Movie Info

X-Men 2: X-Men United

Before watching this movie I had doubts that it was going to be any good. To me, the movie could have easily suffered the "Batman" syndrome of too many characters. So I ignored a lot of the hype that was created to promote the movie and hoped that the movie was at least average. So what do I think about the movie now that I've seen it? Bryan Singer is god.

This is the second of three movies that Singer has signed on to do direct and I'm extremely grateful for long-term contracts. I've been a fan of the X-men since the nineties and I've been hooked by the multitude of characters and storylines. However, the publisher of the X-men comic books diversified a little too much and ruined another great property during the glut and the result was the loss of me as a reader. Singer masterfully crafts each character into the grand scheme of things without concentrating too much on each character. It's true that some characters where really underutilized but it was just cool to actually have them in there. Colossus is a prime example. That one scene with him was good enough for me. The only complaint was the overall use of the beautiful Kelly Hu as Deathstrike. The fight scene with Wolverine was amazing but it is a shame that Yuriko was only a henchman and her deep relationship with Logan was never integrated into the movie. With such an all-star cast of actors, I'd really like to know how Singer managed them all; A considerable feat to say the least.

The story itself was well-written with lots of little hints about the next movie. The teaming of Magneto with the X-men was a classic twist direct from the comic books. It showed how fine the line between Magneto and the X-men is. In the comics, Magneto actually mentors the X-men when Xavier disappears. There are plenty of sub-plots in this movie that hopefully will all be concluded in the final trilogy. I especially enjoyed the closure of the Wolverine subplot. It wasn't long and complicated as in the comics but it came to a simple conclusion. There was only one thing that really bothered me throughout the whole movie. The entire plot and future of mutants really came down to one mutant: Mystique. Without her talents, they would have all been screwed. Next time, take out the half-naked, blue, shape-changing mutant and all will be good with kill-all-mutants plot. Hehe.

The conclusion of the movie really pumped me up for the next movie. It seems it is obvious that the Dark Phoenix Saga is the next major plotline for the X-men. With Singer directing once again, I am truly crossing my fingers for a third successful movie. Let's make sure those suits don't decide they know how to make a good movie. X-men has, in my opinion, become a great super-hero franchise. With the hit and misses of the last year in comic book movies (Spider-man and Daredevil), it's nice to see a sequel work out so well. As an avid comic book fan, I'm totally excited about all these new comic book movies, but as with all movies (and in comics); well-written storylines will draw the crowds. So go see this movie if not for the great work by Bryan Singer, then for how HOT Kelly Hu is in this movie (James Marsden for you girls!).

Dragoncrypt