The first X-Men movie was solid for the first twenty minutes or so and then petered out leaving the characters stranded in some poorly done fight scenes until the climatic moment when the heroes courageously shot an old man in the back. I guess that good first reel was popular enough that a sequel to X-Men was green lighted. But instead of falling into the trap of most sequels where they are pale re-treads of the original, X-Men 2 [or X2 for those who find it too much work to type "-Men"] is a lot more than it's original, or at least a lot more frantic.

X2 loses no time and starts the film with a bang of black smoke as the mutant Nightcrawler [Alan Cumming] skitters, leaps, and teleports his way through the White House on a mission to attack the President. After that ill-fated blow for mutant liberation, Gen. William Stryker [Brian Cox] is given permission to investigate the highly suspicious Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. From there on out all hell busts loose as people get knocked into walls, knocked through walls or knock walls over on other people for the rest of the film's running time. It may not have been quite that wild a ride but it was a step up from the previous movie and I also needed to go to the bathroom for part of the movie which made me a bit more antsy than normal.

Since X2 is running under the idea that bigger is better the cast has been expanded as well. Not only do all the characters from the previous film return [except for a couple of evil mutants who were pretty much losers anyway] but now Rouge [Anna Paquin] has a couple of bipolar teen mutants, Iceman [Shawn Ashmore] and Pyro [Aaron Stanford], to pal around with. Since Wolverine needs somebody to have a showdown with, Yuriko Oyama -aka Deathstrike- is added to the movie. As played by Kelly Hu she's Wolverine's double if Wolverine was a petite Asian American woman instead of a big, hairy Caucasian type guy. If you overlook that they're practically twins. When you also factor in Stryker and his assorted flunkies there are a lot of people running around for a two hour movie. If this sort of thing keeps up in the inevitable sequel [hot XXX-Men action!] the movie is going to be nothing but a parade of people dropping into the movie just long enough to look distinctive or show off some nifty special effect laden power.

Credit goes to director Brian Singer for keeping the whole thing as grounded in reality as it needs to be. The story feels like it has an almost epic sweep to it when it could easily have turned into nothing more than people running around one of those sets where there's a lot of exposed pipe work. All that work of juggling plot lines Singer learned while making The Usual Suspects seems to have paid off even if he still doesn't know how to properly finish a movie. The only thing you need to really understand and enjoy X2 is to pay attention. You also may want to watch X-Men first since X2 works under the assumption that re-caps of what came before are for wimpy moviegoers. Reading up on some magazine articles and perhaps reviewing the official movie site probably wouldn't hurt either. If you felt up to it you could also check out some of the cartoon incarnations of the X-Men and perhaps read a few years worth of comic books just to make sure you're up on all the inside jokes. With a scant fifty hours of prep work you'll be ready to watch X2. Whoever said summer movies are mindless entertainment must not have remembered all the homework needed before you could settle into your theater seat.

In addition to the director and writers, credit must also be given to the actors for realizing the only way X2 would work would be to play it straight. The incredibly strange career path of Ian McKellen trundles along as he returns as the mutant Magneto. McKellen is enough of a trooper to not wink at the camera at any point and is able to make a scene where he and a naked blue woman [the naked and blue Rebecca Romijin-Stamos] snicker and make catty remarks to one of the X-Men while riding on a supersonic jet look like it's the most natural thing in the world. While handing out compliments, special mention must be made of Hugh Jackman's ability to wear a wig. Normally an actor wearing a wig would be no big deal but the wig of Wolverine in X2 is a sight to behold. Mutton chops stream down a stubble encrusted face while rising on either side of his head -as if supported by those stunning sideburns- is some sort of double duck-tail concoction. It sweeps, it curves, it makes him look like an owl crossed with a lumber jack. I know that he wore a variation on the same wig in X-Men but it seems more large, more poofy, more alive this time out. There were points during the movie where I stopped paying attention to the scene and became fascinated with Wolverine's wig. Does his hair naturally grow like that? Has he ever tried combing it? Go for the movie, stay for the wig.

Beneath all the special effects hoo-haw, X2 still has the sense of inclusiveness and feelings of ostracization that set the original X-Men comic apart in the first place. The mutants in the story are allegorical stand-ins for any person or any group that doesn't feel like it is welcome by or belongs to the norm. X2 has some fun with this idea [the scene where Iceman "comes out" as a mutant to his family being a highlight] but is smart enough not to make any concrete parallels. By keeping exactly what the X-Men represent open to interpretation audience members are allowed to plug in their own neuorsies into the mutant slug-outs. The only possible problem with this idea is those who are so paranoid that they see the X-Men representing what they view as subversive elements of society. The threat of a possible backlash is blunted by one over-riding factor: most of the mutants are extremely good looking. Wolverine can wander through half the movie in a wife-beater shirt and his previously discussed hair and still be considered ruggedly handsome. On the female side there's Jean Grey [Famke Janssen], Storm [Halle Berry], Deathstrike, Mystique [Romijin-Stamos]... the list goes on and on. I for one welcome this new stage in human evolution. Who wouldn't want a new branch of humanity that's full of hot people who look good in leather outfits?

Questions, comments, and discussion on how the world would be a better place with more hot people wearing leather can be sent to gleep9@hotmail.com. Show off your mutant power of eye-hand co-ordination and click on the links to go back to either the Third Movie or Main page.