X2 review

Nearly everybody that I know has had an endearing love for the X-Men. They each had a favorite character, mine has always been Scott Summers, Cyclops. The reason I’ve loved that character is that he always bore the responsibility of leader… He had to be the man that made the tough decisions, he was the guy that always had to be the statue… the ideal X-man… The various writers of the X-Men always had characters that’s sole reason to exist, to me, was to make Scott’s life harder… Whether it was Warren or Logan or Sebastian or Bishop and on and on. But he had Jean Grey, and boy did Claremont love making Scotty his Abraham. He loved to just rake that poor man’s heart over the coals.

Well, we don’t quite get to all that in this story, and Cyclops is kept tabs on pretty good throughout this film. He’s under lock and key so to speak, but this film is so brilliant with its use of economic character development. Scott’s character is being developed even when he’s off screen. In all the scenes in this film between Logan and Jean, his character is always present, present in the hesitations, the trembles, the look in the eyes and most of all in Jean Grey’s heart. That’s nice. The hug at the museum at the beginning, the way Scott reads her, how he knows something is wrong with her… Only the sort of thing lovers and family see in each other. That instant read. It’s surprising, it comes out of nowhere, his eyes don’t give it away, but his actions do. Marsden actually has the hardest job of all the cast members. He doesn’t have his eyes to communicate with, though most only notice him because of those sparkly ol eyes.

Sorry… I just got back from X2: X-MEN UNITED as all the press materials insist we call it. I’m a bit flabbergasted by the film because I wasn’t prepared for that movie. I didn’t know a lot of the details about what was coming. It has been forever since I read that Stryker storyline and this is quite a bit different, but remarkably uses the devices to begin and unleash other storylines of even greater power and history. But on its own, for me this is a sequel in the tradition of STAR TREK II: WRATH OF KHAN, specifically that film more than any others for me. Yeah, everyone always brings up EMPIRE STRIKES BACK as the great 2nd film… or GODFATHER 2… or TWO TOWERS… BUT there’s a huge difference here.

You see with EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, it was following STAR WARS and in my heart I argue back and forth about which was better. Same with GODFATHER 2 and TWO TOWERS.

HOWEVER, on STAR TREK II: WRATH OF KHAN, it was following STAR TREK: THE MOTIONLESS PICTURE. A film that loitered and put down roots, right through your ass as you sat and watched it all. X-MEN, the first film wasn’t as messed up for me as Robert Wise’s theatrical cut of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, but it had its problems. Notably the score, editing, action and an involving storyline… oh and a conclusion that just was a tad on the anti-climatic side. What I loved about both that first STAR TREK and the first X-MEN movies was the character work. I cared about these characters, and they never really completely dropped the ball (well except for that Lightning and Toad thing… whew!) But on STAR TREK II: WRATH OF KHAN… well it is one of the films I can watch anytime the thought passes my mind. I love the film. Absolutely adore it. The music is propulsive, the story dynamics perfect, the action real and brutal, the characters all absolutely note perfect, the risks at hand… the very creation and destruction of planets and life… the sacrifice of friends, the deaths of hated enemies… and it all had weight. Every last bit of the damn thing. It just felt like something amazing had just happened to something I had always loved.

X2… well X2 has its wings. This film… I just want to get back in the theater as soon as humanly possible and just watch it again and again and again and again and again. Not a single sour note, not a hair out of place, not a line that fell flat, not a single eye roll. And the great thing is… it’s just building. It isn’t even the sun and the moon and the stars up above. You know it is headed there. We know that the future is a really unfriendly place, but as I watched this film I could see the affect of well placed confidence. Confidence from the Studio, the filmmakers, the actors… everyone. You could just see that everyone involved is getting it. That they understand they are creating a mythology made real. That they are dealing with characters that wake up, breathe air, fall in love and that die. Characters that panic attacks can affect people for blocks, and who if deluded could destroy life as we know it. This is a film with consequences, questions, answers and choices. A film that rises to each and every challenge and dares to walk through the doors they choose to open, but shows you a great number of other doors that can be opened, and that we hope will be… one day.

John Ottman hasn’t constructed the answer to John Williams’ SUPERMAN score or Danny Elfman’s BATMAN score… But for me… it is on that level with James Horner’s WRATH OF KHAN score… In other words, it is a perfect LARGE score that complements the material on screen to a “T”. I sent Pops out for the score at the start of this review. I want it here now. It is that good. The score in combination with the images had me literally bouncing in my seat like teenagers in a Ford Pinto… that’s right always squirming and prepared to explode on contact.

How are the performances? Across the board? Perfect. An over used word I know, but perfect.

Patrick Stewart – Professor X

Honestly, I’d never seen Professor X as he is used in this film. There’s a reason he’s a leader, and I had never been afraid of Professor X before. In X2, Charlie isn’t quite the friendly patriarch… His entire arc in this story is just not what I expected. At every level of the film. From the confident in control Xavier, to that panicked realization, to … well, like I said, his character and how he’s used in this film makes him the most frightening mutant I’ve ever known.

Hugh Jackman - Wolverine

Ok… I can’t not just geek the hell out about what he does here, but man… This is the dirty nitty gritty Wolverine… he’s never the filthy shit covered sewer grate lit beneath the Hellfire Club Wolvie… but he does go berserker and that was so so so sooooo sweet to see on the big screen. Jackman plays Logan as a man of passions… that lives like there is no significance to tomorrow, because he doesn’t know death or seemingly time. His scenes with every character he comes in contact with are all classics, and like a great character, he is slightly different with each of them. With Bobby Drake, there’s respect. With Jean Grey there’s lust. With Scott there’s a competitor. With Stryker there is curiosity, rage and frustration. With Storm there’s something intangible. With Mystique – there’s all the above, along with a level of CREEPED THE FUCK OUT. Oh… and Deathstrike… I’ll get to that one later. Watching X2 though, last night I watched Ringo Lam’s FULL CONTACT, and I desperately want a stand alone Wolverine film shot all in Asia, on a decent, but lower gritty budget that allows for more risks, and shoot that damn WOLVERINE Yakuza / Yagu Storyline all Ringo Lam style. Ok, but that’s probably just me…

Ian McKellen – Magneto

The man just exists at a complete and totally different level of performance. One, probably the most deliciously written and performed part (with a possible exception I’ll get to) in these films has had to be McKellen’s. What’s great about him is the line he walks. Technically there isn’t one… like Doc Brown, where he goes, he needs no roads. He’s very much Satan, the charmer, the deceiver, the opportunist, the tempter. He wraps himself securely in the robes of righteousness and paths his created road with the blood of good intentions. The relationship between Mystique and Magneto is perfect. The perfect Lt. The strong right hand. This isn’t a case of Oddjob, he doesn’t treat her like a secondary character, but as his best friend… possibly something more. We don’t know, but on the Blackbird, the scene of Mystique and Magneto laughing and pawing, then the cool downshifting to temptation… Just wonderful. You only get the clear picture of just how far he is willing to go when you see the opportunity that he could not pass up. He is a villain on the scale of the very best… personally he’s more delicious than Hopkins, more centered than Claude Rains… In fact… He very much is James Mason from NORTH BY NORTHWEST, and Mystique is very much the Martin Landau… Leonard. I’ll examine that more closely in her paragraph, but that’s the dynamic at work here.

Halle Berry – Storm

Completely redeemed. The accent is no longer an issue. Her conversations with Nightcrawler and … did I sense both empathy and possible romantic interests? The reason behind the ‘scarring’ on his face and body is wondrous, but I’m talking about Storm. They really up the ante on her character here, we get more of a window into her, the hurt she feels from her past, the anger which she still carries. The one aspect that she hasn’t exhibited is her… Goddess persona. I’d love for in the next film, a tastefully shot sequence of her in her garden on the School Grounds… her greenhouse which she’d go to and be one with nature, nude, sensual and the goddess that she is.

Famke Janssen – Jean Grey

I still find it odd that Famke Janssen is Jean Grey. I still can’t believe I have met Jean Grey. And watching what happens with her character, her choices, decisions… what she is having to handle. It is beautiful. I love where her character goes in this film, and yes the Phoenix force becoming known is such a delight, and I can’t wait for that to be expanded upon, I just hope that they do it slowly, the way Claremont did. I don’t want to see her just do the whole Dark Phoenix thing instantly. I WANT THIS SERIES TO TAKE ITS TIME with these arcs. Her talks with Wolverine are classic. The lines about how a girl always flirts with the bad boys, but always go home with the good ones was classic, not just for her delivery, her eyes, that absolutely crushing smile, but also… Goddamn it, because Hugh Jackman played off of it so damn well. And the work with Marsden, so so brief, yet so real. Theirs is not a public display of affection type of love. They are teachers with students. Leaders responsible for missions. Examples for others, their love is for behind closed doors, and that’s exactly how it is played here. They are confident in the passion they have with one another and needn’t display it for the world. It is, however, a true love.

James Marsden – Cyclops

Again, as I said earlier, his character is my favorite X-man. While I do feel that Marsden is still a bit young, and would’ve slain neighbors’ puppies and kitty cats to have had Michael Biehn, I do like the age difference and how that is being played with the ages of Hugh and Famke. Contrary to prior belief he is not just a stoic unfeeling leader of homo superiors, his emotions get twisted here. He does it nicely.

Rebecca Romijn-Stamos – Mystique

Better than she ever was in the comics. At least 10 times the character she had previously been realized in any prior form. She is, all at once one of the sexiest, self-affirmed, competent and sensual characters I’ve seen. There is also that element of loyalty within her. An undying one. A full third to half of her character is how the characters she becomes perform as manipulated by her. I’m not sure exactly how Singer is handling the direction of these scenes, but there was a part of me harboring the suspicion that she was allowed to actually consult the actors that she was allegedly “becoming” on how to act, though I’m sure it was just the work of Bryan… Notice how each of them have an ever so softer feminine feel… or if female there’s a sultry look. HOWEVER, what is great is how she works with Ian McKellen. We’re dealing with a wonderful dynamic that as I said earlier I haven’t seen quite like this since James Mason and Martin Landau. There are allusions that there might be something between Magneto and Mystique, is it all on the righteous side, the teacher / student relationship… or is there more to it than that. Whatever Magneto’s sexuality… Mystique can be.

Brian Cox – General Stryker

Excellent character and performance. He never goes to that twirling of the moustache evil… He’s very much a bitter, driven man that is convinced he is right. The interaction between him and Wolverine and Magneto are the best points. He plays it as though, it’s just something that has to be done. Sure he isn’t flashy, but he doesn’t have to be, the weapon he has… I mean the WEAPONS he has at his disposal are fantastic and logical within the confines of the story.

Alan Cumming – Nightcrawler

An absolute revelation. I’ve always adored the look of Nightcrawler… always liked the dashing cavalier Kurt. Due to a few drawings here and there I just thought of Nightcrawler in my skull as a demonic Errol Flynn. HOWEVER, I was forgetting his gypsy past, his religion, the villagers and torches, the Nightcrawler from the earliest days… The GIANT SIZE X-MEN 1. That period. Well as written in this film, I have to say that Nightcrawler is more captivating than I ever thought in the comic. His attack sequences and combat and rescue… amazing, but more than that… How he lets faith guide him. The charisma he has with Storm… that he has that German accent and says Kurt Vagner… It thrills me, it is more right than I’ve ever been with the character. It is as if I’d never seen the character before. WAIT TILL YOU FIND OUT WHY THOSE SCARS ARE ON HIM! It’s great. The enthusiasm and never cartoony pride in his sideshow life. His fear of trying things with his powers that he’s never done before. Just… well… Just wonderful. The makeup is brilliant, as much as I adore staring at essentially Stamos’ nude smurfette body for the film, Nightcrawler is just fascinating. The fingernails, the teeth, the markings, the tail, the accent. He’s literally amazing to me. He’s the character that give Magneto a run for the movie in terms of performances in my opinion. Just wondrous.

Anna Paquin – Rogue

She doesn’t have much to do in this movie other than be in peril and as someone to calm the others. The best thing about her is the interaction between her and Bobby Drake. If there’s a shaky scene in the film it’s her at the joystick… but then… there’s a reason it’s all shaky. I love her disrobing scene in Bobby's room... sigh... young love, and Bobby... your rule!

Kelly Hu – Deathstrike

YUMMY. Ok, the award for best Asian actress nominee for beating your ass goes to KELLY HU! I can’t remember her having a single line, but Wolverine’s line after she does her nails, more than makes up for it. Her battle with Wolverine is just ouchie ouchie ouchie. I mean, they’re tearing the shit out of each other. Everything about this character works for me though. Essentially she’s doing the Crispin Glover THIN MAN type character here, but less feminine. God I want to rewatch that battle with Wolverine frame by frame.

Aaron Stanford – Pyro

Ah, here’s another actor that George Lucas missed in his casting search for Anakin. As you watch this, you’ll just suddenly come to realize that THIS is Anakin Skywalker. Not only that, you’ll probably recognize that the dynamic between Iceman, Pyro and Rogue isn’t too far off from the archetypes that represent Obi-Wan, Anakin and Padme… but only if the three character were real people with real feelings. I mean, Jesus, you can see something horrible in Pyro’s heart. There’s a ever so obvious look of sadism on his face. He loves turning the full destructive force of his power loose on people. He wants to see their faces burnt, them burn alive. You get that sense from him. He’s also half of the best scene in the film. You’ll know it when you see it.

Shawn Ashmore – Iceman

I love this guy, he is BOBBY DRAKE. His attitude, eyes, shyness. Him icing down Wolvie’s refreshment… suh-weeet! I hope to someday just see him bang loose, ice up and start making those ice ramps, shooting shards of razor sharp ice… but hey, we’ve got plenty of time, he’s still just a kid, he’s still got a ways to go and he’s picked the right girlfriend for those icy blue balls he’s gonna have.

Daniel Cudmore – Colossus

Ok. In the history of superheroes, Colossus had my absolute favorite look. I also loved that he was Russian… of the Soviet Union when he joined. I loved that, because when I was reading that storyline, that was a big deal. The Soviets were the evil bad guys and here was a hero fighting for us. He’s in the movie very briefly, but it is all summed up when he’s leading some children into a secret passage and says to Wolverine, “I can help you.” And Logan says, “Help them!” meaning the kids. The moment felt more right than just about anything I’ve ever seen in a comic book ensemble flick. Now, all I know is this guy is the literal genetic translation of the drawings of Colossus. It is extraordinary… he looks like Piotr Rasputin (although the credits call him PETER… Fuck that, he’s Piotr, and I don’t care if kids don’t know how to pronounce it. Just show em.)

Steve Bacic – Hank McCoy

GEEEEEEEEEK! He’s just on T.V., but just knowing he occupies the universe made me happy.

I’ll stop there with the characters. Suffice to say, as you can see, they had a ton, but this film is a text book master lesson on how to tell the large scale broad canvas comic book movie.

The film is going to melt my nephew’s brain. He’ll be wearing Wolverine claws and tearing through everyone. Like a dinosaur freak he’ll learn all their names and he’ll be a X-men super freak. And I can’t wait to indulge his passion for Superheroes.

The action scenes must be seen to be believed. I’m dying to see this again. I want to freeze frame on Stryker’s computer screens to see if I can notice the names of the other files and see if I notice the Easter Eggs I know must be there. I know somewhere it says Sentinels. I just know it has to be there, and I will find it.

By no means is this a retread of the last film. Here, they open the story up, play by entirely new rules… The only possible complaints I could see having is why do we have to wait for the next one, when do we get Hellfire Club, Sentinels, Apocalypse, Kree-Skrull War, the Avengers cross-over fight. The MAGICK series… And I honestly don’t want Bryan Singer to have a life beyond X-MEN. I want him and Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter and Tom De Santo and Michael Fink and David Hayter and Michael Dougherty and Daniel Harris and Zak Penn and John Ottman and the rest… I want them working non-stop to get me the next chapter ASAP. And I want giant Jack Kirby looking Sentinels! And I want New Mutants with Warlock now please. Keep Bryan and crew on the main X-MEN movies, but begin getting great talent to make solo and team up adventures.

If I can give you only one recommendation, get tickets for consecutive showings… cuz the one thing that is on your mind after seeing the film, is seeing it again. And I’m telling you, when you leave the theater, the next show will be a sell out. And you’ll be outside the theater weeping at not getting to look at Stryker’s screen and read the other files. Catch all the references to all the other cool cameos that are impossible to gather on a single viewing.

Did I mention how utterly badass Ottman’s music and editing was in the Wolverine & Deathstrike battle? Well it is. With the material at their disposal… there are at least 6 more major films without any repeating of themes or coolness. Let us hope it continues to just keep getting better. These are true marvels!