Spoilers for X2 (2003)
X2 was widely regarded as one of, if not the best, superhero films to be released when it came out in 2003. Whereas the first X-Men film was awkward and never quite found its feet during the running time, X2 had greater stakes and a better handle on its blunt, but still relevant, social commentary.
Like Spider-Man 2 (Dir: Sam Raimi) the year after, it was able to forgo lengthy exposition and focus on what its audience wanted, which was massive set pieces and a greater exploration of the superpowers that were in this world.
Rewatching it over 20 years later, X2 isn’t quite the perfect superhero film. As the Marvel Universe juggernaut has continued to evolve, along with a gradual relaxing of censorship rules, we’ve seen films that have handled its themes in a more subtle, effective way. The two-film arc in Captain America (The Winter Soldier and Civil War) is a perfect example of this, taking that paranoia and xenophobia around people who are different and having it inform a tighter, if not always cohesive story.
But X2 still has its charm. There’s the chuckle-worthy bluntness of its social commentary when Bobby Drake (Shaun Ashmore) tells his parents that he is a mutant, prompting this response from his mother.
“Well, have you tried not being a mutant?”
There are also various references to the manipulation of Hannibal Lecter. Brian Cox’s performance as the serial killer in Manhunter (Dir: Michael Mann, 1986) was key to Bryan Singer casting him as the anti-mutant Colonel William Stryker. While the prison that Magneto (Ian McKellen) is kept in, harks back to Silence of the Lambs (Dir: Jonathan Demme, 1991). Even his escape – a slightly too clever play on his control of metals – follows the same sort of escalation that Lecter’s escape from prison does.
THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
Spoilers for The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Trigger warnings for discussion of sexual assault and misogyny. It’s strange to think that arguably the most iconic scene in The Silence of the Lambs – the first meeting between Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) and Hannibal …
However, one scene stands out in X2. The fact that it’s the first scene means that the remaining two hours are desperately fighting to match that excitement.
Nightcrawler’s (Alan Cumming) attack on the White House is a near-perfect introduction to a new character. The series wouldn’t come close to bettering this until the introduction of Quicksilver (Evan Peters) 11 years later in Days of Future Past (Dir: Bryan Singer).
It feels like the first time the X-Men powers were used to the fullest on screen. Nightcrawler’s ability to teleport short distances suits the fast editing pace perfectly, while the gun crack sound of his teleportation constantly heightens the tension. When we cut to inside the Oval Office, where the President (Cotter Smith) can hear the attack outside, those teleportation sounds give the impression of a gunfight.
As an audience, we can only guess how we would react to seeing superpowers. Unfortunately, we have a far better idea of how we would react to something like gunfire.
It’s also the perfect location for a scene like this. Attacking the President is a good way to raise the stakes. Still, more than that, putting a teleporting mutant in the winding corridors of the White House gives the crew ample opportunity to showcase exactly what Nightcrawler (who is a fairly major player in the comics but who would be unknown to casual cinema audiences) can do.
When the action finally slows for a second, and Nightcrawler stands above the President with a knife, we’re given the slightest hint of the overarching plot. There’s a moment of hesitation that gives one of the President’s bodyguards a chance to put a bullet in the attacker.
X2 might not be able to claim its place atop the superhero movie mountain anymore – many would argue that Spider-Man 2 surpassed just a year later. But its opening scene remains one of the most impressive character introductions and action set pieces that the genre has created. That opening is unsurpassed in the X-Men canon, and the series would not reach these highs again until Hugh Jackman’s at-the-time last run as Wolverine in Logan (Dir: James Mangold, 2017).
Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, David Hayter
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming
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