A Reel 20 - X2: X-MEN UNITED

"Let’s just say I know a little girl who can walk through walls…”

This month marks the 20^th anniversary of X2: X-MEN UNITED. 

Directed by Bryan Singer, X2 was the direct sequel to Singer’s X-MEN from 2000, which ignited the new age of superhero films. X2 picked up on story threads from the first movie, including Wolverine’s search for his past, and Magneto’s quest for mutant freedom and domination. 

Inspired by the Marvel comics Return to Weapon X (2001) and God Loves, Man Kills (1982), X2 went into production right after the success of X-MEN. Singer was retained to direct, and he was joined by his superior cast of Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Halle Berry (Storm), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Cyclops), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Kelly Hu (Deathstrike) and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique). Newcomers included Brian Cox (Stryker), and Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler). 

Filming began in June of 2002 in Vancouver and lasted into November with over 64 sets being built in 38 locations. John Ottman provided the score. 

Upon release, X2 earned high praise from critics and fans, and would earn enough at the box office to finish as the 9^th highest grossing film of the year. It would win the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. 

 

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X2 was a superhero film that was ahead of its time. It came to us five years before the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) began, and was only six years removed from the BATMAN disasters of the late 1990’s. Despite being born in an odd spot, X2 has stood the test of time and is rightfully regarded as one of the best superhero films ever made. Its themes of family, loyalty, and basic human rights give the world of mutants a grounded and human touch, and that is balanced with some of the best action scenes in the genre; the opening attack on the White House, Wolverine’s showdown with Deathstrike, and Magneto’s magnificent prison break. 

Even with these great battles between good guys and bad guys, X2, like its predecessor, blurs the line between who was really in the right. The core of the film is Magneto’s desire for his fellow mutants to have freedom from persecution, and while his methods are brutal, his heart is in the right place. In today’s age where we still debate if the MCU’s top-villian Thanos was really right, this Magneto from 2003 may have done it first. 

In the long run, X2 made an even bigger star out of Hugh Jackman and bumped-up his Wolverine in pop-culture. The film would be the highest point of the series, which would have many ups and downs before it wrapped in 2017. In the near future, the MCU will be bringing the mutants back, along with Jackman for one last go…and the standard they need to meet is X2. 

 

“You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.”