character development, more backgrounds, more fights for particular characters and better music.
Still, I'm ready for an "X3" and can't wait to see what else Fox, director Bryan Singer and company have planned next for the X-Men trilogy.
'Nuff said, indeed.
your friendly neighborhood comic critic |
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