|
X2
For a
lot of reasons, the second film in a superhero movie franchise
has it easy. The first film has the tough job of establishing
who the characters are, and convincing a non-comics reading
public that these guys are worth their time.
Actual
plot almost becomes secondary, especially as superhero origin
stories often seem similar. It's not until the sequel that
you get to really explain what makes Daredevil different from
Batman, for instance.
Some
filmmakers might take it easy on that second shot. Cruise
through a plot, maybe show off a few extra effects because
you have a bigger budget, and cash the check at the end of
the day. But not Bryan Singer.
With
X2, the director has often said he's making the movie
he should have done first. But of course he couldn't. He had
to establish the mutants' world. He had to bow to commerce
and pull back on really showing what these characters could
do because there simply wasn't money.
This
time around, he pulls out all the stops. While X-Men
held back a little and serves as background for the sequel,
this one is the film we were waiting for. Forget Spider-Man
(for now). X2 is everything fans could hope it would
be, and more.
Taking
place just a few months after the events of the first film,
it wastes no time in giving us the goods. In a dazzling and
ominous opening, Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) makes a seeming
terrorist attack on the President (Cotter Smith) before teleporting
away utterly.
Such
action brings in General William Stryker (Brian Cox), a government
man that clearly has an agenda of his own. From the way he
cajoles the President, it's obvious this attack was a moment
he had been awaiting for quite a while.
Stryker's
solution? A military attack on Xavier's School For Gifted
Children in Westchester. Get them before they can get us.
Any resemblance to real life events must be purely accidental;
after all, this is just a comic book movie, right?
As for
the X-Men we know, all are off on field trips of one kind
or another. The students have gone to a natural history museum,
where Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) reveals to Scott/Cyclops (James
Marsden) that she has a feeling of impending doom. Ordinarily
this wouldn't be a problem, but with that doom comes a huge
leap in her power level without a firm grasp on how to control
it.
And up
in the north on his own field trip, the man known as Wolverine
(Hugh Jackman) discovers that the answers he seeks to his
origins are not where he thought they would be.
Or are
they? For both Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) and Stryker seem
to know far more about Wolverine than they should. Worse,
Magneto hints that Professor X (Patrick Stewart) also knows
more than he's telling.
This
is still far less complicated than the comics actually were
in the eighties.
The complexity,
however, is merely a sign that Singer and his screenwriters
(including David Hayter back from the first) trust that audiences
are smart and can follow it all. And it's not just the plotting
that has depth.
Singer
takes the core theme of being different and subtly weaves
it throughout the film. It's not just a metaphor for race
in this country; there are also clever jabs at homophobia,
some more overt than others.
Moreover,
the script illustrates the need people have to identify with
a larger group. When Magneto asks Pyro his name, the youth
answers, "John." With the slight sneer that McKellen pulls
off better than anyone, Magneto retorts, "What's your real
name?" It's a definite reversal of Wolverine's cynicism about
codenames from the first, and further establishes mutants
as having their own little society. Or gang.
Like
in the first film, Singer uses a character to voice our own
objections to the more out there goings-on. Instead of Wolverine,
Nightcrawler now fulfills that role. Though the connection
between him and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) remains unexplored
(for now), he does ask her why, if she can look like a normal
person, she doesn't.
Her retort:
"Because we shouldn't have to."
All the
actors get moments such as that in order to shine, even Halle
Berry as Storm, who probably had the least to do in the first
film. Singer pairs her with Nightcrawler, first in getting
his trust, then in realizing that this deeply spiritual man
has something to teach her about Xavier's dream.
Of course,
such lofty philosophical moments still end up in slam-bang
action. This time around, Singer has a real budget to play
with, so everybody gets pushed to the limit. Even though only
a few months are to have passed, most of the characters have
far more control over their abilities. At last, Storm is really
worthy of the name. As the world's most powerful telekinetic,
Jean Grey proves it.
Unfortunately,
the effects for Colossus must be too expensive to add to the
mix for more than one scene, but at least we get a decent
explanation as to why he disappears from the film. In that
explanation, too, we get character growth for Wolverine.
Though
Wolverine's powers were the best explored and used in the
first film, he still felt restrained. In X2, though,
we get the sense of the animal barely held in check, the berserker
warrior in the flesh. To preserve the PG-13, you won't see
a lot of blood, but it's very easy to imagine.
So it's
satisfying for the fans. But will the average moviegoer respond?
It helps that once again, Singer has gathered some of the
best actors working in film. Scenes between Cox and McKellen
crackle with menace. And though being Nightcrawler probably
won't make Cumming into a star under all the make-up, in a
perfect world it would.
And then
there's Jackman, the bona fide unknown before the first
film who convinced fans all over the world that he's short
enough (actually six feet tall), strong enough, and manly
enough to be Wolverine. He still is, and better yet,
he's also the only guy on film who can get away with ending
every other sentence with "bub."
Movie
fans are buzzing over The Matrix Reloaded, but really,
X2 looks like the film to beat. Not only did I walk
out wanting to immediately watch it again, I find myself eagerly
anticipating the non-existent X3, clues for which are
strewn throughout the film. If you know where to look.
And if you don't, it still rocks.
What's
It Worth? $10
Other
X-Men articles:
Interview
with Tom DeSanto (the first film)
Interview
with Bryan Singer (X2)
|
