Among
the dozens of comic-book movies that have come out in the past twelve years,
“X2: X-Men United” is one of the best of the bunch. It has awesome special
effects, an army of original characters, a menacing villain, and a strong plot.
Like all of the movies in this particular franchise, it touches on themes such
as racism, civil rights, and fear of the unknown. Only instead of people of
different skin colour, it is people with mutant abilities who are being
persecuted by fearful government agencies. Cheesy, but it makes great action
scenes.
Ideally
I should have seen a big comic-book movie like this with friends my age at some
major multiplex in Canada. Instead when it came out in 2003 I was still living
in Santiago, Chile, and on that particular occasion my dad wanted to spend some
more time with me since he was home from work. I am the movie geek, so I get to
pick the movie. Unfortunately, during the previews he asks me if this is a spy
movie, meaning he had no idea what X-Men was about. So, I had to do one of the
geekiest things ever, and explain to my dad what I knew of the X-Men universe, how
it served as a metaphor for civil rights, and fill him in on the previous movie.
Then again, how am I the geek? He used to watch “Star Trek: The Next Generation”
every week.
The
movie kicks off with an assassination attempt on the American president by
Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) a blue-skinned mutant who can teleport from one end
of the room to the next. The next day the president receives a visit from
Colonel Stryker (Brian Cox), who uses the attack to receive an authorization
for a military strike against a school for other mutants. To be fair, there is
a jet under the basketball court, so that should at least warrant a government
audit.
The
school in question is Professor Charles Xavier’s (Patrick Stewart) school for
gifted children, which offers refuge for children who have been rejected for
being different, i.e. some have them can turn off TVs by blinking.
Unfortunately for Striker’s troops, they have decided to attack when Wolverine
(Hugh Jackman), the most kick-ass of all mutants, has returned to the school to
find some answers concerning his nebulous past. Some mutants can control the
weather, some can fly, some can go through walls, and yet Wolverine is just
more fun to watch in a fight. He has metal claws that pop out his knuckles, is
bulked up like a tank, fights like an animal, and enjoys a diet of beer and
cigars. His fight against the soldiers is a highlight in the franchise.
Another
of the more interesting characters is Magneto (Ian McKellen), a mutant with the
ability to control metal. He is first seen in a prison reminiscent of Hannibal
Lecter’s in “The Silence of the Lambs,” only it is built out of plastic. A
villain in the first movie, Magneto believes mutants are “gods among insects”
and has no problem with killing innocent bystanders if it means victory for
mutants. Yet in war, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, so the X-Men and
Magneto must put aside their differences if they want so prevent a genocide
orchestrated by the colonel.
All
of this involves battles amongst mutants with various abilities who most of the
time wear black leather outfits, or in Xavier’s case, a blue suit. On paper,
the whole X-Men concept might have sounded too comic book to bring to the
screen. Yet director Bryan Singer managed to make one of the best films in the
genre by playing it straight while working with a strong script. One character
decides to come to Magneto’s radical side, while another wants to live in peace
with other humans, despite being rejected by his own family.
At
133 minutes, this is a somewhat long movie, but this is one of those cases
where the length of the story is justified by all of the events happening. It
takes time to get to the big climactic final battle at dam in Canada, but it’s
worth the wait. Along the way the characters take time to talk, relationships
are explored, and of course there is a great deal of exposition scenes where
the villain discusses his evil plan. A story featuring a blue teleport might
sound weird to grown-ups, but I think my dad liked the movie for its big ideas,
action scenes, and acting by top actors such as Ian McKellen. Then again, maybe
he just liked it because of Patrick Stewart who had top billing “Star Trek.”
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