X2: X-Men United

Name: X2: X-Men United
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Released: May 2, 2003
Duration: 133 min
Rating: 68
Cast: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen

2003

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 1133 Ratings

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8.6

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8.6	User Score Universal acclaim based on 1133 Ratings

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X2: X-Men United

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Movie Details & Credits

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: May 2, 2003 | PG-13

Starring: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart

Summary: Mutants continue to struggle against a society that fears and distrusts them. Their cause becomes even more desperate following an incredible attack by an as yet undetermined assailant possessing extraordinary abilities. With the fates of mankind - and mutantkind - in their hands, the X-Men Face their most dangerous mission ever. [20th Century Fox]

Director: Bryan Singer

Genre(s): Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 133 min

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Critic Reviews

Michael O'Sullivan

The fantastic and at times deliciously nihilistic world of X2 is fully, believably three-dimensional. Read full review

Premiere Glenn Kenny

One of the things that makes this movie such a great rush is that while you’re watching it, it seems a good deal more subversive than it really is. Read full review

David Edelstein

My chief complaint is that these mutants are a little--well, vanilla. I wish the X-Men had a touch of kinkiness to go with their weird abilities. Read full review

Steven Rea

As it is, most of X2's action is restricted to the Northeast Corridor, with a climactic face-off in the western Rockies, where, in typical blockbuster fashion, everything goes kablooey and ka-bam. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

In some ways, X2 is an obvious improvement on its predecessor: It looks more expensive, and its special effects seem to swoop out of nowhere...But "X-Men" was undoubtedly the most elegiac comic-book adaptation of the past few years. Read full review

Wesley Morris

It's scenic, confidently directed and performed, dutiful, faithful, revelatory, informative, and largely involving. Rarely, however, is it any fun. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

The movie is overplotted, a soulless maze of special effects and relentless action. Read full review

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User Reviews

Thegodfatherson

Jul 29, 2013

Tightly scripted, solidly acted, and impressively ambitious, X2: X-Men United is bigger and better than its predecessor and a benchmark for comic sequels in general.

34 of 35 users found this helpful341

Prolific

Apr 25, 2021

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1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Hippopotamus94

May 18, 2021

⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙⊙
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

Cinemassacre94

Mar 20, 2016

Like the first Tim Burton-directed Batman movie, the original X-Men was the rare comic-book adaptation that satisfied the needs of both summer-movie audiences and all but the most Mylar-addled comic-book fans. Directed with depth, efficiency, and wit by Bryan Singer, the film suffered onlyLike the first Tim Burton-directed Batman movie, the original X-Men was the rare comic-book adaptation that satisfied the needs of both summer-movie audiences and all but the most Mylar-addled comic-book fans. Directed with depth, efficiency, and wit by Bryan Singer, the film suffered only from a tendency to seem like a setup for an even bigger movie. And here it is. Significantly longer and stuffed with new mutants, unresolved old business, new subplots, and many more fights, X2: X-Men United suggests that Singer's gaggle of screenwriters received script notes reading "More, more, more." Fortunately, bigger usually equals better here, and when it doesn't, it equals just as good. The film opens with the kind of breathless setpiece most action movies would save for a climax: an assassination attempt on the U.S. president by teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (a well-cast Alan Cumming, who finds the right balance of scariness and helplessness). What looks like a terrorist act is eventually revealed as a broader conspiracy to crack down on mutant freedoms, a plot spearheaded by hateful general Brian Cox, who uses the attack as an excuse to go after the residents of the school run by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart). With their expansive casts, tangled plotlines, and overheated passions, the X-Men comic books have always been as much about soap operatics as laser beams. So far, the film series has not just understood that notion, but run with it. Singer sandwiches melodrama within eye-catching, comics-inspired compositions, allows time for characters to interact with (and often annoy) one another, and, whenever the situation gets too grim, lets Hugh Jackman's anti-heroic Wolverine or some other witty business deflate any pretensions. Aside from a couple of duds in the ensemble, the film also benefits from its gifted cast, with Ian McKellen once again standing out as Magneto, the pitiless, radical mutant whose escape from prison leads to the uneasy alliance suggested by the film's subtitle. With all the talk of government crackdowns in the name of national security–the president even shares George W. Bush's habit of wearing an American-flag pin, lest anyone question his patriotism–the story also boasts a muted contemporary resonance. Only in the finale do the special effects start to overwhelm the plot and characters, but by that point, the film has long since begun to coast on its own momentum toward the inevitable, and welcome, setup for the presumably even bigger X3.… Expand

0 of 8 users found this helpful08

ErikTheCritic

Oct 8, 2018

This sequel elevates the stakes, with more bigger action set pieces and intense sequences, as well as the introduction to more fascinating characters.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Rickniks38

May 8, 2022

The first good X-Men movie, like how Charles gets taken so the team has to be more independent. Where in the first movie it just felt like they were just waiting around till the story came to them.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

VoiceOfAmerica

Sep 28, 2021

Everyone is such a pervert in this film. I hate it so much and I will hate it for as long as I can.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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8	#8 Most Discussed Movie of 2003
10	#10 Most Shared Movie of 2003