Movie Review: X2: X-Men United (2003) – Mutants, Mayhem, and Military Conspiracies

Movie Review: X2: X-Men United (2003) – Mutants, Mayhem, and Military Conspiracies 

Tags X2 movie review, X-Men United, Bryan Singer, Hugh Jackman Wolverine, Alan Cumming Nightcrawler, early 2000s blockbusters, Marvel movies, comic book films, superhero sequels, summer popcorn movies 

 

 Overview

*X2: X-Men United* picks up where 2000’s *X-Men* left off, expanding the story and scale while doubling down on slick action and mutant spectacle. Directed by Bryan Singer, this sequel brings Professor X’s team of super-powered outsiders together with longtime adversary Magneto to fight a common enemy: a rogue military general with sinister plans for all mutantkind. It’s a classic setup for a summer blockbuster—one that delivers well-executed set pieces and enough character moments to keep fans entertained.

Plot Summary

After a mutant named Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) launches a jaw-dropping attack on the White House, anti-mutant hysteria reignites. General Stryker (Brian Cox), a military hardliner with ties to Wolverine’s mysterious past, uses the incident to push for a strike against Xavier’s School for the Gifted. When Stryker’s forces raid the school, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is thrust into a protector role, escaping with several young mutants—including Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro.

As Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and Cyclops (James Marsden) are captured, Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) search for Nightcrawler to understand the reason behind his attack. Eventually, the X-Men must join forces with Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) to stop Stryker from launching a war that could wipe out all mutants.

Highlights

• Nightcrawler’s White House attack: A stunning opening sequence that blends teleportation, combat, and high-stakes tension.
• Wolverine’s humor: Surprisingly, much of the film’s levity comes from Jackman’s gruff mutant in babysitter mode—his banter with the students adds charm.
• Magneto’s entrance: As always, Ian McKellen makes Magneto a charismatic and dangerous presence. His last-minute rescue of the X-jet crew is a scene-stealer.
• “Coming out” metaphor: Iceman revealing his powers to his family is handled with subtlety and becomes one of the film’s more resonant emotional beats.

What Doesn’t Work

• Uneven character focus: While Wolverine gets ample screen time, other characters like Storm and Cyclops still feel underdeveloped.
• Overstuffed cast: With so many mutants and subplots, it’s hard for each character to make a meaningful impression.
• Effects overshadowed: While the film’s visuals are strong, they pale in comparison to the then-new *Matrix Reloaded* trailer—ironically shown before the movie.

Final Thoughts

*X2: X-Men United* improves on its predecessor in scope and confidence. It successfully juggles multiple storylines, delivers solid action, and sets the stage for bigger things in the franchise. While not quite in the same league as *Spider-Man* or *Batman*, it’s a polished entry in the superhero genre that knows exactly what kind of crowd-pleasing entertainment it wants to be. Hugh Jackman continues to prove he’s the franchise’s backbone, even if the spotlight dims the more he’s on screen. Overall, a fun and well-crafted sequel that helped cement the X-Men as major players in early 2000s comic book cinema.

Rating

⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Movie Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) 

Directed by Grant Heslov

Written by Peter Straughan 

Starring George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey 

Release Date November 6th, 2009 

Published November 5th, 2009 

Remote viewing is sort of a real thing. Real in that some people believe they can do it or enjoy conning others into thinking they can do it. So good were some of these con men that they convinced the United States government to fund a program that allowed them to train their remote viewing techniques. The book The Men Who Stare at Goats, by journalist Jon Ronson, is about the real life nuts and con men who took advantage of cold war paranoia to further their work in the world of the paranormal. 

The book is now a quite funny movie that slowly morphs into a mawkish tribute to morons and con men. Ewan McGregor is the star of The Men Who Stare at Goats. MacGregor plays Bob Wilton a journalist who, after his wife leaves him, decides to get embedded in Iraq to cover the war. Once their he stumbles upon Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). Bob knows Cassady from an interview he did with a wacko who claimed the ability to stop an animal's heart with his mind. The nut claimed Cassady was the best psychic spy in the world.

Cassady prefers the title Jedi Warrior and maybe through some pop culture osmosis, McGregor was Obi Wan Kenobi, he senses a kindred spirit in Bob and decides to take the reporter with him on a 'psychic mission.' The two men wander out into the desert of Iraq and along the way Lyn recounts the wild, unbelievable story of his introduction to, and the creation of, what the government called 'The New Earth Army'.

Lead by Colonel Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) the New Earth Army was a plan to fight wars without weapons. Col. Django believed that the mind could be used to fight wars and encourage peace. Django recruited young men willing to explore their minds and dance free and grow their hair. Lyn Cassady was his prize student while Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) acts as the snake in the New Earth garden of Eden.

Director Grant Heslov tackles Jon Ronson's book with an eye toward satire. It is after all quite a wild idea that the US government paid to train psychic warriors. However, as the movie goes along, what begins as a biting satiric send up of this lunatic idea turns into a mushy tribute to goofballs who believe in the ridiculous. Instead of sending up the idea of psychic warriors, the director appears to buy into the idea, though not completely, and what appears intended to be a comedy becomes something closer to a tribute to weirdos and kooks. 

In the final act of The Men Who Stare at Goats a film that was building some satiric momentum devolves into a nutty homage to the numbskull characters who believe they have psychic abilities. It's a shame because a healthy dose of skepticism and reality is just what this material needed. A great cast in the end is drowned in lunacy and goofiness and while it's all very good natured, it also feels like a major missed opportunity. The Men Who Stare at Goats, in the end, is a disappointing sop that should have been a giddy satire.

Movie Review: The Messenger

The Messenger (2009) 

Directed by Oren Moverman 

Written by Alessandro Camon, Oren Moverman 

Starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton, Jena Malone 

Release Date November 13th, 2009 

January 31st, 2010 

There are many jobs to be done in the American military and it is likely a great movie could be made about any of those jobs. Writer-director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon have chosen a particularly difficult job and crafted a great movie from its many emotional and professional complications.

The Messenger tells the story of Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), a recently injured soldier home from Iraq. Though Will is desperate to get back to the war his injuries need more time to heal and his commanding officer (Eamonn Walker) has a temporary job for him to do while he heals.

Will is assigned to work with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) in the Casualty Notification Service. It is Captain Stone's duty to inform the families of soldiers who are killed in battle. Captain Stone has been at this job a very long time and has some hard and fast rules for Staff Sgt. Montgomery to live by.

The first and most important rule is being professional. Do not engage emotionally with the family. Stick to the script which informs the family that the Department of Defense is sorry to inform them of the death of their loved one. Never touch the victim's family, no physical or emotional attachments are essential to performing this task.

The rules are practical to military standards but also provide a distance for the men of the casualty service who need the rules to keep the sadness and despair at the heart of the job at bay. Montgomery understands but cannot resist a natural tendency toward helping people. In battle he was often the first to rush to help a downed soldier, and in his new duty keeping his distance from the wounded is difficult.

It was inevitable then that one of the victim's families would get through Montgomery’s shell of professionalism. The wife of a late soldier, Olivia (Samantha Morton), strikes something deep within Montgomery and he cannot help but engage with her, eventually beginning to fall in love with her all the while trying to keep Tony from knowing about his breech of conduct. Of course, Tony is well aware of what is happening and seeing the young man make this mistake leads Tony to his own breech of conduct when he returns to drinking as a way of coping with the job. As these two men bond and battle the story takes on a tornado swirl of emotions.

Director Oren Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon structure the story of The Messenger as a series of vignettes strung together with scenes of male bonding through alcohol and immature sexuality. There is an inherent disconnect from emotion in this structure, one that actually plays very well to the overall story.

By structuring the film as a series of beginning middle and end encounters with victims families followed by scenes of Montgomery and Stone getting to know each other off the job, we get the disconnected feeling that Stone urges as the most important part of the job. This makes it even more effective when Montgomery begins to allow the job to bleed over out of the vignette and into the other portions of the story.

By the end, the wall that Stone so carefully crafted as a means of distancing himself from the tragedy of his job is nearly destroyed and it nearly destroys him. Montgomery meanwhile finds himself again through the despair and heartache and finds a renewed purpose that gives the film a hopeful yet nervy end.

The Messenger is a film of remarkable poise, poignancy and empathy. It features performances by Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson that are hard but sensitive, tough yet compassionate. Oren Moverman made his mark as screenwriter in 2007 and now is a full fledged filmmaker with his exceptional work here.

Moverman and co-writer Alessandro Camon were nominated for an Academy Award for this original screenplay while Woody Harrelson earned a much deserved Best Supporting Actor nomination. This film deserved even more than that. The Messenger is powerhouse filmmaking.