X2: X-Men United (2003) Rated PG13 Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Famke Janssen Rating: out of

This time out there's no need to introduce the concept of the mutants or really get into the origins of any of the characters. So, we get right to the action with the opening scene. The White House is infiltrated by a mutant terrorist (or so it seems) which causes the President to step up anti-mutant efforts. Col. William Stryker - played by Brian Cox, who lately is showing up in almost as many films as Colin Farrell - is all too ready to provide a solution to the mutant "problem." Defeating him will require Professor Xavier's X-Men to team up with the evil Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and fight his forces as a unit.

The plot and the mechanics of the X-Men universe are well-crafted and really are worthy of the attention they've received from generations of fans. I especially like the fact that all of the mutants -- good and evil -- seem to have real motivation behind their actions and their reactions to the situations into which they're placed.

What might piss off fans of certain characters is the amount of time available to everyone. X2 has so many characters, it's impossible to give them all a decent amount to do and still maintain a coherent story. The main emphasis is given to fan-favorite Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), Dr. Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry). Cyclops (James Marsden) and Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) are almost completely absent from the second act of the film. A new mutant, Nightcrawler (Alan Cummings), is introduced and given a nice chunk of time to explain himself. His teleportation powers come in handy as well. Imagine that. The number of action sequences is considerably higher than X-Men. There are enough nicely paced fights and chases to give each character a chance to show off their powers at least once.

If you liked the first film, you won't be disappointed with X2. If you're not a fan of comic book films, I don't think this one will convert you. While I won't call X2 a great film that will stand up to much in the way of a critical analysis of its theories and ideas, it does take itself as seriously as it has to and that makes it as believable as it has to be.

Trivia: Hugh Jackman was given a nutritionist to get in shape for his role as Wolverine and gained 20 pounds. (Source: The Internet Movie Database)