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

Call to Action

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Movie Review: X2 X-Men United

X2: X-Men United (2003) 

Directed by Brian Singer

Written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, David Hayter 

Starring Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden

Release Date May 2nd, 2003 

Published May 1st, 2003 

The first of 2003's many blockbusters is here. The sequel to the 2000 cash machine, X Men, X Men United once again has Professor Xavier's clan of mutants attempting to prevent a human-mutant war. The twist however in X2 finds our hero's on the same side as archenemy Magneto against an evil army general with a double secret agenda. The familiar story combines with spectacular effects for an enjoyable popcorn entertainment.

The film opens with a sensational effects scene involving a new mutant called Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) and an attack on the White House. Using his mutant ability to turn to smoke and float through walls, Nightcrawler evades the secret service and attacks the President. Through luck, the President's life is saved, but now the tentative peace between humans and mutants that started at the end of the first film is over.

Despite the efforts of Mystique (Rebecca Romijn Stamos who is not bad when she's not saddled with too much dialogue) disguised as the late Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison), an army General named Stryker (Brian Cox) convinces the President that a strike against mutants is necessary. His target, Xavier's School for the Gifted, AKA the X-Men compound.

In the meantime, Professor Xavier has begun searching for Nightcrawler to uncover why he attacked the President. Xavier dispatches Storm (Halle Berry) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) to find Nightcrawler, while he and Cyclops visit archenemy Magneto (Ian Mckellen) to determine his involvement. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) returns to the school just in time to take charge of the student while everyone is gone. Of course this is when Stryker and his army attack, forcing Wolverine to empty the school and go on the run.

With Rogue (Anna Paquin), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Pyro (Aaron Stanford), Wolverine heads for safety in the home of Iceman's parents. In one of the films most talked about scenes, Iceman "comes out" to his parents about being a mutant. It's not long though before the cops show and they are on the run again.

Once reunited with Storm and Jean, they find that the Professor and Cyclops are missing and they are being hunted by military jets as they escape in the X jet. After taking a hit the jet nearly crashes, they are saved at the last minute by the unlikely savior, the now free Magneto. With the mutual enemy of General Stryker, they must team with Magneto and Mystique to free Xavier and stop Stryker from launching the war against mutants.

Summer blockbusters aren't about great storytelling, they are about special effects and sly humor and X2 delivers both. Not only is there the awesome White House attack sequence, but also the jet fight with Storm attempting to lose the military jets in a series of tornado's that she creates.

Most of the film’s humor comes, surprisingly from Wolverine in subtle commentary in his surroundings. Thrown in to babysitter mode while the rest of the crew is hunting for Nightcrawler, Wolverine has some fun interaction with the students before the military attacks. Then as witness to Iceman's coming out, Wolverine's annoyance of his conventional surroundings are very funny. Jackman's gruffness is perfectly in tune with his humor.

The effects are strong, but suffer in comparison to the Matrix trailer that precedes it. The Matrix trailer was so good I missed the first couple minutes of X2, still reveling in Reloaded. That is not to say I wasn't impressed by X2 but it is made to look conventional by comparison.

The performances aren't much to be remembered Halle Berry's Storm gets more screen time this second time around but not much insight is made into the character. Jackman as Wolverine gets the most screen time and is undoubtedly the star but the more Wolverine is on the screen the less impressive he becomes. In comparison with Jean and Storm, Wolverine's powers, his adamantium claws and superhuman healing ability seem small. You know when it comes to the major save the world stuff it will be Storm or Jean doing the saving with Wolverine as a spectator.

Director Brian Singer does an efficient job of balancing his large cast and huge effects scenes, and while the story isn't all that impressive it's all very well choreographed and follows a certain logic. To balance all of this big budget stuff and make a film that is semi-coherent is a feat all on it's own. It's an entertaining popcorn film that effectively sets the stage for the next sequel. It's no Spider-Man, Batman or Superman, but it's still pretty good.