05-05-2003, 02:28 AM
It's amazing to see all these great superhero flicks recently. Traditionally (IMO), the only decent superhero movie was Batman, and perhaps Batman Returns if you don't mind a little camp. But with X-Men, Spider Man, and now X-Men 2 (I haven't seen Daredevil), the genre has gotten a huge shot in the arm.
I offered to take my cousin to see the film today, and after finding out that she had never seen the first one, I just had to dig my tape out. So, we watched it and had a great time. Then we watched the interview with Bryan Singer (the director of both X-Men movies) afterwards. According to that interview, the first film was shot on a $75 million budget. If that's the case, X-Men 2 had a much, much higher budget. Everything about this movie was better than the first.
Every returning character got chances to really shine (although Cyclops seemed a bit short-shrifted in comparison to the others), and the new characters introduced were really well-chosen:
Nightcrawler has always been my favorite X-Man, and he comes across awesomely in the film. The actor chosen to play him is a bit older than he appeared to be in the comics, but fits the part perfectly. And his fight scenes (the first of which is at the very beginning of the movie and is possibly the best in the flick) are just awesome; they're almost a ballet of mayhem.
Iceman and Pyro seemed a bit underdeveloped, but hopefully will have larger roles in X-Men 3. Pyro, in particular, will be interesting to watch, IMO. Iceman comes across as a boy-band wannabe (Pyro too, to be honest), but that may be to set up his relationship with Rogue.
Colossuss only appears for a few short scenes, but those are memorable. If he's not in X3 it will be a tragedy. This movie needed more Colossuss.
Jubilee and Kitty Pryde are in several scenes, played by the same actresses from X1.
There are also several hints dropped for hardcore comic readers. Several other prominent characters are seen or mentioned, and although I'm sure I missed some, I noticed Remy Lebaeu (Gambit), Hank McCoy (The Beast), and Jamie Maddox (Multiple Man?). There is also a big tip of the hat to Jean Grey, although only comic readers will probably catch it.
Another interesting bit is that although this is a PG-13 flick, there's quite a bit of killing done. Wolverine and Magneto especially get to do some mayhem.
The only problem (again, IMO) with the flick is the villain's henchman. She appears to be a direct rip off of Lady Deathstrike, but is in no way related. I see no reason to have made up a character when one present in the fiction (and relevant in the same context) is available. But maybe that's just me.
To sum up:
Nightcrawler.
Needs more Colossuss.
Go see this movie.
9.5/10.
- WL
I offered to take my cousin to see the film today, and after finding out that she had never seen the first one, I just had to dig my tape out. So, we watched it and had a great time. Then we watched the interview with Bryan Singer (the director of both X-Men movies) afterwards. According to that interview, the first film was shot on a $75 million budget. If that's the case, X-Men 2 had a much, much higher budget. Everything about this movie was better than the first.
Every returning character got chances to really shine (although Cyclops seemed a bit short-shrifted in comparison to the others), and the new characters introduced were really well-chosen:
Nightcrawler has always been my favorite X-Man, and he comes across awesomely in the film. The actor chosen to play him is a bit older than he appeared to be in the comics, but fits the part perfectly. And his fight scenes (the first of which is at the very beginning of the movie and is possibly the best in the flick) are just awesome; they're almost a ballet of mayhem.
Iceman and Pyro seemed a bit underdeveloped, but hopefully will have larger roles in X-Men 3. Pyro, in particular, will be interesting to watch, IMO. Iceman comes across as a boy-band wannabe (Pyro too, to be honest), but that may be to set up his relationship with Rogue.
Colossuss only appears for a few short scenes, but those are memorable. If he's not in X3 it will be a tragedy. This movie needed more Colossuss.
Jubilee and Kitty Pryde are in several scenes, played by the same actresses from X1.
There are also several hints dropped for hardcore comic readers. Several other prominent characters are seen or mentioned, and although I'm sure I missed some, I noticed Remy Lebaeu (Gambit), Hank McCoy (The Beast), and Jamie Maddox (Multiple Man?). There is also a big tip of the hat to Jean Grey, although only comic readers will probably catch it.
Another interesting bit is that although this is a PG-13 flick, there's quite a bit of killing done. Wolverine and Magneto especially get to do some mayhem.
The only problem (again, IMO) with the flick is the villain's henchman. She appears to be a direct rip off of Lady Deathstrike, but is in no way related. I see no reason to have made up a character when one present in the fiction (and relevant in the same context) is available. But maybe that's just me.
To sum up:
Nightcrawler.
Needs more Colossuss.
Go see this movie.
9.5/10.
- WL