X2 Review

[Andrew Pratt]

I tool my chances today and went with my wife and baby to see if we could get into see XMen 2 at the local Silver City (Polo Park) and to my surprise the theater was about 1/3 empty! Oh well I hoped they didn't know something I didn't and after waiting the half hour for the comericals to finish :roll: the show finally started:T

So what did I think? Well I wasn't dissapointed with it nor did I feel it wasn't as good as the first one as so many sequals are but I don't know there's just something that left me wanting more. I'd still rate it a strong B+ and I'll likely buy it on DVD when it becomes available since it should rock at home. The fight scenes were much more over the top then they were in the first movie (which was good) and we learn a lot more about some of the characters esp Wolverine. There's also a major unexpected event that occurs at the end of the film that will leave you wondering about evolutionary jumps an where X3 is going to go...I didn't expect that one 8O

One things for sure Mystique's still as hot as ever:drool:

I guess I'll wrap up by saying I recomend it to those that really liked the first one the rest should wait for the DVD...that said I don't feel my $9 was wasted

[Chris D]

Andrew, I agree with most of your thoughts. I bought tickets early in the morning ahead of time, thinking it was going to be packed, and then I too found that the theater was half empty! What's up with that?

Yeah, it was good, but not something I was overly wowed by. It probably exceeded the first movie with action, but not in story. It felt a little disjointed at times, not a smooth flow of story and plot, and I felt many story lines could have been made deeper. The first one took some time to delve into the characters, such as Wolverine and Rogue, but not nearly as much in this one. It was like the makers thought that all sub-plots were pretty much established enough, and just wanted to push along the major episode story.

After coming home and watching my X-men DVD, I noticed that there have been several references made to the "upcoming man-mutant war", which makes me believe that this will be a theme in future sequels.

Also a B, B+ or so in my book. Worth buying on DVD, fun movie to see, but not one of the best.




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Andrew Pratt]

I've been reading some more indepth analysis from the hard core comic book guys and the plot now makes a little more sense so I guess like most movies based on books/comics the more you know going in the more you'll get out of it. I must say now that I know a little more I'm looking forward to the whole phoenix saga

[Danbry39]

I saw it today and felt it was better than the first. I've neither read the comic books nor watched the TV show, so I'm completely new to X-Men, other than having seen the first installment.

I thought the characters were better developed and enjoyed the little bits of comic humor interspersed throughout. I hate the way special effects are, at times, gratuitously injected for the "wow" factor, but felt they were used effectively and judiciously here.

So, I'll give it an unabashed thumbs up.

One last thing: I thought the previews of Sean Connery's upcoming summer blockbuster were very intriguing.




Keith

[Gordon Moore]

Saw this on Sunday and was tickled pink. Guys, for comic book movies it doesn't get any better than this. X-Men is the closest thing to taking the comic and plunking it up on screen as if it was ripped from the pages themselves. I disagree with Andrew....you're left wanting more only from another movie perspective....this movie has it all. It works on many levels. The x-men is such a great statement for tolerance and today's (yesterday's) social issues. Nightcrawler stole the show IMO. Jackman started to hone in on Wolvie's beserker rage (but it's still underplayed I think...that said, if he was even closer to the comic Wolverine...I'm not sure people would like him as much :?: ).
Mystique's expanded role was a good move (loved the cameo by RR-S).
Storm finally has superpowers :roll:
Need more Colossus! Where the heck was his Russian accent?????
People are mentioning the Beast's cameo...dammit, I missed it :x

All in all a great start to the summer :T

solid A




"A RONSTER!"

[Andrew Pratt]

One last thing: I thought the previews of Sean Connery's upcoming summer blockbuster were very intriguing.

Me too:T

I heard Halle won't be back for X3 which is too bad from a continuity perspective but I never thought she was that thrilled with the role anyway.

Gordon don't get me wrong I did enjoy the show and i think if I saw it again it would grow on me

[Brandon B]

I'm with Gordon and Danbry. Liked this one more than the first.

On a side note, the theater in Westwood where I go see the big movies has gone digital. While it looked very good, have to say it wasn't as nice as their high end 70mm setup. I noticed BEFORE the DLP leader when I saw jaggies in the green preview screen text. There was no hint of it during the film, but the white credits on black screen had the vertical jumpiness I sometimes see at home.

I have to assume this is about as good as D-cinema gets since this place runs only top notch equipment with great maintenance.

No Hulk preview. Damn. Liked the Charlie's Angels one A LOT though.

BB

[David Meek]

Ooooh. You guys have me going now. The kids saw X2 while I was out of town, so now I've GOT to catch up. My son (the gamer and comic book nut) LOVED it!




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[John Holmes]

I too was pretty impressed with this film. There is just so much that was done right bringing this comic book saga to life. They even got Storm's hair to look decent this time! :LOL:

This is a must see on the big screen (David) hint, hint! :B




"I came here, to chew bubble gum and kickass. And I'm all out of bubble gum!!!" My DVD's

[David Meek]

Wow, what an excellent sequel! :T I went in not expecting too much based on several reviews I'd read this week and was pretty much blown away. Yes, it's different from the first film in that there isn't as much effort on building the foundation of the story, but to me it's at the same high level as the first in action, plot, and special effects. Wolverine is a stone bad-a**. I did enjoy the time spent on fleshing out Nightcrawler. He's going to be quite an interesting character if they give him a chance. Just teasing us with Colossus was cruel, don'tcha think?

And speaking of teasing, what was the outline barely seen under the surface of the water at the end? Do we dare hope?

Anyway, I'm impressed with this sequel. It's a definite addition to the DVD collection as soon as it's available. Great sound effects and visuals!

I took the hint John!




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Chris D]

David: (I think the movie's been out long enough to not worry about spoilers) Although I couldn't pick it out myself, I've heard from comic book gurus that it was an outline of a Pheonix. this supposedly has X-men comic book significance for the third movie. Sounds good to me!

Dr. Grey seems to be quite more of a bad a$$ then anybody realizes, even herself!




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Bing Fung]

Sorry for reviving a long dead thread, however I just finally seen this movie. I was saving it for when I could see it at a Colloseum or Silver City Cinemas, which we have neither of in Saskatoon.

It's been awhile since I have read Xmen Comics, but wasn't Dr. Jean Grey a major character for the X-men? How can they end it like that? I really liked her character and mostly, Famke

Cameo? I never thought of it as that... I always thought of RRS as Mystique underneath it all :drool:

Nightcrawler was simply fantastic and I love how they applied the effects for him!

I absolutely loved the first X-Men in the theater and the second one is just as good if not better. The only thing missing is the freshness of it all.... Much like seeing the Rocky Mountains for the first time... This is not a bad thing, but you all may know what I mean.




Bing

[Gordon Moore]

I'm dispensing with the spoiler since this is pretty old news by now...don't read on if you don't want to know.....










Bing, It's been a while so I may screw parts of this up, but, when Jean Grey dies she becomes inhabitated by the phoenix entity (the thing under the water zooming along at the end). Later she goes at little nuts and becomes the dark phoenix and really causes havoc where she offs herself again.

The writers are moving through an accelerated timeline picking the stories and event that will create good drama and action onscreen.

Should be interesting by the 3rd.




"A RONSTER!"

[David Meek]

Gordon, since you told about upcoming issues, I put spoilers on the relevant parts.

Sincerely,

Moderator Meek




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Nick M]

Finally saw 'em

Rented both X-Men and X2 (finally).

I should note that I read these comics growing up.
I absolutely loved some scenes, but was turned off by others. Just wished theyd abide by the comics, but tried to set that aside. They understood the importance of the clash between Magnus' View and Xaviers, but the storylines just didn't sdeem to grab this enough for me. Wolverine, Storm, Collosus (an excellent suprise), Jean Grey, Prof X, Magneto, Mystique, Pyro, and NightCrawler were all great. Didn't like Cyclops, Rogue, Ice-Man, or Sabretooth. I was also on the edge of my seat hoping to see Omega-Red in the Alkalai Lake scenes, and was dissapointed with the finger-lady.

I also saw Remi's (Gambit) name during the computer scene as Gordon promised in another thread. I have his first X-Men issue stored away, and hope he appears in a future film.

Going to pass these up, but definetly worth the rent!

X-Men :3: out of :5:
X2 :3: out of :5:

[BlazeMaster]

Nicholas, if you watch it again, you'll pick out even more details about possible new characters they might use in X3. In the bar scene where Mystique used Grace to get the guy that works at the plastic jail for Magneto, you'll see Hank McCoy being interviewed briefly on the TV in the bar. And yes, you're right, Remy LeBue's name was in the computer files, among with certain names of projects like "Omega Red". They never showed if Stryker died or not, so who knows, he might come back in X3 and bring out Omega Red. It would be fun to see Omega Red vs. Wolverine. And yes, it would be cool to have Gambit also in the next one. He's also one of my favorite X-Men. I also think they should bring back Saber Tooth again, but then again, Saber Tooth and Omega Red together would be too much for Wolverine to handle.
I also think they should have used some kinda camera tricks to further enhance the physical features of the characters like what they did with Lord of the Rings. Some of them just didn't look right at all. The only character I didn't think fit was Storm, Halle Berry. She's hot, but I'm kinda glad that she demanded more money, they might drop her. You know who would be a really good pick for Storm, David Bowie's girlfriend or wife, Iman. Storm needs to be more African looking. Vin Diesel would be a perfect Beast. hehehe

[Nick M]

I thought Halle played a pretty good storm. The white eyes and whirlwinds were spot on. I definetly wished they would have went with their comic book costumes rather than the mission impossible suits though.

I always forget her name, but the lady mystique morphed into when she gave the guard the iron tablets would have made a better rogue.

Overall I thought the movies were enjoyable, but I was hoping for more from such a legacy as the X-Men comics. Both films had spectacular opening scenes though.

[BlazeMaster]

Yea, the pretty lady that played Mystique is Rebecca Romjn Stamos, I thought she played a perfect Mystique. Not sure if you read the newest versions of X-Men. Not so much of a comic book fan, but a co-worker of mine lended them to me. They used alot of the X-men characters as teenagers, which could explain why they put IceMan, Rogue and Collosus at a younger age then everyone else.

[Nick M]

Is it Wendy Mahoney from the movie Hendrix that mystique morphs into when she gives the guard the iron tablets? Thats the girl I was referring to when I said she would have made a better rogue.

Haven't read the comics since I was 12 or so. Been about 10 years.

[BlazeMaster]

I don't think we're talking about the same person...LOL
The girl that Mystique morphs into is how Rebecca Romjn Stamos look like without the "Mystique" makeup. I haven't seen Hendrix, BTW. The girl that plays Rogue is a pretty good actress, she has a couple of roles in the recent movies like 25th Hour. Great movie also.