X2 (2003)

Please don't spend money on this.

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

After the first movie, Rogue is now all settled in with the rest of her teammates but things get into a huge mess when the MRD discover where the X-Men are stationed and because of this they are forced to be on the run.We also see Cyclops's love triangle with Jean which is taken to a whole new level of romance.As usal the acting was good from Hugh Jackman, Ian Mckellen, Patrick Stuart, Alan Cumming, James Marsden, Shawn Ashmore, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen and Halle Berry.Just like with the other one the movie was good especially the post credit scene.

The story is all over the place. It has a lot of stuff happening but most of it is pointless. Characters are not really developed yet they try to romance each other. That looks awkward as hell. The movie also carries and multiplies all the negative experience of the original one. Surely it wasn't a misfire but it doesn't deserve much of a praise.

I love the X-Men movies and especially the ones with Wolverine are very high ranked in my superhero movie top list. He gets a bit more backstory and all the mutants fight against a new villain, which is symbolic for the fear of mutants on the part of humans. What's especially great is the teamwork between good and bad mutants against this enemy and Mystique provides a few of her best plot twists. Dramatic ending, lots of action and great characters.

How could I have possibly missed this movie?!? This is one of the best superhero movies I've watched. It's emotional, it has great dialogue, it has some of the best acting in the franchise (yes, including the First Class trilogy and Wolverine trilogy), and it really hit on a lot of themes.This is what I would reference as an X-Men movie, through and through. They stood together as a team, really pushed the themes of X-Men (equality, being different, the dangers and in-fighting of mutants, etc.), and it showed the dark and good parts of humanity. They characterized almost every character of the cast, and dang the choreography of the fights was epic. Mad props to the Wolverine vs. Yuriko. It was awesome and pretty gruesome for PG-13.The casting was also excellent. Special props to Hugh Jackman once again, and Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler. Really stole the show, and was probably my favorite character other than Wolverine in this movie. The cinematography was also stellar, especially the transitions with the hallucination person.What knocks this movie? The very end of this movie… it really didn't make any sense. There's also a few moments where suspension of disbelief is a thing, and this movie tends to focus more on Wolverine way more than the rest of the X-Men. Would still recommend this movie regardless. Buy it on Blu-Ray if possible.Rating: A-