X2: X-Men United - Awesome special effects
X2: X-Men United, the sequel to X-Men, brings more excitement and entertainment to the viewers. X2 delves deeper into the X-Men mythology, introducing new characters from the Marvel comic book series created by Stan Lee.
The film opens with a mutant attack on the Whitehouse. The acrobatic, teleporting blue mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) makes an attempt on the life of the President. Meanwhile, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) searches for the answers to his mysterious past in the top-secret facility where he received his metallic skeleton and claws. Back at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, a school meant for mutants, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) instruct students Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), and Pyro (Aaron Stanford).
Magneto (Ian McKellen) is in prison. But he has a secret weapon in the shape-shifting Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos). But the threat comes fromthe hate-filled military scientist William Stryker (Brian Cox), who wants to rid the world of mutants. Stryker launches a ruthless attack that leaves the school under siege and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Cyclops (James Marsden) captured. And Wolverine and the remaining X-Men must spring to action to save their friends and prevent all-out genocide.
In this sequel, director Bryan Singer further develops the characters of Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue, Iceman, and Mystique. The awesome special effects brings alive the world of mutants — the threats they face and their insecurities. And that’s why the X-Men series is something that most people will identify with. According to the director, ‘‘The X-Men films pose the questions that we all have: Am I alone in the world? Why am I so different, and how am I going to fit in? These questions are universal and timeless, particularly among adolescents. We’ve all felt at times like mutants.’’
X2 also introduces new characters from the X-Men comics. Like the Nightcrawler, a mutant who can teleport himself from one place to another, who becomes an important ally to the X-Men. And Pyro, the promising new student at Professor Xavier’s School for the Gifted, who has a formidable ability to manipulate fire.
Hugh Jackman again gives a fiery performance as Wolverine. The other members of the cast, like Famke Janssen, Halle Berry and Ian McKellen bring alive the different shades of the characters they play. In all, X2 is one sequel that lives up to — and even surpasses — the original.