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Have you ever watched a movie and a few hours (or in extreme cases, a few minutes) later, you can't remember anything about it? For me, this is NOT one of those movies. Rather than talk about the quality of the movie, I want to go on about prejudice, the arrogance of self-righteous "protectors" of the status quo, and xenophobia. These themes, hot topics when the X-Men were created over thirty years ago, are still timely today. I'll try to stay focused, so...
Who will enjoy this film? Consider the following:
- Maybe you like watching the second movie in a series without seeing the original, but I can't recommend it here. If you're curious about this film, but haven't seen "X-Men" yet, check it out first.
- If you saw "X-Men" and didn't like it, you probably won't like this one (strangely enough, not everybody enjoys movies about comic-book mutants with superpowers!). It's similar to the first, but has more of almost everything; more mutants, more action, more character development, more threat (and more time, about 30 minutes longer).
- I was sorely vexed at some tragic events near the end of the movie, but then I realized this isn't a stand-alone story, it's a middle chapter in a trilogy (or series). Like "Empire Strikes Back" or "Two Towers," things get bad, but when viewed with the promise of future resolution, aren't as depressing as they appear. (Of course, those who are conversant with the
X-Men mythos already know this.)
- Adolescents often feel alienated and misunderstood, and being on the cusp of adulthood, crave a life more interesting than the mundane existence of their parents. Hence the appeal of comic-book heroes, particularly these mutants. If you're going to feel outcast, you might as well have special powers and exciting adventures battling the forces of evil too. If you
can't relate to any of that (I mean, there COULD be people who never felt isolated or freakish growing up), you may not connect with this story. Try British films.
This is a good movie to see with a group of friends, allowing time afterward for talking about whether mutants would be actually be feared and persecuted, or what's wrong with the world today, or if you were a mutant, what you would want your superpowers to be.
If you liked the movies below, you'll probably like this one (and visa versa):
- X-Men
- Spiderman
- Mystery Men
Overall Rating: 9 (where 1=Worthless, 10=Fabulous)
Eight-Facet Info Rating, rated on a scale of 0 (None) to 4 (Lots!)):
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