X2: X-Men United (2003)

Directed by Bryan Singer. Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Alan Cumming, Halle Berry, Brian Cox, Shawn Ashmore, Anna Paquin, James Marsden, Aaron Stanford, Bruce Davison, Kelly Hu, Michael Reid MacKay. [PG-13]

Second go-around with Marvel’s uncanny mutants is a better-looking and faster-paced blockbuster that adds a few new mutants, which would have been a dire mistake if not for the fact that the script juggles them fairly well. Intricate tangle of plotlines primarily concern genocidal military scientist Stryker (Cox) attacking Xavier’s school, Wolverine trying to unravel the truth about his past, and the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants reluctantly teaming up to stop a greater threat involving a second Cerebro device. Weak on character arcs and satisfying story structure (ending on a cliffhanger of sorts that silently signals “to be continued” in the days before just about every comic book movie ended with one of those), but gives viewers their money’s worth and then some in the realm of feisty action, eye-popping digital effects, and stupendous spectacle. Highlights include the sensational cold open with Nightcrawler (Cumming) wreaking havoc in the White House, and a brutal fight between bladed foes Jackman and Hu. Stryker’s underground lair was constructed inside an old Sears warehouse and was at the time the largest movie set in North America.

78/100