X-MEN 2 REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

After the success of X-Men, of course there was going to be a sequel and thus, the mutants return. 

It's been several months since the X-Men defeated Magneto (Ian McKellan) and imprisoned him in a seemingly impregnable plastic chamber. One day, a mutant by the name of Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) infiltrates the White House and attempts to assassinate the president, setting off a chain reaction of anti-mutant measures by the government. Meanwhile, Logan (Hugh Jackman) is trying to discover his past. As scientist named William Stryker (Brian Cox) discovers Professor X's (Patrick Stewart) secret school and Cerebro, Magneto's partner, Mystique (Rebecca Romijn), is planning to break her leader out of prison. But when Professor X's school is attacked by Stryker's forces, Logan, Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and a few are lucky to escape. Those who remain meet in Boston, where they form an uneasy alliance with Magneto to stop Stryker and rescue Professor X.

I think this is a step-up from the first film, we are introduced to more mutants, including Nightcrawler. The film opens with him attacking the President but when Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) go to find him, we learn he wasn't in control of what he was doing and that he's innocent. There's also a great scene where we see both Pyro (Aaron Stanford) Iceman and Rogue using their powers to stop police. In this scene, we see how each mutant's abilities affect others, especially when Rogue touches Pyro's leg in order to stop him from killing anyone. We also learn more about Logan's past and how he became Wolverine through his flashbacks. This is effective as we understand that he hasn't always had his adamantium claws and feel empathetic as he struggles to learn about how he got his mutation.

The performances from every actor involved. The stand out performance is Alan Cumming as the new mutant, Nightcrawler. He gives a comedic yet sympathetic performance. Jackman's Wolverine is well developed. McKellan is menacing as Magneto, just when we think he's become good, he does something evil. We also see that Janssen's Jean Grey is finding it difficult to cope with her telepathic abilities which soon leads to a later tragedy. I'd say that the main antagonist is Cox's Stryker who uses Professor X and the Cerebro as a way to kill all mutants. We also find out that Stryker was involved in Wolverine's past and he uses this to torment him. 

I think that this is a great follow up to X-Men because each character is well-developed, the story moves at a brisk pace and it features some of the best action sequences.

7/10