a5c7b9f00b After the events on Liberty Island, everyone at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters is settling in. Magneto is locked up in a plastic cell, Rogue and Bobby Drake have finally gotten together, and Wolverine has set off to find his origins. But it won't stay quiet for long. After a mutant attack on the President, everyone starts to fear any type of mutant. William Stryker, who plans to stop all mutants, takes over the school, causing Wolverine and his team of mutants to go into hiding. Stryker has managed to capture Xavier and will use him to create another version of Cerebro. Wolverine and the team must now team up with their enemy, Magneto, to stop Stryker before it's too late. Already living in a society that mistrusts them, the mutants are faced with even more discrimination after an unforeseen enemy - who may be a mutant with extraordinary powers - launches a devastating attack. The news of the assault causes a public outcry against the mutants, including renewed support for the Mutant Registration Act, and William Stryker, a military leader rumored to have experimented on mutants (possibly including Wolverine), is among the most vocal supporters of the legislation. Stryker puts into motion a plan to eradicate the mutants and begins an offensive on the X-Men mansion and school. Magneto, having escaped from his plastic prison, forms an unlikely alliance with Professor Xavier to stop Stryker. Meanwhile, Wolverine heads north to investigate his past. Seemingly using the first film to practice big-budget movie-making, Bryan Singer followed the mediocre X-Men (2000) with X2 (one of many dodgy titles attributed to the film), a balls-out, mutant mash-up full of genuine characters focus, an intriguing storyline, and set-pieces worthy of the money it earned. In fact, the opening scene, which depicts newcomer Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), a mutant with a forked tail and the ability to teleport, attack a small army of helpless government agents to get through to the President, blows anything the first film had to offer right out of the water.<br/><br/>With mutant antagonist Magneto (Ian McKellen) imprisoned in a plastic cell, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is focusing his time on helping the maturing students at his school for gifted youngsters. He has sent Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) to Alkali Lake, in the hope of helping him discover more about his past, but he finds nothing but an abandoned military base. After the attack on the President, government operative William Stryker (Brian Cox) leads an attack on the unsuspecting Xavier's school, capturing Xavier and Cyclops (James Marsden) in order to strengthen his mysterious plans.<br/><br/>The plot summary is as compressed as can be, as, like the first film, X2 has a lot of big personalities with big, special powers with their own individual stories to tell to cram into a two-hour film. Although there are mutants with far more interesting powers and greater physical potential, the focus remains on the fan-favourite Wolverine. It's Jackman's enigmatic performance that makes him so easily likable, and he is finally allowed to roam free here. There are no soft fights where nobody dies as in X-Men; Wolverine massacres many of Stryker's men during the attack on the school. When he first drives his claws into an agent who makes the mistake of firing on him, it is the first of many air-punching moments throughout the film.<br/><br/>It's hard to fathom a threat that could actually make a dent in a race of people with such unbelievable powers, so Stryker, a man with no liking for mutants but a fascination with harnessing their powers, has found a way to subdue them. Seeing a mutant like Magneto so helpless is oddly affecting, so, after his spectacular prison break-out, he becomes a sort of anti-hero, doing the kind of dirty work Xavier would not lower himself to. But ultimately, it's the Xavier-Magneto good vs. evil fight that remains the most fascinating, and even with Stryker playing the main villain, Magneto is far from forgotten and has plans to bend Stryker's actions to his own personal gain.<br/><br/>It's a shame then that X2 marks the high-point of the series. There is now a remarkable 7 instalments set in the X-universe, and although X- Men: First Class (2011) injected some life back in the series, and hopes are high for the new X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), none have come close to the kind of energy and invention of this. Though you could complain about the lack of a coherent narrative, and that some of the minor characters are left out to dry, X2 is a near-perfect superhero movie, and is still Marvel's greatest achievement. And with almost 15 years of men in tights and capes, that is high praise indeed.<br/><br/>www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com With the huge amount of praise and good reception at the box office of the film which introduced Marvel's mutant heroes in theaters, it is only natural that a sequel was provided by 20th Century Fox. Again, Bryan Singer was invited to take the director's chair. Scripted by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter, based on the story of Zak Penn, David Hayter and Bryan Singer, this second adventure of the X-Men is based on the graphic novel "God Loves, Man Kills", which introduces the X- Men and their enemies, the Brotherhood of Mutants, against genocidal Colonel William Stryker. This leads an assault on Professor Xavier school to build their own mutant screening version, the brain, in order to destroy all of Earth's mutants.<br/><br/>Without the need for an introductory film to the universe of characters, Bryan Singer was able to give more grandeur and gravity will all plot, can better develop the characters, but this time, knowing give a final finish much higher in the action scenes, which, moreover, they are present in a greater amount. The director also keeps the debate on the acceptance of differences open in the first film. Interestingly the sequence in which Bobby Drake, the Iceman, tells his parents that is a mutant is, for example, is a parallel to a teenager interesting that reveals a homosexual family. Racism, religious beliefs, prejudice, changes of puberty and intolerance are mirrored in the problems faced by younger pupils Xavier.<br/><br/>Seeking to correct errors of the first film, Singer managed to make a film superior to the first in several respects. First, he knew very well deal with a huge amount of characters in the scene. As for the new characters, the biggest news is on account of Kurt Wagner, or as it is known in the comics, Nightcrawler, played by Allan Cumming. The character is revealed the most realistic aspect of the film, with its religious devotion being well studied and turning it into the most human facet of the film. Lady Deathstrike and William Stryker also sound other highlights. huge success in the previous film, the main mutant, Wolverine continues highlighting. The love triangle between Jean, Wolverine and Cyclops also deepens. Mystique and Magneto are still more mingled and yield good scenes of comedy and sarcasm. Some characters that had appeared, more gain some prominence. Pyro (Aaron Stanford - the mutant who controls the fire), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Rogue (Anna Paquin), though still as students, already in the first team and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), Kitty Pryde (Katie Stuart ) and Syrin (Shauna Kain) also appear using his powers.<br/><br/>The script is deeper and turns, thus maintaining the inserts of humor and the darker mood of well-balanced narrative in its various sub- plots (Stryker and his mutant son, the past of Wolverine, the love triangle between Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean Grey, the revelation of the Iceman to be a mutant to his family and how she deals with it; the escape of Magneto's prison, the Stryker plan to eliminate mutants etc). Proof that there is more story to tell with almost a half-hour in length than its predecessor and present a more ominous story than the last. Unlike the first film, where the focus was greater in the development of the characters, especially Wolverine and Rogue, besides the obvious concern in presenting the world of X-Men to the public, this sequel surpasses the previous film in all aspects. Singer may be more to the point without worrying so much in this presentation of the universe of human and how mutants are inserted in it.<br/><br/>In action scenes, Singer stands for performing one of the best opening sequences in movies based on comic books. Night can invade the White House, fight and win easily at least a dozen highly trained security staff to get the President of the United States. Another scene worth mentioning is the invasion of Charles Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. A well-orchestrated invasion carried out in the dead of night, in which it sought surprise mutants that there studied and lived. And of course, all the conclusion of the story where the heroes seek to prevent the use of the brain to annihilation initially the X-Men. Overall, Bryan Singer increased violence, but made the most compelling fights (which happens between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike is sensational from start to finish).<br/><br/>Singer can make a film that delivers what it promises discuss. It goes deep to the issue of intolerance "mutant phenomenon" and the impact it would have on government and society. In addition, it raised the level of the action scenes and showed us how intense it could be a superhero movie. To close the pack, we still had a great hook to the "Saga of the Dark Phoenix" for future productions in an unexpected and poignant end. Action, emotion, humor, grand effects and an elaborate plot are present to the public and fans of the X- Men universe. What the movie needs more than anything is a script. The story is very disappointing and near the end, things start to get weirder and weirder. When a mutant named Nightcrawler (<a href="/name/nm0001086/">Alan Cumming</a>) attempts to assassinate the President of the United States (<a href="/name/nm0807767/">Cotter Smith</a>), the School for Gifted Youngsters is attacked by General William Stryker (<a href="/name/nm0004051/">Brian Cox</a>), a scientist who is rumored to have experimented on mutants, possibly even Wolverine (<a href="/name/nm0413168/">Hugh Jackman</a>), and Professor Charles Xavier (<a href="/name/nm0001772/">Patrick Stewart</a>) is kidnapped, the X-Men must band together with Magneto (<a href="/name/nm0005212/">Ian McKellen</a>) and Mystique (<a href="/name/nm0005381/">Rebecca Romijn</a>) to rescue Professor X, stop Stryker from wiping the mutants off the face of the Earth, and quell the new public outcry against the mutants. X2 (aka X2: X-Men United or internationally as X-Men 2) is the sequel to <a href="/title/tt0120903/">X-Men (2000)</a> (2000), which was based on the Marvel comic book series X-Men, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. In particular, the film was based on the "God Loves, Man Kills" storyline, written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by Brent Anderson, published in 1982. The story and screenplay for X2 were written by David Hayter, Bryan Singer, Zak Penn, Michael Dougherty, and Dan Harris. It is followed by <a href="/title/tt0376994/">X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)</a> (2006), <a href="/title/tt0458525/">X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)</a> (2009), <a href="/title/tt1270798/">X: First Class (2011)</a> (2011), <a href="/title/tt1430132/">The Wolverine (2013)</a> (2013), <a href="/title/tt1877832/">X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)</a> (2014), <a href="/title/tt3385516/">X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)</a> (2016), and <a href="/title/tt3315342/">Logan (2017)</a> (2017); with the Deadpool film series being loosely related. No, he did not. He used the perception of slowed time to reprimand his students. He shut down minds of everyone in that particular area, as the electronic devices, including the televisions, are still in working order; a technique he later used in the White House.She's Siryn (<a href="/name/nm0435076/">Shauna Kain</a>), Banshee's daughter. The majority of people in the mansion shot with the tranquilizer darts were kids, so they're going to feel the effects of the sedatives used much more quickly and more profoundly than adults. In fact, Logan turns out to be the only adult shot by Stryker's men in the mansion, and his metabolism and resistance to injury are much different than that of an average human, much less a child. For a brief moment, Logan does shake his head a bit as if slightly dazed, but the tranquilizer has little effect on him otherwise. Cyclops (<a href="/name/nm0005188/">James Marsden</a>) is also shot when Stryker captures Prof. Xavier at Magneto's cell. However, the darts might not have affected him because he was wearing his combat uniform, which may have reduced the velocity of the projectiles. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it is explained that, due to Logan's healing abilities, sedatives and other medications would not work for him (which is why he had to volunteer for the adamantium processing back then). Even though Stryker knew about this, he didn't expect to run into Wolverine in the mansion. He even says, "This is certainly the last place I would expect to find you." Ronny was scared and upset, when learning that his brother is a mutant and witnessing Bobby demonstrating his abilities as a mutant by freezing their mother's cup. So he decided to betray Bobby by calling the police and telling the police that mutants had taken him and his family captive and had wanted Bobby and his friends to leave. Magneto used his powers to shut down Cerebro first and then forced the door open. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Stryker works with both Logan and Victor Creed / Sabretooth, but in this film, when Stryker says, "I always thought you were one of a kind. I was wrong," he was referring to Yuriko Oyama / Lady Deathstrike (<a href="/name/nm0005026/">Kelly Hu</a>). Adamantium being injected into her body in a mass amount, it is highly likely that this character is dead. However, Kelly Hu signed on to X-Men 3 when Bryan Singer was attached to the project as writer and director. As soon as Fox Studios replaced Singer for Brett Ratner and Zak Penn, Hu was no longer signed on and hasn't appeared in any other X-Men sequel. He finds out only that his creator was William Stryker, who calls him "an experiment that failed" and "an animal with claws" but gives no details to what he means by that. As the dam finally bursts, Jean (<a href="/name/nm0000463/">Famke Janssen</a>) creates a telekinetic wall to hold off the flood waters long enough to lift the X-Jet into the air, saving the children and the rest of the X-Men team. Speaking through Professor X, she bids them goodbye, then releases the water, which crashes around both her and Stryker, presumably killing them both. The scene then cuts to the White House where the President is about to broadcast a message to America to address the growing mutant threat. As he begins his speech, a storm suddenly brews up outside, everything and everyone stops, and the President finds himself facing the X-Men. Professor X gives him a report that was stolen from Stryker's files and offers him an opportunity to encourage mutants and humans alike to work together because, as Xavier puts it, "we're here to stay." After a few more flashes of thunder, the X-Men disappear, and the camera crew resumes where it left off. The President looks down at the report in front of him and then faces the camera. The scene cuts again to the School for Gifted Children, where Xavier is about to address the students in his class. Before he begins, he assures Wolverine and Cyclops that Jean made the choice to sacrifice herself. As Wolverine and Cyclops go out into the hall, Wolverine also mentions that Jean made another choice: she chose him (Cyclops), which seems to somewhat ease his pain. In the final scene, the camera pans over the lake while, in a voiceover, Jean says: