20th Century Studios
X2: X-MEN UNITED
Starring Hugh Jackman (Logan / Wolverine), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Halle Berry Ororo Munroe / Storm), Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Scott Sommers / Cyclops), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier / Professor X), Ian McKellen (Erik Lensherr / Magneto), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler) , Shawn Ashmore (Bobby Drake / Ice Man), Aaron Stanford (John Allerdyce / Pyro), Kelly Hu (Yuriko Oyama / Deathstrike), Daniel Cudmore (Peter Rasputin / Colossus), and Brian Cox (William Stryker)
Directed by Bryan Singer
Produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter
Written by David Hayter, Michael Dougherty, and Dan Harris
Music By John Ottman
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Run Time: 2 hours and 13 minutes
World Premier: April 24, 2003, London, England
Opening Weekend Box Office: $85 million
Worldwide Box Office: $407 million
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
Marvel Entertainment / The Walt Disney Company
Fun X2: X-Men United Facts
In November-2000, following the critical and financial success of X-Men earlier in the year, Bryan Singer began working on a sequel with the 1982 graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills written by Chris Claremont serving as the primary inspiration for the film. In that graphic novel, Charles Xavier is abducted by William Stryker and is used as a weapon against his fellow mutants after being hooked up to a machine against his will which will channel his telepathic powers to kill every mutant in the world via cerebral hemorrhage. To prevent this from happening, Magneto unites with The X-Men to combat Stryker and rescue Xavier.
In X2: X-Men United, the William Stryker character was changed from his comic book role as a militant Reverand in favor of making Stryker over as a military scientist and colonel. Stryker was also written to be significantly tied to Wolverine’s origin for the film as the architect of the Weapon X project. The comic book plot of Stryker having a mutant son was kept for the X2 film. However, Stryker killed his son (and wife) in the comics while in the movie, Stryker’s wife commits suicide over the mental stress that their son has put them through. Stryker blames Charles Xavier for her death due to the fact that Xavier had been previously unable to assist Jason in a way that pleased Stryker after Stryker enrolled Jason in Xavier’s school. The death of his wife and the mere existence of his son fuels Stryker’s hatred for all mutants, which makes him the primary antagonist of this film.
Mutant characters Angel and Beast were included in early drafts of X2: X-Men United but were ultimately scrapped due to the film already having to juggle so many characters. Doctor Hank McCoy (Beast) does appear on a television screen during the film in human form, portrayed by actor Steve Bacic. Angel and Beast were both members of Marvel’s original X-Men team in the comics.
Rewrites of X2: X-Men United were ordered as Fox sought to expand the role of Halle Berry’s Storm after she won an Academy Award for her performance in Monster’s Ball.
Sentinels and the Danger Room were planned to be featured in X2: X-Men United, two concepts that readers of X-Men comics know quite well. Both plot devices were ultimately scrapped, however.
Marvel character Anne Reynolds, who serves as William Stryker’s assistant in God Loves, Man Kills, was originally scheduled to appear in X2: X-Men United in that same sort of role, but Bryan Singer ultimately decided against it and replaced Reynolds with the Deathstrike character, who was an adaptation of Marvel’s Lady Deathstrike.
Actor Allan Cumming endured 10 hours of makeup for the church sequence in X2: X-Men United.
In X2: X-Men United, during the scene where Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique hacks into William Stryker’s computer, the names of several mutants can be seen, many of which would be familiar to readers of Marvel’s X-Men comics. Among the more notable ones are Remy LeBeau (Gambit), Jamie Madrox (Multiple Man), Wanda Maximoff (The Scarlet Witch), Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver), Danielle Moonstar (Moonstar), Sean Cassidy (Banshee), Tom Cassidy (Black Tom), Roberto DaCosta (Sunspot), and Fred Dukes (Blob). On another screen, files pertaining to several people and concepts pertaining to Marvel’s mutants can be seen, including Omega Red, Project Wideawake (the Sentinel project), and Franklin Richards (the mutant son of The Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards and Susan Storm). Stryker also has files pertaining to Deadpool and Mister Sinister in addition to most of the mutants that are seen in this film.
X2: X-Men United was the fourth Marvel film that future Marvel Studios President and Marvel CCO Kevin Feige worked on, following 2000’s X-Men, 2002’s Spider-Man, and 2003’s Daredevil.
Marvel Studios / The Walt Disney Company
On September 6, 2005, Marvel Enterprises became Marvel Entertainment; a reflection of the company’s new initiative to finance its own motion pictures through Marvel Studios. Two X-Men films had been made by Sony and Marvel Entertainment at the time of the announcement: 2000’s X-Men and 2003’s X2: X-Men United. A third film (X-Men: The Last Stand) was already in active development at the time of this announcement. Marvel Studios would work in conjunction with Fox on The Last Stand, honoring the terms of their initial agreement, and X-Men: The Last Stand would be released in the Spring of 2006.
Beyond X-Men: The Last Stand, the working agreement between Marvel Studios and Fox on the production of X-Men films as it had once been ceased to exist as the Marvel Studios team concentrated on the creation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe while Fox’s team did their own thing. A fourth X-Men film was released by Fox in 2009: X-Men Origins: Wolverine after which a decision was made to reboot the franchise with 2011’s X-Men: First Class. 2013 saw the release of The Wolverine, and then in 2014, the past and present X-Men Cinematic mythologies collied in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Ensuing X-Men films by Fox included 2016’s Deadpool and X-Men: Apocalypse, and 2017’s Logan.
On December 17, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced that an agreement had been reached with 20th Century Fox that would see Disney acquire Fox’s television and film divisions, among other things. Disney had acquired Marvel Entertainment at the end of 2009, and Marvel Studios with it. The lucrative Fox deal therefore landed the film rights to Marvel’s mutants under the Disney / Marvel Studios umbrella. Fox shareholders unanimously approved the transaction on July 27, 2018, and the deal was finalized on March 20, 2019. In the meantime, Deadpool 2 was released theatrically in 2018, followed by Dark Phoenix in 2019, and New Mutants in 2020. New Mutants marked the thirteenth X-Men film and the last X-Men project produced by the previous regime at Fox.
2022’s Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness saw Marvel Studios cast actor Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X 19-years removed from X2: X-Men United. Stewart had portrayed Xavier in X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Logan. The version of the Xavier character that Stewart portrayed in Multiverse of Madness however, has been described as a Multiversal Variant (from Earth-838) of the Xavier seen in the previous X-Men films. Even though this version of Xavier was not from the 616-Universe, the inclusion of Xavier in the Doctor Strange sequel was historically significant, as it marked the first appearance of a mutant character within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Furthermore, the Xavier from Earth-838 was not only the leader of The X-Men, but also a member of the esteemed Illuminati which consisted of Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), Captain Carter (Peggy Carter), Black Bolt, Captain Marvel (Maria Rambeau), and Karl Mordo (who replaced Earth-838’s Doctor Strange), and the film treated longtime Marvel movie fans with a unique opportunity to see Xavier share the screen with MCU veterans such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Hayley Atwell, and Elizabeth Olsen.
On December 17, 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced that an agreement had been reached with 20th Century Fox that would see Disney acquire Fox’s television and film divisions, among other things. Disney had acquired Marvel Entertainment at the end of 2009, and Marvel Studios with it. The lucrative Fox deal therefore landed the film rights to Marvel’s mutants under the Disney / Marvel Studios umbrella. Fox shareholders unanimously approved the transaction on July 27, 2018, and the deal was finalized on March 20, 2019.
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My X2: X-Men United Reviews
X2: X-Men United is a film that I refer to as a perfect sequel. It brought back the main cast from the first film and added a couple of great additions to said cast and then boasted a story that built upon the strong foundation that was laid in the first film. This is something we see on a regular basis these days within the MCU, but it was a rarity within the comic book movie genre at the time of its release.
X2: X-Men United was a complex film that faithfully adapted most of the themes that made the God Loves, Man Kills graphic novel so powerful, and at the time that I first watched this film in 2003, it was my favorite comic book movie ever, eclipsing the first X-Men film as well as 2002’s Spider-Man, both of which I thought were excellent movies.
In praising X2: X-Men United, I have to start with Nightcrawler (who was amazing), and that’s how this film started as well, with an absolutely epic sequence of Nightcrawler (under the control of William Stryker) infiltrating the White House for an assault on the President of the United States in an effort to supposedly push a political agenda in the name of mutants. Stryker arranged for this amidst hopes of refueling his own government’s as well as the general public’s fears and concerns as they pertained to mutants, which had died down significantly since the first film due to the death of Senator Kelly, who was now routinely imitated on Capitol Hill by the shapeshifting Mystique. We actually see Mystique impersonating Kelly in this film and debating Stryker, which I thought was a nice touch, but Stryker’s plan ultimately works, as with a demonic looking mutant violently assaulting several Secret Service Agents and openly threatening the President of the United States, the government quickly labels mutants and the various dangers they present as the most imminent threat to not only National security, but to public safety as well.
All of this plays off the first X-Men film brilliantly as it is both the realization of Magneto’s warnings and fears and Charles Xavier’s worst nightmare after so diligently campaigning for peace.
In the meantime, we catch up to Wolverine at Alkali Lake in Alberta, Canada, desperately searching for the clues to his past that Professor X had insisted he would find there, but ultimately, Wolverine discovers nothing of import and decides to return to the X-Mansion to confront Xavier over what he believes was akin to a wild goose chase.
Meanwhile, we catch up with Xavier’s students on a field trip in a fun little sequence and we learn that Jean Grey is having trouble controlling the powerful mutant abilities that she possesses.
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Soon, Xavier learns of the attack on the White House and decides to use Cerebro to locate Nightcrawler. Believing Magneto to be the culprit, Xavier sends Jean and Storm to apprehend Nightcrawler while he and Cyclops visit Erik in his plastic prison. During this time, Stryker receives permission from the U.S. President to raid Xavier’s school. From there, everything comes to a head!
Stryker leads a violent invasion of the X-Mansion, abducting several mutant children but also, much to his surprise, encountering Wolverine. Stryker knows Wolverine, but Wolverine does not remember Stryker and this makes for a curious confrontation between the two that is interrupted by Ice Man.
Wolverine begrudgingly flees with Ice Man, Rogue, and Pyro, putting the mutant children above his own ambition and let me just say that this entire sequence with Stryker raiding the X-Mansion was amazing!
Wolverine shined the most throughout it, from his uncomfortable conversation with Rogue’s boyfriend Bobby to the small hints of his trademark Berserker Rage against Stryker’s men, Hugh Jackman was brilliant!
As all of this goes on, Jean and Storm locate Nightcrawler and convince him to return to the X-Mansion with them while Stryker takes custody of both Xavier and Cyclops. Stryker uses a secretion that originates from his son Jason to take over the minds of Xavier and Cyclops, and we learn that he had been using this same technique to extract invaluable information pertaining to mutants from the imprisoned Magneto. Stryker’s end game is to force Xavier into using a recently constructed (by Stryker through the information that he received from Magneto) second version of Cerebro to use his abilities to kill all mutants via cerebral hemorrhage. To stop Stryker, Magneto knows that he must do the unthinkable and unite with Xavier’s X-Men.
After successfully escaping Stryker’s assault, Logan, Rogue, Pyro, and Ice Man venture to the family home of Bobby Drake. This is a wonderful sequence that starts innocently enough with Wolverine searching for a beer and Bobby using his freezing abilities to gently kiss his girlfriend, which highlights the ongoing struggle that Rogue is having with being unable to naturally touch her boyfriend.
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Things go south when Bobby’s parents arrive home and are startled to see him there. Bobby comes out as a mutant to his mom and dad; an unforgettable and well written scene that is purposefully contrived to resemble a gay child coming out to their parents, complete with Bobby’s ignorant mother asking whether or not Bobby has tried to not be a mutant. Great stuff!
From there, Bobby’s mutant-hating younger brother calls the police and tells them that his family has fallen victim to a home invasion. This prompts the arrival of several militant officers and as Logan tries to calm the quickly escalating situation, he is shot in the head by an officer. This act of unprovoked aggression sends Pyro into a frenzy, and he begins unleashing hell on the officers with a series of fire blasts until Rogue calms him. Wolverine of course soon recovers, and Jean and Storm arrive and rescue the quartet. Bobby sadly leaves his family home knowing that he will never be welcome to return.
Wolverine’s reaction to meeting Nightcrawler is priceless, and as the mutants flee in the X-Jet, they are bombarded by military fighter jets. The plane is shot down and Nightcrawler saves Rogue’s life, then Magneto (who was broken out of custody by Mystique) intervenes and prevents the plane from crashing.
Magneto explains the peril that all mutants are in with Stryker having custody of Xavier and urges The X-Men to unite with him. Everyone is of course reluctant to trust the man that they fought on Ellis Island, except for Pyro, who takes a liking to Magnet’s way of thinking.
This sequence features a beautiful scene between Nightcrawler and Mystique that stands as one of my most favorite scenes from any X-Men film as Nightcrawler, envying Mystique’s shapeshifting abilities, asks her why she doesn’t choose to look “normal” all the time, to which Mystique answers “Because I shouldn’t have to.” I just love that little piece of dialogue, but all of the warm and fuzzy sort of stuff with Mystique is tossed out the window from there as she takes on the guise of Jean Grey and tries to seduce Logan.
Amongst the revelations that come for Magneto are the fact that Nightcrawler had attacked the President while under Stryker’s control and that Stryker was the man that bonded Logan’s body with Adamantium. Magneto also reveals that Stryker will have taken Xavier to Alkali Lake where Stryker boasts an extensive underground base.
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The plan is of course to infiltrate that base and rescue Xavier.
Mystique takes on Logan’s guise and successfully gets inside and after letting the others in, she and Magneto set out to find Xavier. In the meantime, Jean fights the brainwashed Cyclops and Logan encounters Deathstrike in the lab where he became the Wolverine. Logan ultimately kills Deathstrike by filling her body with Adamantium in what was a great fight scene. As the massive dam at Alkali Lake begins to rupture and Stryker’s plan with Xavier is set into motion, Logan chases down Stryker outside, now realizing exactly who he is and what he did to him. Wolverine stops short of killing Stryker, opting to chain Stryker to a helicopter wheel before venturing back inside to assist the team.
Magneto and Mystique successfully get to Xavier and prevent the mutant massacre that Xavier would have caused, but the ever-militant Magneto decides against freeing Charles and instead resets the machine to target all non-mutant people! Magneto, Mystique, and Pyro then make an escape while Storm and Nightcrawler rescue Xavier.
As the dam breaks, the mutants make their way to the X-Jet where Jean uses her abilities to divide the waters and levitate the X-Jet out of harm’s way. In doing this, Jean voluntarily sacrifices herself in a horrific moment that devastates Logan and Cyclops alike. Stryker and Jason are both killed.
From there, Xavier sees to it that Stryker’s files are turned over to the President, revealing Stryker’s actions and motives. The President agrees to an unsteady truce with the mutants and addresses the Nation accordingly.
Back at Alkali lake, a form in the shape of a Phoenix rises above the waters and the credits roll.
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As I mentioned when starting this review, Nightcrawler was my favorite thing about this movie!
Nightcrawler is one of my favorite X-Men characters; he is just such a unique character as a devout Catholic mutant that looks like a blue demon. I just love that synergy! Alan Cumming was the living embodiment of Nightcrawler, perfectly bringing the character to life from off the pages of the comics. The filmmakers nailed the look and Cumming nailed the part, and I just adored Kurt Wagner in this film!
Next, I have to mention Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. After being introduced in a great way in X-Men, X2 was the film in which Hugh Jackman made Wolverine his own! Jackman had plenty to chew on as the story of this film delved into his mysterious past and I thought he was great in this movie!
Rebecca Romijn as Mystique was also once again great in this film, continuing to be the most visually appealing and most emotionally intriguing villainous character of this franchise.
Brian Cox was also great as Stryker; I hated him so much, and it was cool to see Magneto team-up with Xavier’s mutants. I do want to add that as good as this movie was at the time (Marvel’s best in my opinion), it was made even better in ensuing years when the background stories of Logan, Charles, Erik, and Magneto were all told on film! Knowing the details of what originally went down between Logan and Stryker at Alkali Lake and the complex backstories of Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique really enhance X2 and make the various exchanges between these characters all the more powerful!
If you’re a fan of Marvel, comic book movies, or just The X-Men, this is a must-watch as there really is a lot to appreciate!
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Highlights of X2: X-Men:
Alan Cumming is Nightcrawler
Hugh Jackman is Wolverine
Rebecca Romijn as Mystique
Mystique and Nightcrawler Dialogue Scene
Mansion / School Invasion Scene
Mutants United!
Phoenix Tease
Scene at Bobby Drake’s Parent’s House
The overall execution of the Nightcrawler character in terms of makeup and personality
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Notable MCU Concepts and Characters Introduced:
X2: X-Men United serves as a continuation of the story that began in 2000’s X-Men, which serves as origin story for a Universe of characters that are rumored to be set to be formally introduced in Marvel Studios’ upcoming film Deadpool 3, including a purported Variant of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Meanwhile, the MCU’s Earth-838 version of Charles Xavier / Professor X (seen in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) looks nearly identical to the Professor X from this film, with both characters portrayed by actor Patrick Stewart.
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