X-Men 1.5/X-Men 2: 4 disc doublepack [2003]

Average customer rating:

A rare modern sequel that out-performs it daddy!

IF ONLY ALL SEQUELS WERE LIKE THIS

Possibly the Greatest Comic Book Movie Ever

X Men 2

a huge dissapointment

X-Men 1.5/X-Men 2: 4 disc doublepack [2003]
Starring: Halle Berry , James Marsden , Famke Janssen , Patrick Stewart , and Hugh Jackman
Director: Bryan Singer
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

All Action & Adventure | Action & Adventure | Categories | DVD | Video
All Science Fiction & Fantasy | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Categories | DVD | Video
Science Fiction | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Categories | DVD | Video
DVD | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
Box Set | Format (binding_browse-bin) | Refinements | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

X-Men [2000]

X-Men 1.5 Extreme Edition [2000]

X-Men - The Last Stand [2006]

X-Men 3: The Last Stand [2 Disc Edition] [2006]

Daredevil [2003]

ASIN: B0000CC79A
Release Date: 2003-11-10

Amazon.co.uk Review

X-Men 2 picks up almost directly where X-Men left off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian McKellan) is still a prisoner of the US government, heroic bad-boy Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is up in Canada investigating his mysterious origin, and the events at Liberty Island (which occurred at the conclusion of X-Men) have prompted a rethink in official policy towards mutants--the proposed Mutant Registration Act has been shelved by US Congress. Into this scenario pops wealthy former Army commander William Stryker, a man with the President's ear and a personal vendetta against all mutant-kind in general, and the X-Men's leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in particular. Once he sets his plans into motion, the X-Men must team-up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), as well as some new allies (including Alan Cumming's gregarious, blue-skinned German mutant, Nightcrawler).

The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous--from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one)--with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first installment. But that's just a minor quibble--X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. --Robert Burrow

Customer Reviews:

A rare modern sequel that out-performs it daddy!.......2008-01-25

I remember watching the first X Men film and thinking how fantastic it was - great characters, smart effects, and not too 'over done'. I first watched this sequel a few years back, and have been watching it over and over again since! Its rare we come across a sequel these days that can better its predecessor, but this one does, and what a film it is. The acting is superb, the storyline unfolds neatly, and it doesn't over-complicate the whole saga.

If you loved the first film, this is simply a must!

IF ONLY ALL SEQUELS WERE LIKE THIS.......2007-08-08

Considering what happened with the Batman series, particularly after Tim Burton left, and considering what has happened in plenty other comic book adaptations such as Spider-Man or Daredevil, nobody would be blamed for having bet that an X-Men sequel would be a disaster. But X2: X-Men United, as it is billed here, is a sequel that can be mentioned in the same breath as Aliens or The Godfather Part II.

Like the original, this new sequel has something to say about how our society deals with people who don't look the same, act the same, think the same, or feel the same as all the drones out there. The spirit of the comic books it is based on is very much alive in this film, and that's a big part of what makes it such compelling viewing. In today's society, people with a serious mental illness will be rooting for characters like Wolverine, or Magneto if they have a sadistic side, all the way. In tomorrow's society it could be people who undergo genetic engineering to rid themselves of cancer or other horrible diseases. Who knows? That's the truly sad part of these stories - they only seem to either stay relevant or get more relevant as time goes on.

Ian McKellen is in fine, fine form as Magneto, the angry mutant whose justification for waging war on "normal" society is all but handed to him on a platter in this episode. Rebecca Romijn-Stamos actually gets to do something other than sit there and look pretty this time, and Halle Berry proves once again that she cannot act her way out of a wet paper bag. But once again, Hugh Jackman and Anna Paquin steal the show, in spite of the latter having a significantly reduced role compared to the first film. Shawn Ashmore also squeezes his head in and manages to prove he is there for a reason, too.

Unlike the original X-Men, in which the true bad guys are mostly undefined except for a rather nasty Senator, one will not be able to walk out of X2 without pathologically hating the bad guys here. Brian Cox plays the mad general so well that anyone with a truly compassionate bone in their body will want to leap into the picture and tear the head off the kind of man who could do THAT to his own son. And the film is all the stronger for it, because it brings the message that the normalists who would give us all gene tests when deciding who should live or die are the real bad guys, not the mutants who have been made bitter and angry by their behaviour. I know a whole family of utter creeps who would do well to be nailed into a chair and forced to watch this film with their eyes pried open, Ludivico-style.

I won't say anything about the ending except for two small points. One is that it makes Ray Park's line in the first film ("Don't you people ever die?") seem all the funnier, except it really isn't the sort of point where one should laugh. I did, but that is just the kind of person I am. The other is that it proves anyone in this film can out-act Halle Berry, even another former Bond girl, in this case Famke Janssen. She gives the film an end-sequence of the kind that I've only seen in other films like Gladiator and Rollerball (the real Rollerball, I mean).

To summarise, out of 125 minutes of near perfection, I have only three minor complaints. The editing of the final battle sequence, particularly when Patrick Stewart is in the new Cerebro, is a little too loose for my liking. Parts seem to have been repeated just to stretch out the running time. I also found Nightcrawler's constant prayer recitals annoying. If this was supposed to enforce the idea of Christian good guys, it doesn't work because we've seen before how their kind are little different from the William Stryker caste. Lastly, they really should have got someone other than Halle Berry to play Storm. I don't care who, just anyone. She is the biggest personality vortex I have ever seen on the big screen, and I kept expecting Anna Paquin to turn to her and say "I *earned* my Oscar".

But at the end of the day, I wish all sequels could be as good as this effort. Ten out of ten from me. It did lose a point because of the things I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but it gains it back (and then some) whenever Hugh Jackman or Anna Paquin say something. Those two should work together more often.

Possibly the Greatest Comic Book Movie Ever.......2007-07-16

When taking into account all the comic book movies that have hit the theater recently this may sound like a bold statement, but really it's not. This may be a large grossing sub-genre but it isn't really that many movies we're talking about. With X2 though, I'm inclined to go even further and say it's one of the best sci-fi action films of all time...seriously. In terms of strictly comic book movies, it's simply either this or Batman Begins. I say X2 wins even in that comparison, but I'm certainly willing to accept the opposite view.

The film opens with a brilliant introduction to a crucial character, the German teleporter Nightcrawler who looks like a little blue demon but possesses an intense devotion to Catholicism, and his introduction does not serve to assist in painting him as a hero. More of an anti-hero I guess. I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't actually seen it but X2 opens with one of the more memorable action sequences of recent date and the film contains three more specific sequences that are just as good. Magneto's inevitable escape from his plastic prison is one of them.

One of the other memorable scenes sets up the real storyline for X2 quite nicely and introduces us to other mutant heroes in the process. William Stryker, an inventive military man, is motivated by his personal experience with mutant-kind to actually organize an assault on Charles Xavier's school for mutants. He wishes to gain access to the mutant tracking device called Cerebro and destroy all of them. His teams' assault is truely great action-filmmaking. The X-Men and Magneto, with his loosely forming band of mutants who agree with his politics on how to respond to humanity, find a common enemy in Stryker. The relationship established between Charles and Magneto in the first film is really important here as younger mutants develop and choose sides. I have to say, if I were in their predicament I may certainly be swayed by Magneto's extremism. The character developement here for supporting roles is important to note. Mystique and Pyro are really great villains here with massive emotion behind their actions and it's never over-stated, but it enhances the meaning and consequences to action sequences so well.

The other incredible action scene is when Bobby Drake's family calls the cops on him and his new mutant friends. There are enough under-stated layers in this scene and the characters; Wolverine, Rogue, Bobby and Pyro, are still consistent. The police show up and Pyro reveals his wrath. I always get excited for that scene even though I know he's wrong in his reaction. I mentioned four action sequences but the fun doesn't end there. Lady Deathstryke, who has been brainwashed by Stryker, and Wolverine have a great fight scene. Other scenes during the climax are just as impressive and all the while we are given enough tid-bits of so many characters that we still manage to care and even get a bit surprised near the end. It's a shame this wasn't pulled off in the third film.

X2 is unique in the sense that the plot is secondary and the film's primary operative is to develop the characters for more climactic stories. I think the screenplay succeeds in this sense but overall the screenplay (written by voice actor David Hayter) is not one of the film's strengths and can require a more robust imagination to really appreciate. Overall though, within the context of a complete trilogy, X2 is nearly perfect.

X Men 2 .......2007-02-03

This is the second X-MEN in the trilogy and is fantastic with the arts of special effects exsplosive action and with a twist like no other X-MEN 2 takes the excitement to the xtreme.In a war that leaves only one race victorious.

Starring Xavier(Patrick Stewart), wolverine(Hugh Jackman),storm (Halle Berry) ,and all the other X-MEN and must unite with thier old adversary magneto (Ian McKellen) and save the mutant kind.

Brilliant dvd a must buy !!!

a huge dissapointment.......2007-02-03

I never really liked X-Men the movie, feeling it was a series of wasted opportunities and just an exercise in introducing the characters to people who were not aware of them (if you were watching that movie, chances are you knew who the characters were anyway). So it was with some trepidation that I approached X2 (a snappier title don't you think?).
However, this is not the unqualified success it could have been either. The plot concerns itself with the ongoing trials and tribulations of the titular team as they must once more do battle with the forces of evil to save themselves and all of mutant kind (and by association, humanity itself). This time the villain is human, a mutant hating scientist by the name of William Stryker, played with obvious relish by Brian Cox, who intends to wipe out all mutants, starting with our heroes. Around this plot is hung a series of amazing set pieces and a rather clunky and hackneyed morality tale in relation to humans and mutants getting along together.
All the familiar faces are back from the first film, so we have Patrick Stewart lending his sonorous voice to the role of Charles Xavier, Ian McKellan playing Magneto as both sympathetic and fearsome, Famke Janssen smouldering as Jean Grey, Hugh Jackman as fan favourite Wolverine, James Marsden as Cyclops, a pneumatic Halle Berry as Storm, Anna Paquin as Rogue and so on and so forth. Add to this a scene stealing turn from Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, and you could be forgiven for thinking "what could go wrong?". Sadly, go wrong it does.
Bryan Singer returns to direct, and although he handles the action sequences well, in particular a wickedly energetic sequence in which Nightcrawler attacks the White House, the attempts at character building between the action simply does not work. A blossoming romance between Rogue and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) is one of the more touching sequences, but the Wolverine/Cyclops/Jean Grey love triangle is annoying in its clichéd solution, as is the ending of the movie, which sees a climax so obvious that it is pretty much sign posted about half way into the movie, and is clearly designed to easily lead us into the third instalment. Whilst the action sequences do something to assuage my disappointment, this film is once again a series of missed opportunities in the ongoing saga to bring some of Marvel Comics most iconic characters successfully to the silver screen.

DVD Review:

DVD Review List

DVD Review