Genre: Action, Fantasy, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Superhero, Society, Comic Book, Mutants, School / Campus, Fantasy, Betrayal, Love Triangle, Police, Teenage, Gore, Deception, Kidnapping, Prison, Murder, Martial Arts
Tagline: The time has come for those who are different to stand united
Plot: X2: X-MEN UNITED, the remarkable sequel to X-MEN, picks up shortly after the first film's finale. At the White House, a would-be assassin--the acrobatic, teleporting blue mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming)--menaces the president. Meanwhile, in the Canadian Rockies, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) searches for answers to his mysterious past at the top-secret facility where he received his metallic skeleton and claws. Back at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) instruct students Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Pyro (Aaron Stanford), while Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Cyclops (James Marsden) pay a visit to the imprisoned Magneto (Ian McKellen). However, Magneto has a secret weapon in the shape-shifting Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). Soon allies and enemies alike will unite to defeat the hate-filled military scientist William Stryker (Brian Cox), who wants to rid the world of mutants. When Stryker launches a ruthless two-pronged attack that leaves the school under siege and Xavier and Cyclops captured, Wolverine and the remaining X-Men must spring to action to save their friends and prevent all-out genocide.Even better than its excellent precursor, X2 delves deeper into the X-Men mythology, introducing new
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 Like most pictures intended for the summer blockbuster market, ''X2,'' is a symphony of crescendos and pauses, orchestrated toward a big seat-rattling climax, during which an enormous dam breaks, veins bulge on both villainous and heroic brows, and a lotof computer-generated images pop, wiggle and shimmy to the throb and roar of John Ottman's music.--A.O. Scott (The New York Times)
The problem with X2 is essentially the same one that plagued X-Men: too many characters, resulting in too little screen time for each one. X2 may be the most ambitious superhero motion picture to date, but it doesn't work quite as well as Spider-Man or Superman, both of which are, in some ways, inferior.  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
This snazzy sequel to Bryan Singer's comic-book smash "X-Men" is sleek and sexy, filled with delicious characters and effects. Just don't compare it to the original.--Stephanie Zacharek (Salon)
"X2: X-Men United" lacks a beginning, a middle and an end, and exists more as a self-renewing loop. ... Yes, there are comics in which the characters age and their worlds change, but the X-Men seem likely to continue forever, demonstrating their superpowers in one showcase scene after another. Perhaps in the next generation a mutant will appear named Scribbler, who can write a better screenplay for them. --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
Of the many comic book superhero movies, this is by far the lamest, the loudest, the longest. Good Lord, what an epic sit. My rear end deserves a medal.--Stephen Hunter (Washington Post)
Hugely enjoyable sequel that’s every bit as good as the first film.  --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
A film that combines the best of both worlds by finally pleasing both movie and comic fans.  --Carl Lazarevic (MovieWeb)
Everything here is larger, broader, more developed and complex, mutated beyond all expectations. --Christopher Monfette (MovieWeb)
X2 complicates and clouds the conventional black and white tropes of a good vs. evil confrontation. Where X-Men pitted mutant against mutant, X2 blurs these lines into fuzzy, gray areas.  --L.M. Smith (MovieWeb)
"X-Men 2" shares its predecessor's problems of story and self-containment: there's a hyperactive narrative and too much assumed knowledge.  --Nev Pierce (BBC Films)
It's a rare occurrence indeed for a sequel to be anywhere near as good as the original film. But that's the case with "X2: X-Men United." In fact, the new film may be better than the original.--Paul Clinton (CNN Showbiz)
"X2: X-Men United" is a substantial improvement over "X-Men," in many ways, especially in visual and specialeffects departments.  --Jami Bernard (New York Daily News)
Another Marvel-inspired triumph that's at least as good as the original, if not slightly better - but be prepared for a deeply confusing couple of hours if you haven't seen that first one. 8/10--Gary Panton (Movie Gazette)
Though the movie's never boring, it certainly could have been tighter; the film would've been crackerjack if it'd been an hour and a half. Still, it's hard to complain considering how entertaining and well-made X2 is.--David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)
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| Written by |
Zak Penn
X-Men: The Last Stand, Last Action Hero, Suspect Zero | David Hayter
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, Guyver: Dark Hero, Long Shadows |
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| Cast |
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 | Ian McKellen
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
 | Halle Berry
X-Men, X-Men: The Last Stand, Die Another Day |
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 | Anna Paquin
X-Men, Almost Famous, X-Men: The Last Stand |
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| Music By |
John Ottman
The Usual Suspects, Fantastic Four, The Cable Guy |
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| Yes, the film isn't perfect, it doesn't offer the best one-two punch to end things off, it goes a little long and it certainly doesn't spend enough time with all of its characters, but for such a grand project, such a big budget, such a sorted history with hundreds of stories to be told and characters to highlight, this film does a great job of capturing it all in a nutshell as well as entertaining throughout. 8/10 --'JoBlo' (JoBlo.com)
X2, to me, didn't rise up to any of my expectations because I really didn't have any. Is it a great film? Sure. It's got a lot of great things going on for it. Will I, personally, be seeing it again any time soon? Nope. 7/10-- (CHUD.com)
In other words, "X2" takes itself every bit as seriously as its cinematic forebear -- and, for that matter, the Marvel Comics characters on which both films are based. And, like the first movie, it wraps everything up in spectacular action scenes poweredby special effects that are all the more impressive because director Bryan Singer does not let them overwhelm the other elements of the movie.--Ron Weiskind (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
X2: X-Men United is a thoroughly exciting and intriguing sequel in the X-Men series, a pure adrenaline ride. But with a weighty--and very important--message attached, the film also makes you think.  --Kit Bowen (Hollywood.com)
The bar is set. This is the movie that every other event film this summer will be measured against. And if any movie this summer can even come close to achieving the epicness of X2, then we, as film fans, are in for a real treat these next few months. 9/10--'Greg C.' (Movie-Vault.com)
In the end, "X2" is the film that asks audiences to celebrate the ultimate death of the human race. Such audacity might have been something to build on, if only the filmmakers knew what they were saying.--Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle)
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