Image Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
#40. X2: X-Men United
Medium
Live-Action Feature Film
Release Dates
April 24, 2003 (London)
May 2, 2003 (United States)
Credits
Director: Bryan Singer
Writers: Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, David Hayter, Bryan Singer (Story), Zak Penn (Story)
Cast: Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X, Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops, Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romign-Stamos as Raven Darkhölme / Mystique, Brian Cox as Colonel William Stryker, Anna Paquin as Marie D’Ancanto / Rogue, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake / Iceman, Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce / Pyro, Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama / Lady Deathstrike, Bruce Davison as Senator Robert Kelly, Katie Stuart as Kitty Pryde, Kea Wong as Jubilee, Reid McKay as Jason Stryker / Mutant 143, Daniel Cudmore as Piotr “Peter” Rasputin / Colossus
The Reason It’s Great
Director Bryan Singer states that X2: X-Men United drews heavy inspiration from The Empire Strkes Back. The X-Men are split into various groups and the overall tone is darker. It’s the best of the original trilogy of X-Men films and is also one of the best superhero films in general.
William Stryker, who has a history with Logan, is a man bent on killing every mutant in existence. He hopes to achieve this by using his own telepathic mutant son to control Professor X in committing this mass genocide. The X-Men and Magneto’s band of mutants join forces to stop Stryker.
As the team works to find Stryker, Logan learns about his history at the Weapon X program. In the end, Stryker is defeated, but at a great cost to the X-Men.
X2: X-Men United was lauded for director Bryan Singer’s adept handling of multiple characters within the context of a complex narrative. Due to the film’s themes, it was honored by the Political Film Society in the categories of Human Rights and Peace.