#140RVW
BAMF! Singer knocks it out of the park with this sequel, based on a Claremont classic. Despite unwelcome addition of more Halle Berry (ugh).
What’s more:
This one came out on my birthday, so I would possibly give it a better review based just on that, but this thing didn’t need to be graded on a curve. Was the best superhero movie of its day and is still one of the best of all time.
Story based on a Claremont classic. So good. The best thing going for this, as with all sequels, is the freedom from having to re-explain everything and spend half of your run-time setting up the premise. This movie blasts out of the gates with the assassination attempt; hits the ground running and never looks back.
Sure, there’s far too much Wolverine, and once they unwisely gave Halle Berry an Oscar she was able to demand more unwarranted screen-time, but for the most part Singer manages the large mix of characters well. Except for Cyclops; he gets hosed.
This isn’t the kind of genre-defying movie that Dark Knight was, but it is a top 5 comic book movie. Last chance to see what Singer could do, and he goes out on top. It is so unfortunate that we’ll never know what X3 would have been like with him. He set up the Dark Phoenix storyline; wish he could have delivered…
Spoiler-filled commentary:
- Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Man, based entirely on this opening sequence. Far beyond anything that happened in the first movie. Kickstarts the movie.
- I know from listening to the commentary that as the first movie was a rush job and Jackman was a last minute add, they didn’t have time to get Logan’s hair right. They were happier with how it turned out in this one. I think you got it right the first time. Everyone else got better haircuts, though.
- Hey, Storm lost her accent.
- Jean’s power growing – bring on the Phoenix!
- Nice job of building the anti-mutant tension. Was more global in first one, here it’s more among the common people.
- Brian Cox is a good add.
- The Cerebro effect is so much more developed, and excellent. Needs to be as it plays such a major part in the story.
- I love that we’re sheltering Nightcrawler here in Boston…
- So great when high-tech sci-fi is held back by the technology of the time; Mystique has cracked into secret files and has to wait for the data to print?
- Bamf!
- Love the attack on the school. Beautifully done. Great to see the different mutants at work. And Wolverine finally let off the leash…
- Professor Logan?
- Iceman “coming out” to his parents is hysterical.
- Alan Cumming may be the most versatile actor working today.
- Pyro! Great fire effects.
- The uneasy alliance between Magneto & the X-Men is excellent.
- Magneto recruiting Pyro is so good.
- Mystique is the best – what a great assault on Stryker’s compound.
- James Marsden as Cyclops is once again relegated to the bench. So unjust. I guess they had more scenes with him shot but had to cut for time. Wonder if adding extra scenes with Halle Berry was at fault. (Not really a question; it was.)
- Lady Deathstrike is an unnecessary addition to this story. Hate when these hero movies use cool characters when they know they’re just going to off them. Such a waste…
- I know they were trying to make the Empire Strikes Back of the series, but in some ways it is more the Wrath of Khan of the series. Either way, good role models, to say the least…
- Phoenix rising…
Poster:
Trailer:
http://youtu.be/QotW3n9P3N4
