As X-Men: Days of Future Past hits our screens, we look back at some of the best and worst films from the franchise, and possibly one of the best comes in the form of X2, known internationally as X-Men 2 or X2: X-Men United. Released way back when in 2003, the film saw the introduction of one of the best villains in the series; Colonel William Stryker, portrayed by Brian Cox. Directed by Bryan Singer, and co written and edited by Zak Penn, David Hayter, Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty, X2 was the highly anticipated sequel to X-Men, a film based off of the Marvel superheroes of the same name.
An emotional and touching film that dealt with humanity and peace, X2 saw the introduction of the villainous Stryker, who wanted to essentially eradicate all mutants. Differing from the first film, X2 saw Xavier’s gang team up with Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants to battle Stryker and save the mutants. Back for the adventure were of course the Professor himself, portrayed by Patrick Stewart, along with Magneto (Ian McKellen) and also the powerful Storm (Halle Berry), Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), Cyclops (James Marsden), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Mystique (Rebecca Romijn) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore). X2 also saw the introduction of new characters such as Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) and of course, Stryker.
Having been left in a plastic prison following the first film, Magneto is visited by Xavier and Cyclops, who are enquiring about an assassination attempt on the President. It soon becomes clear that Xavier and Cyclops aren’t the first visitors Magneto has had, as Professor X discovers a government operative named Stryker has been extracting certain information from Magneto. After Xavier and Cyclops are captured, it is up to Wolverine to defend the school from Stryker, and for the rest of team X-Men to join forces with Mystique and Magneto to try and get them back, whilst also preventing Stryker from completing his goal of mass genocide of all mutants.
With rather thought-provoking themes such as world-peace, genocide and social inclusion, X2 proved itself to be something more than just another superhero movie, by being highly relatable to real-world issues. The film marked itself out as being a tribute to those who feel like outcasts in their society, such as teens, different races or people of differing sexualities, and that is one of the defining features of the film, that it is universally relatable. These emotional themes, combined with the usual killer special effects, elaborate costumes and incredibly detailed make-up earn X2 its status as one of the best comic book movies of the 2000s.
What some films lack, and of which X2 made sure it didn’t, was a truly engaging and devious villain. Stryker was all of these things, from his war-like mentality when it comes to dealing with mutants to his manipulation of others to achieve his goals, he seemed unstoppable. Brian Cox was sure to play the character to its full potential, and the scenes where Stryker featured were arguably the best of the film. In addition, the acting from the cast improved all round, and X2 seemed altogether a better put-together film, despite some of its flaws in its storyline. I remember watching the film when I was younger and one of the inevitable moments that sticks out is the ambiguous ending, which was dramatic in itself, and sets the series up for a climatic third instalment (even if it may not have turned out that way).
With engaging and emotional performances and themes, it is hard to find a reason not to watch X2, and I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed. So prepare to board your X-Jet to the land of Marvel movies and join the X-Men in their fight for the survival of the mutant race!
4 stars
You can also check out this review on I'm With Geek
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