The Five Emojis of X2

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:heart_eyes:
Amazing opening sequence, introducing us to one of the more interesting mutants from the comics, Nightcrawler.

With the base set in the previous film, Bryan Singer puts focus on developing characters further and fleshing out the world, while keeping everything interesting by adding new elements, of which the greatest one is the magnificent Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler.

The visuals have been hugely improved from the first film and still look really good.

X2 is a funnier and more exciting film, with higher stakes and a faster tempo.

This film some of the finest scenes in the franchise, such as the opening scene, the assault on Xavier's and the visit to Bobby's parents.

All the regulars are still amazing and we get a lot more beautiful Wolverine action.

Bigger, bolder and more natural action scenes really help make this sequel worth a watch.

Great to see humanity, lead by the tragic Stryker (expertly portrayed by Brian Cox) as the main villain of the film, since that deepens the main theme of the franchise.
The other villains are also more compelling compared to the first one.

Amazing score adds just the right tone to the more intense scenes.

Feels a whole lot more like an X-Men team-up film, with the script allowing the characters to complement each other.

That whole final act by the lake is dragged out but very well-paced, creating one of the stronger finales in the genre.

Incredibly powerful ending.

Hits the right emotional notes by being funny, touching and exciting.
:smiley:
Anna Paquin feels a lot more comfortable and natural as Rogue this time around.

Significantly better paced and divided between the school stuff and the X-Men stuff.

Bobby Drake and Pyro are given bigger roles and complete the cast in smaller roles.

Cool to see the uneasy alliance between Magneto and the X-Men as well as the build-up to the the third film.
:neutral_face:
The film kind of forgets about Storm, Cyclops and Jean for large parts.

Mystique still isn't particularly interesting.

Nightcrawler is sadly undetutilized.
:frowning2:
:face_vomiting:

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The Final Emoji: :heart_eyes:

I think this is better than the first film though I still find Patrick Stewart's "Picard"-in-a-chair character really irritating. Anyway, this time we have a good baddie in Scotsman Brian Cox ("Stryker"). He is a determined military man who manages to get the US President to give him carte blanche to take on and eliminate the mutants after a failed attempt to assassinate him in the White House. "Magneto" (Ian McKellen), meantime, is still locked up in his plastic prison but his shape-shifting blue protegé "Mystique" (Rebecca Romijn) concocts a cunning pan to free him; and just in time too! "Stryker" has discovered the existence of "Cerebro" and determined to control it, attacks the "Xavier" school neutralising many of the students and leaving only "Logan" (Hugh Jackman)," Scott" (James Marsden) and "Rogue" (Anna Paquin) to lead what's left of their team to extricate the now captured professor. Needs must, as they say, and an unlikely alliance forms with "Magneto", but will it hold and as we build to quite an exciting denouement, we realise that there is still plenty of scheming and plotting going on. Cox is not really a very versatile actor, but here he provides a solid fulcrum for a story that has plenty of action. There is much less emphasis on the moralising, hormonal, frat-style storyline of the 2000 version; the characters are older and better developed and can control, therefore use, their powers to more dramatic effect for those watching. The story is still a bit thinly predictable, but the visual effects team pull out all the stops keeping this 2¼ marathon moving along surprisingly effortlessly. I'm now very much in team "Magneto" - bring on X3!

**X2 takes the X-Men far beyond the scope of the first movie with exciting new characters, manipulative villains, and bigger effects and stories.**

X2 forever stands as one of my favorite sequels of all time. It deepens its characters' backstories, expands the universe, increases the stakes, and creates new conflicts lasting beyond this franchise entry, promising more to come. The opening scene blew my mind when I first saw it and really showcased the power a single mutant could possess. The struggle between light and dark, both in humanity and mutants, was a theme throughout and highlighted in a multitude of ways. Exploring Wolverine's mysterious past and tying it into the overall conflict of the X-Men was a wise choice rather than having Logan search for answers alone. In addition, the women of the X-Men, Jean Grey and Storm, along with Mystique, saw more significant roles and character development. X2 was the Empire Strikes Back of the original X-Men trilogy- better in every way, with exciting new characters, threats, stories, and effects. X2 deserves a place as one of the greatest comic book movies and sequels of all time.

X2: X-Men United is an improvement over its predecessor in just about every way. Better story, better effects, better action, and more interesting mutants. It's the best of the original X-Men films and a high point for early 2000s comic book moviemaking. Worth watching for the Wolverine vs Lady Deathstrike fight alone.

8.5/10 - Oh, wow! I liked this one so much more than the first one. I didn't expect three years to make such a difference. The story is better, the mood lighter, the jokes better, the CGI much better, etc. Maybe I should even rate this 9/10.

I didn't like the villains in the first movie (Eric was ok but also not that great and his sidekicks where just completely uninteresting for me). This time Eric's role is much stronger and Raven has much more and better action scenes and enough screentime to let her character develop a bit.
Kurt Wagner was also great. I really liked how he went from a perceived villain to a real hero. Plus it was fun that he used many German words xD
The weakest villain was Stryker but that didn't matter much as he wasn't that important. His son Jason had few screentime but was quite scary. He played a nice role IMO.

Xavier's new ability to (locally) freeze time is very cool even though it doesn't make much sense (scientifically).

I really loved that the mood felt much lighter and the jokes where way better IMO. E.g. the scene with the cat licking Wolverine's claws was killing me xD Even lines like "have you tried not being a mutant?" from Bobby's mum where quite enjoyable :)

Just the ending was a bit over the top and I don't understand why they wouldn't stay **above** the water hight when escaping from the water dam.
It'd be nice if Jean somehow survived. I really liked her character.

It was nice in general that there was more character and relationship building in this movie. So many nice interactions between Logan, Jean, Ororo, Kurt, Scott, Rogue, Bobby, etc.