X-Men 2 picks up almost directly where X-Men left off: misguided super-villain Magneto (Ian McKellen) is still a prisoner of the US government, heroic bad-boy Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is up in Canada investigating his mysterious origin, and the events at Liberty Island (which occurred at the conclusion of X-Men) have prompted a rethink in official policy towards mutants--the proposed Mutant Registration Act has been shelved by US Congress. Into this scenario pops wealthy former army commander William Stryker, a man with the President's ear and a personal vendetta against... all mutant-kind in general, and the X-Men's leader Professor X (Patrick Stewart) in particular. Once he sets his plans in motion, the X-Men must team-up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), as well as some new allies (including Alan Cumming's gregarious, blue-skinned German mutant, Nightcrawler). The phenomenal global success of X-Men meant that director Bryan Singer had even more money to spend on its sequel, and it shows. Not only is the script better (there's significantly less cheesy dialogue than the original), but the action and effects are also even more stupendous--from Nightcrawler's teleportation sequence through the White House to a thrilling aerial dogfight featuring mutants-vs-missiles to a military assault on the X-Men's school/headquarters to the final showdown at Stryker's sub-Arctic headquarters. Yet at no point do the effects overtake the film or the characters. Moreso than the original, this is an ensemble piece, allowing each character in its even-bigger cast at least one moment in the spotlight (in fact, the cast credits don't even run until the end of the film). And that, perhaps, is part of its problem (though it's a slight one): with so much going on, and nary a recap of what's come before, it's a film that could prove baffling to anyone who missed the first instalment. But that's just a minor quibble--X-Men 2 is that rare thing, a sequel that's actually superior to its predecessor. --Robert Burrow [show more]
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A box set featuring 'X-Men 15' and 'X-Men 2' The X-Men led by Professor Xavier once again return to save the world from a group of mutant creatures Nightcrawler attempts to assassinate the President Stryker sets out to capture the pupils at the school for the 'gifted' and Magneto has escaped from his cell and is out to reek havoc
A double bill of mutant adventures directed by Bryan Singer. 'X-Men 1.5 - Extreme Edition' is a special edition of Singer's first offering. Mutants Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) are former friends, but look set to become mortal enemies when fascistic US senator Robert Frank Kelly calls for the registration of all humans with abnormal powers. While telepath Xavier, who runs an altruistic academy for superhuman 'X-Men', wishes to enlighten non-mutants and break down the prejudices which divide them, Magneto believes that the only solution is for the mutants to take over. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) - an aggressive loner with an admantium skeleton and the ability to heal his body of any wound - and teenager Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can absorb the life force of others simply by touching them, are selected by Xavier to join his academy, but it isn't long before Magneto's followers are attempting to capture them so that they can assist in his plan for world domination. Whilst in 'X-Men 2' Professor Xavier (Stewart), Wolverine (Jackson), and the Academy for Gifted Youngsters find themselves in the firing line after a failed assasination attempt on the President points the finger at the school. It was in fact the mysterious teleporter Nightwalker (Alan Cumming) who ordered it, and, in an attempt to clear their names, the X-Men are led into a trap set by the evil William Stryker (Brian Cox) - a mysterious scientist apparently working for the government. As it soon becomes evident that Stryker's agenda is to destroy all mutants, the X-Men need to call in the help of many of their old friends and foe, including Magneto (McKellen), if they are to stop him.
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