X2 (2003)
May 14th, 2003 at 11:18 am (Uncategorized)
Ah, it is fun to find a good popcorn flick you can just sit back and enjoy from time to time. There is not much of anything to think about, ponder, or worry about as you watch the action extravaganza of X2 (2003). What there is, is a lot of ass-kicking fun to be had. Keeping in the spirit of the film I think I should write this one in brief, short sentences (If I could only get some special effects to cut from one sentence to the next):
*SPOILER WARNING* I WILL be giving some surprises about X-Men 2 so, if you have not seen the movie STOP HERE. You have been warned. *SPOILER WARNING*
* Alan Cumming nailed Nightcrawler. As probably my favorite X-Men I was nervous they would screw the character up somehow, but oh-no, they did a great job.
* Likewise, Hugh Jackman still rocks on screen as Wolverine. Cannot wait to see what he does with Van Helsing (2004)
* WOW what a great opening sequence! I know the Bond franchise is famous for having superb action sequences to open the movie, but Nightcrawler tele-fighting his way to the Oval Office takes the cake for best shot, edited and timed fight scene I have seen in a long time.
* I thought James Marsden was flat as Cyclops. Which was surprising since the rest of the cast seemed to be just-right.
* Mystique is delicious. I mean, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos wearing nothing but little bits of glued on rubber? There were a moments when it was a true challenge to pay attention to the other characters and not her breasts.
* I don’t know why it had not occurred to me that Nightcrawler would have a thing for Mystique. When you think about it, it is obvious: Both blue and devil like. Nightcrawler slightly innocent to the world. Mystique the seductress. Nice detail getting his tail to wag as she brushes by.
* I was disappointed that Kelly Hu did not get to speak at all as Lady Deathstrike. I have no real memory of what she sounds like from The Scorpion King (2002) and for all I know she cannot really act, but I do wish they had her as something more than a mute through the movie (Is the character of Lady Deathstrike mute?)
* Kelly Hu looks awesome in a corset.
* I was VERY disappointed that they killed Lady Deathstrike. After her little quarrel with Wolverine I would have loved for them to have the chance to get-together. Think about it. Ademantium skeletons, both self-healing, both with a sado-masochistic edge. Are you thinking about it? Good.
* Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are both fine actors and gave the movie an edge of credibility that carried it through.
* OK, so maybe I was being a bit flip when I said the movie was devoid if intellectual content. The movie actually does a good job of pushing buttons when it comes to persecution of a race. I actually got worked up seeing the SWAT teams enter the house and shooting kids.
* I was quite confused when the Pyro character appeared in the first movie at the school. I thought it had to be a different character since Pyro is a ‘bad guy’. I am quite glad they cleared that one up.
* I could not believe they actually killed Jean Grey (I warned you there were spoilers!). I was expecting the movie to end with a shot of Grey under-water holding a life-saving force field as she walked to shore. I think her monologue at the end was a hint they might bring her back. This article from the Calgary Sun also suggests Famke is eager to come back for X3.
* Brian Cox did a great job of flashing us evil little grins.
* Did anyone else notice that they hardly ever showed Anna Paquin below the shoulder? The couple of body shots they gave her were in baggy clothes or hiding behind someone else. My theory is that Anna must have grown between the movies, as in hormones kicked in and grown out instead of up (she was only 19 years old when they filmed the movie) and Bryan Singer wanted to keep the image she had from the first movie.
* Glad they managed to put Jubilee on screen, even if it was only for a few seconds. Same goes for Colossus. Great casting on both of them!
* For those of you who caught it, yes Stryker’s computer did in fact have files on other X-men (you had to pay close attention to the screen as the folder and file names flew by). Here is a synopsis from The IMBD: Trivia for X2 (2003)
Guthrie, Paige (Husk) Guthrie, Samuel (Cannonball) Harada, Keniucho (known as The Silver Samurai) Kane, Garrison (Weapon X) LeBeau, Remy (Gambit) Lensherr, Eric M (Magneto) Maddicks, Artie (Artie) Madrox, Jamie (Multiple Man) Mahn, Xi’an Coy (Karma) Maximoff (2) (Wanda and Pietro, Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver. Names weren’t specified) McTaggart, Kevin (Proteus) Moonstar, Danielle (Moonstar) Munroe, Ororo (Storm) On another screen there were a series of folders on the computer’s desktop. These folders listed some well-known individuals or places from the X-Men universe, including: Omega Red (Russian mutant super soldier) Muir Island (Scottish mutant research facility) Project Wideawake (Codename for Sentinel project) Franklin Richards (Son of Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards and Sue Storm, born a mutant) Cerebro (Mutant tracking device created by Professor Xavier and Magneto)
sammage said,
May 19, 2003 at 4:52 pm
Nightcrawler CANNOT have a thing for Mystique…. she is his MOTHER!!! (of course, neither of them knows that)
Leopoldo said,
May 19, 2003 at 5:05 pm
Wow, I totally forgot about that from the comics. Does not mean that he CANNOT have a thing for Mystique, but rather that if they put that into the story they are playing with fire.
Deth said,
May 19, 2003 at 6:42 pm
Dude, Jean didn’t die! When she holds back Cyclop’s optic blast, that is far beyond her natural power. His blast is light and she can only control solids. When she does that, it’s Phoenix emerging. In X3, she’ll emerge looking very different with much stronger powers and very little of her memories. Don’t worry, she’ll still have a thing for Scott. However, in the comic books, she went bad and caused a star to supernova, destroying a whole solar system and killing millions of aliens. She ended up wearing her power down by shooting herself with an alien wargun. She kissed Cyclops goodbye and then used his blasts to finish herself off so she could never kill anyone else. In the next movie, we’ll most likely see more of Cyclops, Beast, gambit, Shadowcat, Jubilee, and Syren. Probably some Sentinels too.
Leopoldo said,
May 20, 2003 at 9:44 am
Thanks for the insight Deth
I knew that Jean Grey went on to become Phoenix but never read that series of X-Men (I actually only read a few of the comics) so I did not know that she was originally limited to only controlling solids. In the interview Famke Janssen did with the Calgary Sun she actually makes direct reference to the transformation of Jean story arc:
ryan said,
May 22, 2003 at 4:27 pm
I new I was right when I told my wife about Phoenix, of course she didn’t know what I was talking about.
Did you see the siloette of the Phoenix in the water at the end of the movie? Look again if you need to.
I thought X2 was as good or better than The Matrix Reloaded!
Nick said,
May 22, 2003 at 5:27 pm
I actually enjoyed X2 more than the first one. Much better paced and the action sequences kicked the first one’s ass. They did a good job of showcasing new mutants without going into un-needed explanations of who they are and how they came about.
I also like the fact that the movie wasn’t antisceptic as so many of these films can be today. Wolverine kills guys just doing their jobs. They probably could have thought of a dozen ways to get Magneto out of prison, but instead they drag the iron out of the guard’s blood.
Mike said,
May 23, 2003 at 10:37 pm
Did you see the television screen during the bar scene in which Mystique seduced the guard? The man speaking was Dr. Hank MCoy who in the comic books is the character Beast.
Leopoldo said,
May 24, 2003 at 6:21 pm
Oh, that is awesome.. thank you Mike. I knew the person on the screen was someone I was suppoed to know but I did not realize it was Beast.
tommeh said,
May 25, 2003 at 1:27 am
can someone get a screenshot of the TV with hank McCoy on it??
Dan Melrose said,
May 25, 2003 at 6:00 pm
Now I remember, I was reading about Beast being in X-2, but I didn’t know where. I also saw some familiar charcters from the comics, for example Piotr Rasputin (Colosses), who throws the two guards through the wall after they shot at him. I thought that was Iceman at first because doesn’t he turn into ice? Jubilee was in it also, she was one of the captured mutants and was the one who said ,”Professer?,” when he sensed Jean at the end. I also thought it was cool seeing the siloette of Phoenix, but doesn’t Jean die in space? I can’t wait to see Phoenix in the next movie, I actually have the toy of Phoenix and when you press a button on the back, her hair and eyes glow orange. Did you know that Syren is the daughter of the X-Man Banshee, who used sonic waves to make him fly?
TruAtman said,
May 26, 2003 at 12:21 am
Speaking of Jean and the phoenix, in one of the last sequences in the movie Xavier speaks a monologue as the camera moves over the water in the basin where Jean got overcome. If you look carefully you can see an indistinct phoenix shape “flying” under the water. None of the rest of my friend remembers seeing that but I feel certain that I did. Did anyone else catch that?
Dan Melrose said,
May 26, 2003 at 6:54 am
Just to tell you it was Jean who speaks the monologue and her exact last words were,”Evolution begins,” then it shows the Phoenix flying under water.
jr. said,
May 28, 2003 at 12:46 pm
I thought Rogue was Mystique’s daughter. I didn’t know nightcrawler was her son.
jgh said,
May 29, 2003 at 12:29 am
rogue is mystiques step daughter
jr. said,
May 29, 2003 at 9:49 am
How did Mystique end up marrying Rogue’s dad?
Nuff Respect said,
May 29, 2003 at 2:18 pm
Rogue is NOT Mystique’s stepdaughter. Rogue was adopted by Mystique when she was a child. Why they failed to include this in the movie is anyone’s guess.
maz said,
May 30, 2003 at 9:57 am
i think they left out details like that [the whole mystique/rogue/nightcrawler deal] so it appealed to people who aren’t x-fans, and thus making it less complicated for tthem, but i still digged the movie, i got goose bumps when i saw phoenix in the basin hehe
Melrose said,
June 1, 2003 at 2:50 pm
i don’t know how they’re gonna get the Phoenix story to go on because in the comics she dies in space and then the Phoenix comes out of her and starts eating moons. i also noticed that at the end of the movie the Profesor sensed Jean, that’s why he smiled while looking out his window.
Ghost_Hack said,
June 1, 2003 at 10:18 pm
The X2 flick was way better than the original and it’s a good movie dont get me wrong but better then Matrix Reloaded? now that’s blasphemy.
Ghost_Hack
Ghost_Hack said,
June 1, 2003 at 10:23 pm
On another note. it’s obvious that they aren’t going to use the whole Phoenix Saga storyline for the next film because probably it would take 2 much money to make and it wouldn’t go with the theme of the films.
Bryan Singer wants to make these flicks as real as possible so i don’t space and aliens is something he’d be interested in doing.
Also if you haven’t noticed they have been following the story line of the characters by the book. I mean Rogue is a child in these flicks so i dont think they’ll go by the book on the Phoenix Saga.
Expect to see Gambit in the third one, he had a cameo that was cut in X2 so he’ll probably be in X3 for sure.
Ghost_Hack
Melrose said,
June 2, 2003 at 2:29 pm
of course they’re gonna go on with the Phoenix Saga because at the end u see the Phoenix flying under the water and Famkee Johnson signed up for X3.
Zinnia said,
June 7, 2003 at 1:41 am
Can anyone tell me all the cameos of mutants that were included? I wasn’t sure if I missed any. Thanks! Dolphin-daisy@whale-mail.com
Leopoldo said,
June 7, 2003 at 2:25 pm
Here is the list of characters according to the IMDB:
Patrick Stewart …. Prof. Charles Francis Xavier
Hugh Jackman …. Wolverine - Logan
Ian McKellen …. Magneto - Erik Magnus Lehnsherr
Halle Berry …. Storm - Ororo Munroe
Famke Janssen …. Dr. Jean Grey
James Marsden …. Cyclops - Scott Summers
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos …. Mystique - Raven Darkholme
Brian Cox …. Col. William Stryker
Alan Cumming …. Nightcrawler - Kurt Wagner
Bruce Davison …. Sen. Robert Kelly
Anna Paquin …. Rogue - Marie D’Ancanto
Kelly Hu …. Lady Deathstrike - Yuriko Oyama
Aaron Stanford …. Pyro - John Allerdyce
Shawn Ashmore …. Iceman - Bobby Drake
Katie Stuart (I) …. Shadowcat - Kitty Pryde
Michael Reid MacKay …. Jason 143 (Stryker)
Kea Wong …. Jubilee
Daniel Cudmore …. Colossus - Dave
Connor Widdows …. Jones
Bryce Hodgson …. Artie
Shauna Kain …. Siryn
Ty Olsson …. Mitchell Laurio
David Kaye (I) …. TV Host
Charles Siegel …. Dr. Sebastian Shaw
Steve Bacic …. Dr. Hank McCoy
Zinnia said,
June 7, 2003 at 5:36 pm
Who is the mutant with the forked tongue in the beginning of the movie?
Leopoldo said,
June 17, 2003 at 9:42 am
Monday darkhorizons.com reported on a interview http://www.cinescape.com/ had with X2 executive Producer Tom DeSanto. I searched the Cinescape site and did not find the interview, but according to DarkHorizons this is what was said:
x-man said,
June 30, 2003 at 8:54 pm
the kid with the tounge in the beginning is artie.the kid who changed the channel on the tv with his eyes is not blink.in the comics blink is a girl who could teleport.I herd rhane sinclair aka wolfsbane was in the sequal but i didnt see her at all.I liked x2 but the thing that bothers me is during the school invasion why didnt the kids use their powers to defend themselves.the kids like kitty pride,siryn,and colossus use their powers to escape.I also wonder where kitty pride went after she went through the wall when the guy tried to shoot her.also how did siryn run with the kids when they went through the tunnels to escape while she was stunned when the guy shot her.if i were siryn i would have woken up and ran while screeming so she could get away.kitty pride could have also stayed in her phased state because if she did the guys could not shoot her.x2 was a very good movie and i hope in the 3rd their will be more of kitty pride,siryn,colossus,pyro,and some other characters like beast,gambit,psylocke,banshee,and rusty collins{his power is pyrokinesis}
me said,
October 21, 2003 at 7:17 pm
PHOENIX WILL OF COURSE BE IN X 3!!! SHE STARTED TRANSFORMING INTO PHOENIX ALMOST RIGHT FROM THE START OF THE MOVIE! SHE IS THE BEST X-MEN OF THEM ALL SO OF COURSE THEY ARE GOING TO PUT HER IN!!!!!
Remon said,
January 1, 2004 at 8:50 am
Lady Deathstrike will be back for X3. SHE WAS AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Simon said,
January 9, 2004 at 9:03 am
X-Men 2 was absolutely amazing!
I watched the film about 6 times, and by then, I had managed to spot all the slight hints and cameos - from Prof. Hank McCoy appearing on the television, to the very vague silhouette of Dr. Jean Grey’s new transformation - Phoenix. What an intelligent but subtle way of hinting to the audience that she has survived and will probably be in X3. Mind you, it probably would’ve been only the die-hard fans that would have noticed this, and not just have thought that it was the reflection of the camera which had been unintentionally reflected off of thw water, at the end!
I was extremely disappointed when the indestructible, yet slightly seductive Lady Deathstrike was eventually killed, by Wolverine. There was no way that Wolverine would have been able to kill her, by himself - without bringing another object into the fight (in this case it was the lever which ejected the liquid adamantium) - this was exactly what he did and I thought that it was terribly unfair. If it was a proper fight, there would have been hand-to-hand combat - or should I say claw-to-blade combat - and Lady Deathstrike would have absolutely destroyed Wolverine. I felt that because she is such an immensely powerful character, with her good looks and insect-like agility, it would have
been better if the storywriters had just decided that she joined Magneto’s ‘gang’ - along with Mystique and Pyro; and allowed Wolverine to realize that he wouldn’t be able to win the fight - and so try to escape the room and run away from her…..that is never going to happen though…..I really hope that she somehow manages to star in X3 - I would LOVE to see more of her!!!
Overall, a truly breathtaking film and one to definitely watch.
Brilliant.
Avis said,
January 18, 2004 at 9:08 pm
“the kid who changed the channel on the tv with his eyes is not blink.in the comics blink is a girl who could teleport”
Actually it was, there have been five characters by the name of Blink in the x-men world.
The teleporting female blink is the most common, the others were only around for a short while and didn’t really do anything.
NICOLE BULL said,
January 22, 2004 at 9:02 am
This movie is the best! I Love James Marsden he is a realy good actor. I think a x3 would be real good.My mom thinks Jean Grey died but i don’t think she did.Great Job X2 was great I watch it all the time.
Sicerly,
Nicole Bull
Maharett said,
January 22, 2004 at 7:56 pm
Oh my goodness this movie was great the graphics were very good, And Pyro (Aaron Stanford) Is HOT they did a good job at casting him for Pyro. He is going to be in X3 right?
Leopoldo said,
February 3, 2004 at 8:34 am
I have added eight more pictures from Van Helsing at: Film Roar: More Van Helsing Pictures and Geekroar.com Gallery :: Van Helsing Pictures.
Tyler said,
February 28, 2004 at 11:23 am
Someone said that Lady Deathstryke will be back for X3 and although I doubt they’d give here that much spotlight, I still believe that with her healing ability she could have somehow survived. And of course Jean Grey is still alive. As long as the Phoenix Force inhabits her, she really can’t die. But enough of that, I’m really looking forward to X3 coming out. I’m not going to try and guess what they’re going to do in that movie, since they’re not really following any comicbook pattern. If anyone here like to roleplay, there is a link around my name. TTFN - Tyler
Tristan said,
May 5, 2004 at 5:52 am
Lady Deathstrike was used as a disposable baddy for the sole purpose of showing a wolverine fight. This is cinema and cannot recreate all the qualities of the comic books such as seriality(on-going soap opera like storylines).
As I recall Jean Grey is buried in the original comics and a clone/duplicate of her is released at the same time, the clone is found by the x-men who think it is her. Later in the series the original Jean Grey comes back.
It could be that Jean Grey cameos at the end or something but is not central to the storyline.
Also although Rogue was Mystiques adopted daughter in the comics, she was not revealed as Mystique until much later, and she had raised her with another female mutant who saw the future but was blind to the present.
:)
Ryssa said,
July 2, 2004 at 1:30 pm
My guess as to the kid who changes the tv with his eyes is…….Jeb Guthrie. Look him up it all fits, physical description, powers, etc….
Also, if you watch very closely, when they’re showing you all the rooms of the underground base at Alkali Lake, when they get to the Adamantium operating room, Deathstryke isn’t in the tank anymore, so it is possible she healed enough to get out of there, also just before she “died” her eyes changed color (anyone else notice this?) possibley signalling the chemicals effect wearing off……I’d say it’s quite possible for her to come back and tempt Wolvie as she’s supposed to…..
Anne said,
July 28, 2004 at 11:06 am
The second movie was amazing. Much better than the first, although I do agree that Mr. Marsden’s portrayal of the loveable goof Cyclops was less than inspiring. Then again, I was never a fan of Cyclops, per-se.
The third movie should be even better. It has been confirmed that the Dark Phoenix saga will play a role in the third film, as well as a possibility of seeing the Danger Room. Beast and Gambit should both be appearing, and Storm’s role may be taken over by another actor. Rumour points to actress/R&B singer Christina Milian (Love Don’t Cost a Thing). Someone should tell Miss Milian that Storm is from the South-African region, and reccomend for her to pick up an accent PRONTO. Rogue has kept her darling southern drawl, and it always bugged me that Halle didn’t seem to have any clue of Storms roots.
Me... Hi! said,
September 5, 2004 at 9:42 pm
Hi. I don’t know if this was mentioned… I read about half way down but there’s just so much!
Jean - I’m not so sure about that with Cyclops’ powers meaning she was turning into the Phoenix… As her power’s Telekinesis, which in many shows, movies, etc, can be used to deflect like that… I never had a big thing for comics, but I remember in the cartoon, she was taken over when she was using her powers to their maximum (Like at the end of X2) Plus, at the end we see the silhouette on the water, and hear an eagle-ish noise… Plus, Famke’s signed for the third…
Deathstrike - She can’t be dead!! That old dude (Sorry, Haven’t seen X2 in a while) said something about once Adamantium is solid, nothing can blah, blah, blah it.
Adamantium, therefore cannot be melted, she just got a heck of a lot more inside of her… Plus the whole self-healing thing.
chantale said,
September 12, 2004 at 1:18 pm
i like nightcrawler. we need more pics of nightcrawler.
Kiel said,
March 17, 2005 at 8:25 am
When the X-team are trying to make the ship work again, Storm (Halle Berry) pulls a funny face!
Brent said,
April 6, 2005 at 3:33 pm
You also see some foreshadowing when they are scrolling through the mutants files and you catch Remy LeBeau (gambit) and a few other familiar names
Brent said,
April 6, 2005 at 3:36 pm
Me… Hi! as to lady deathstrike not being dead it’s quite possible for her to be dead as wolverine and deathstrike have a “Healing Factor” not full out regeneration.The only reason wolverne survives the head shot is because of his adamantium skeleton and the round not having the strength to penetrate it. Wolverine suffers his head trauma and is unconcious then wakes up as his healing factor denies the round. Yes that means wolvie cannot get piercings =P
Christina said,
June 6, 2005 at 7:11 am
OMG!!! I WANT GAMBIT!!!
Christina said,
June 6, 2005 at 7:13 am
I noticed that 2 (Remy’s name)