Trailer:
"You were always an animal Logan, I just gave you claws."
Production companies were still pumping out Marvel films full steam ahead, even such a slip up as Daredevil didn’t deteir them from adapting a sequel to their first big success. As in traditional sequel fashion they had to attempt to make this one even bigger and better than the original. More action! For effects! More characters! More villains! Coincidently for most films (ahem Robocop 2, Superman 2) the end result is usually a convoluted, overcrowded film. However, X-Men United is a prime exception to this as the makers managed to not only deepen the development and interaction of characters, but also formulate a better story with more action and drama than the original.
As with the previous film, this movie is very Wolverine centralized, even the main villain William Striker is a person in connection to his mysterious past. Though I felt fine about the first film centering on Wolverine, as they attempted to bridge between audience and concept, this film could have used a bit more balancing and a bit more team oriented direction. That is more of a personal complaint though, as Wolverine taking the central stage doesn’t exactly hurt the film. Especially since Hugh Jackman again gives a good performance.
The movie opens with one of the coolest action sequences in a film to date, featuring Nightcrawler breaking into the White House and assaulting the president. It was imaginative, fast passed, and something we really hadn’t seen before. It was such a cool scene that even the likes of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and X-Men First Class have attempted to replicate it, but have never quite managed.
From there we learn the Nightcrawler was being controlled by a man named William Striker, using his attack to get permission to invade Xaviers mutant school. Striker then proceeds to kidnap Professor X and Cyclops while launching an assault on the school and kidnapping a number of its students. Storm and Jean Grey are off trying to hunt down Nightcrawler and again the independent Wolverine is forced to take three students, Rouge, Iceman, and Pyro, under his wing and get them to safety.
To make matters all the worst Magneto succeeds in escaping from prison, but rather than attempting to kill the X-Men, this time he teams up with them. He tells them of Strikers plan to use Xavier and Cerebro to kill all the mutants in the world. Wolverine, however wants Striker for his own reason. He may be the only one able to tell him about his past and how he lost his memory.
One of the major improvements in the movie is in the pacing. It feels much more natural and builds to a fulfilling climax with multiple peaks. The villains are also a little better rounded. Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) returns as a sort of ally with a darker agenda. Striker diverges tremendously from his comic book counterpart as the man who gave Wolverine his adamantium claws and now seeks to rid the world of all mutants. He even has good motivation as his son was a mutant and drove his wife insane, causing her to commit suicide.
He is always guarded by Lady Deathstrike, a mutant with similar powers to Wolverine, also possessing an adamanium skeleton and long….really long fingernails. She is a little more dull because she is just some kung fu chick under mind control, and we never really see the real side to her. Striker also uses his son, Jason. A mutant that once attended Xaviers school and has illusion and mind control abilities. He allows Striker to control other mutants and attempts to breaking into the professors’ mind and get him to massacre all mutant-kind.
The film has a lot more action than the original and does a little better in balancing the old characters, while still introducing the new ones. One major disappointment though was how they handled the three students that Wolverine is protecting. They are quickly set up and developed at the beginning of the film and play a big part through the majority of the film. Yet when the climax comes around all they do is sit on the Jet and wait for the others to return. It felt like a waste of all that development. Pyro even finally gets fed up and claims he is going to go join the action…except he doesn’t. I guess he just wanders aimlessly through the woods until it’s over.
Another improvement is on Wolverine’s relationship with Jean Grey. In the first film I found it too be tedious while in this one it’s a little more dynamic. With Scott (Cyclops) missing, Jean is a little more conflicted when it comes to Wolverine. It might not be overly well done, but at least they made it more interesting this time around.
Overall the film only improves on the good qualities of the original while downplaying the negative ones. It is action packed, has a good story behind it, and just might be the best X-Men film to date.
FINAL RATING: 8/10- (80%)
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