X-2: X-Men United (2003)
Plot Summary
After the events on Liberty Island, everyone at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters is settling in. Magneto (Ian McKellen) is locked up in a plastic cell, Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Bobby Drake (Shawn Ashmore) have finally gotten together, and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has set off to find his origins. But it won't stay quiet for long. After a mutant attack on the President, everyone starts to fear any type of mutant. William Stryker, (Brian Cox) a military man cum scientist who plans to stop all mutants, takes over the school, causing Wolverine and his team of mutants to go into hiding. Stryker has managed to capture Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and will use him to create another version of Cerebro. Wolverine and the team must now team up with their enemy, Magneto, to stop Stryker before it's too late
We continue on our journey through the X Films with the best of the original trilogy as it really delves into the factions that make up the X-Men world: The humans, The X-Men and arguably the United States Government. This movie is based largely on the 1983 Graphic Novel God Loves, Man Kills (1983). While I haven't read it (yet) I know the general storyline and beats of said storyline. This movie really hits on the main points with the exception that Stryker is a military man/scientist type who has a crusade against mutants rather than him being a televangelist in the original GN. His plan is basically to kidnap Xavier and find a way to Cerebro so that he could build a weaponized version of the machine which through manipulation Xavier would use to kill the mutant population.
Stryker is played wonderfully here by Brian Cox who gives off that mix of arrogance and menace. There's definitely a sliminess to his character especially since he's got a burning hatred of mutants but will use means of his own to manipulate mutants and even work closely with one in order to achieve his ends. There's the added backstory of him being the guy that set up the military experiments which created Wolverine in the first place. Cox really plays his character well using the right mix of disdain and authority to his every move which fits the character to a tee.
Again, like the first movie this one is largely Wolverine's show and it's moreso this time around. The scene in which Stryker has military personnel invade the X-Mansion and take it over in order to get the specs etc etc for Cerebro is a great showcase for Wolvie as he's ruthless as hell against the military guys just cutting them down with his claws while protecting and saving as many kids as he could. There's even a cameo/bit part where Colossus helps bring the kids out to safety!
Hugh Jackman gives more depth to Wolverine in this movie and you see more of what makes him tick. He's more than just a lone wolf as he confides with Bobby before the invasion and they have a neat little moment. Towards the end of the invasion scene when Stryker comes face to face with Wolverine and Wolvie wants to duke it out he is stopped by Bobby and Rogue who put up an ice shield between the two and he wants to continue with Stryker but they express their fear of escaping alone so he shows his growth as a person and goes off with them.
BTW the assassination attempt on the president? Turns out that was Nightcrawler and Storm and Jean Grey go off to find him and he quickly is co-opted into the X-Men. I really liked that Singer and Co. didn't shy away from Nightcrawler's Catholic belief as he is discovered in an abandoned church and at the film's end he recites a biblical passage. I also liked that they also kept the fun loving side of him as well as just about everyone who sees him for the first time asks who he is and he goes into his spiel "I am Kurt Wagner but in the circus I was known as the Great Nightcrawler!". It comes off better in the movie than in text.
The movie also uses the classic X-Men trope of villains having some redeeming qualities as Magneto sides with the X-Men in taking down Stryker though Magneto reverts back to form in the last half hour or so of the flick. I did like that they at least used that idea of Magneto having a sense of preservation even if it means working with Xavier's people.
The movie also adapts a bit of the Phoenix storyline and this is the failing of not only this movie but the first one. Again, Cyclops is wafer thin as a character and he's completely out of the picture for the whole middle section of the film! We get more of the Jean Grey/Wolverine development than anything else as Wolvie definitely lets Jean know how he feels and even tries to have a romantic moment with her though she rebuffs him. This is all so very problematic because for those that have read the Phoenix storyline they know that Jean and Scott are truly in love and into each other by this point in their lives yet in the movies you're only TOLD how much they love each other. Yes, Janssen and Marsden have passable chemistry when together but you don't get the depth of feeling that you got from the comic iteration of the couple. It makes the ending so very hollow. I think the script writers and Singer deserve a lot of blame for this as the chemistry between the two could've been worked on easily over the course of the 2 films rather than making it the Wolverine Show.
That being said, structurally, this movie is very sound. The story is engaging, the characters all work well and despite the film length (2+ hrs) it moved at a good pace.
A solid **** stars
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