Review of X2 (2003) by Filipeneto — 05 Oct 2020

I am not very used to films that have characters from the comic book universe as their theme, but the quality and impact that some have had makes them a mandatory visit. So, even without knowing much about the characters or their fictional stories, I decided to watch the X-Men franchise films. This decision was followed by some reading about the characters and the films. I tried to follow more or less the chronological sequence of events starting with the prequels and continuing, in order to better understand what I was seeing. So this film, which was the second in the franchise, was the fourth film I saw.

In this film, the American president is attacked by a mutant. In response, he authorizes William Stryker to make efforts to control and identify mutants, which are now considered a threat to national security. With Magneto trapped in a plastic prison and at the mercy of the army, Xavier's mansion is attacked and prisoners are taken. With a new danger in common, the remaining X-Men are forced to join forces with Magneto, who still has his own agenda.

This was the second film in the franchise and gives a logical continuation to the story started in the first film. It is an improvement as the story is denser, darker and with space for mutants that were kept in the background in the first film, as is the case of Storm, who appears more and has more intervention in the story now. Dialogues are good and has some space for well-placed comic lines and also some romance (highlighting Rogue's flirtations and the Cyclops-Jean-Wolverine love triangle). Personally, I felt that this film puts more characters in interaction, which gives more relevance to their dialogues and the way they relate to each other, revealing more of each one's personality. This is most evident with Rogue, Iceman, Pyro and Nightcrawler, which is the most notable addition to the movie's character list.

The cast is inherited from the previous film and is made up of proven actors. This is the case of Hugh Jackman, who continued his excellent work as Wolverine, or Sir Ian McKellen, who steals the spotlight when he appears, giving Magneto a threatening perversity and a cynicism full of elegance and depth. Patrick Stewart, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn and Famke Janssen continue to shine in their respective roles, in such a way that they seem tailor-made for these actors. Among the newcomers, I would highlight Alan Cumming, extremely effective as Nightcrawler, and Brian Cox, who made a good villain. On the negative side, I would continue to mention James Marsden's one-dimensional and tasteless performance, and also Halle Berry, who was unable to take advantage of the extra screen time given to her character, limiting herself to continuing the bland performance of the first film, where her was character frankly secondary. She should have invested more in the character or demanded better material from the screenwriter.

In addition to these merits, the film has excellent production values that should be highlighted. It is a Marvel film and there are huge millions of dollars involved, which is quite evident from the beginning. Visually its a show in itself, with great visual effects and the best CGI that money could buy. The opening sequence, with the attack on the President, immediately captures our attention for the rest that follows. The scenes and action sequences are great and the climax is a great action sequence, even more tense and interesting than the one we saw in the first film. As in the first film, it has excellent luxurious and detailed sets and costumes. Cinematography is excellent and makes good use of color and shadow to make the film denser, darker and tenser. The editing was also well accomplished, which results in a perfect rhythm, in which there are no dead moments. I think its fair to also greet the makeup department and the soundtrack by John Ottman, which is quite somber and in concordance with the atmosphere of the film.