X2 (2003)

The second instalment in a trilogy should always be darker and better than the first. Better because you don't have to give the characters as much time to develop as in the first instalment, thus evolving them and giving you more time to focus on the story. And darker because, well, we all know the third movie will have a happy ending, so if you have some bleak scenes and dialogue (and you do), now is the time.

Whereas the first instalment took a while to do anything specific to the genre, this one shoots straight to a new character and some most CGI-friendly action. Terrific, but also vaguely unsatisfying as you'd rather see how the others are doing. Thankfully, it's just an intro.

There are quite a few newcomers, though, and perhaps fewer would have helped with the flow of the film. They are all given a decent amount of screentime and only most of them feel relevant. Particularly Nightcrawler is good distraction, and even adds some relevance to Storm, who suffered in the first instalment. Double kudos, though, to Brian Cox. In a flick where everyone but him have superinteresting superpowers, he represents a most genuine threat, and an intense and loathed adversary for the X-Men in general, and Wolverine particularly.

McKellen could downplay his role in the first, but here he shows off a lot more of the grandiose villain Magneto, and he revels in it. As earlier, his best scenes are slow, dialogue-based interactions with Patrick Stewart, though. The pair really glow together, as their common background and different goals pull them in opposite directions at almost every intersection despite all they have in common.

Singer still has a keen eye for details, letting us see how the characters use their powers in everyday situations, reminding us ever so gently that they are still mostly humans with a human take on life. A very nice piece of manipulation. He also tackles a rather touchy political subject without ever being too preachy or over-simplifying it. A most necessary feat if you want your audience to actually pay attention.

So is it darker? Undoubtedly. Both in mood, the death of key characters, in lighting and dialogue. You can simply read the screenplay of the scenes with McKellen and Stewart if you want to pick up that this is much more serious business. And you need to pay attention to all the scenes these two are alone, as they are the highpoint of these films.

Is it better? Not really, no. Even more characters and new interactions make a few holes. Particularly between Wolverine and Rogue who had brilliant chemistry in the first. You miss this, as they have precious few scenes together here. And a few of the characters feel like they're about to reach their expiration date. But it's still a very, very good superhero-flick


8/10