X-Men 2

X2: X-Men United, often promoted as X2 and X-Men 2, is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional

characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series. It stars an

ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin,

Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Halle Berry and Kelly Hu. The plot, inspired by

the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, pits the X-Men and their enemies, the Brotherhood, against the genocidal

Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox). He leads an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of

Xavier's mutant-tracking computer Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth.
Development phase for X2: X-Men United began shortly after X-Men. David Hayter and Zak Penn wrote separate

scripts, combining what they felt to be the best elements of both scripts into one screenplay. Michael Dougherty and

Dan Harris were eventually hired for rewrite work, changing characterizations of Beast, Angel and Lady Deathstrike.

Sentinels and the Danger Room were set to appear before being deleted because of budget concerns. Filming

began in June 2002 and ended that November. Most of the filming took place at Vancouver Film Studios, the

largest soundstage in North America. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas adapted similar designs of John Myhre

from the previous film. X2: X-Men United was released in the United States on May 2, 2003 and became both a

critical and financial success, earning eight nominations at the Saturn Awards and grossing approximately $407

million worldwide.
Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Development
o 3.1 Writing
o 3.2 Production
o 3.3 Design and effects
• 4 Comic book references
• 5 Reception
o 5.1 Release
o 5.2 Critical response
Plot
Nightcrawler, a teleporting mutant, attempts to assassinate the President of the United States in the White House,

but he fails and escapes. Wolverine reappears after discovering nothing at Alkali Lake, while Storm and Jean find

Nightcrawler with the help of Professor Xavier and Cerebro. Cyclops and the Professor visit Magneto in his plastic

prison to see if he had any part in the attack on the president. Reading Magneto's mind, the Professor discovers

that a covert government operative, William Stryker, has been extracting information from Magneto. A trap is sprung

and Cyclops and the Professor are captured by Stryker and his assistant Yuriko Oyama. A military raid of the

X-Mansion begins, with the soldiers sedating every student they find. Wolverine confronts Stryker, who fails to shed

any light on his past.
Impersonating Senator Robert Kelly and Yuriko, Mystique gains information about Magneto's prison and provides a

means for him to escape. Wolverine, along with Rogue, Iceman and Pyro, head to Iceman's (Bobby Drake's)

parents' home in Boston. After a 9-1-1 call the police arrive just as the group is about to leave. The X-Jet arrives

to pick them up and the X-Men team up with Magneto and Mystique. Magneto has learned Stryker orchestrated the

attack on the president and has been experimenting on mutants, using a drug injected directly into the back of the

neck to control them. Jean reads Nightcrawler's mind and determines that Stryker's base is located at Alkali Lake,

inside the dam where he plans to kill the world's mutants by building a second Cerebro.
Through his son, Jason, Stryker gains control over the Professor. His son is able to project powerful visions in the

mind, blinding a person to reality and through this the Professor is brainwashed to use Cerebro to find and kill all

mutants. Mystique is able to infiltrate Stryker's base by impersonating Wolverine; the X-Men enter and Storm and

Nightcrawler search for the kidnapped students. Jean, Magneto and Mystique are attacked by a brainwashed Cyclops

while trying to rescue the Professor and in the process cause damage to the generators that keep the dam from

collapsing. The force of Jean's telekinetic blast awakens Cyclops from his brainwashing and at the same time

Wolverine finds Stryker in an adamantium smelting room along with Deathstrike. Wolverine manages to defeat

Deathstrike and then finds Stryker on a landing pad, where Stryker attempts to bargain Wolverine for his life with

stories of his past. However, Wolverine refuses, and returns to save his friends from the collapsing dam, leaving

Stryker chained to the helicopter.
While disguised as Stryker, Mystique uses Jason to convince the Professor to kill all humans and Magneto and

Mystique use Stryker's helicopter to escape Alkali Lake, chaining Stryker to concrete rubble. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler

teleports Storm inside of Cerebro where she creates a snowstorm to free the Professor from his telepathic illusion.

The dam bursts but a malfunction aboard the X-Jet prevents it from taking off. As the flood gets stronger, Jean

leaves the jet and creates a telekinetic wall in order to stop the wave and raises the jet above the flood waters.

Jean activates the X-Jet's primary engines, before releasing the torrent of water down on herself.
The X-Men are able to supply the president with files from Stryker's private offices, and the Professor warns him

that humans and mutants must work together to build peace or they will destroy each other through war. The film

ends with a voiceover by Jean Grey on the process of evolution (a speech originally made by the Professor in the

introduction of the first film). The camera floats over Alkali Lake, showing a vague shape of a Phoenix in the lake.
Cast
• Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine: A mutant who lost all memory of his life before he was grafted with

an indestructible adamantium skeleton. Wolverine is a gruff loner, but is in love with Jean Grey and acts as a

father figure to Rogue. He wields three blades that come out of each of his fists, has keen animal-like senses, the

ability to heal rapidly from virtually any injury, and is a ruthless and aggressive fighter.
• Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier: A powerful telepathic mutant confined to a wheelchair who

founded a School for "Gifted Youngsters", Xavier is a pacifist who believes humans and mutants can live together in

harmony. He uses the Cerebro device, designed by Magneto and himself, to track and locate mutants across the

world. A natural genius, Xavier is regarded as an authority on genetic mutation.
• Sir Ian McKellen as Eric Lehnsherr / Magneto: Once Xavier's ally, Magneto now believes mutants are

superior to humans. Magneto wields the ability to manipulate metal magnetically, as well as the power to create

magnetic fields and fly. He wears a helmet that renders him immune to Xavier's powers and all related telepathic

powers. Imprisoned after his scheme in the first film, he is drugged by William Stryker for information over Cerebro,

before making his escape and forming an alliance with the X-Men to stop Stryker. He has demonstrated

sophisticated knowledge in matters of genetic manipulation and engineering. The character's helmet was slightly

redesigned as McKellen found wearing it uncomfortable in X-Men.[2]
• Famke Janssen as Dr. Jean Grey: A teacher at Xavier's school and the X-Mansion's doctor, Jean has

begun to experience a growth in her telepathy and telekinetic powers since the X-Men's battle with Magneto. She is

in Cyclops' fiancé, even though she is attracted to Wolverine.
Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe / Storm: An African mutant and teacher at Xavier's School who can control

the weather with her mind. Storm befriends Nightcrawler. Berry dropped out of Jennifer Lopez's role in Gigli to

reprise the role.[3]
• James Marsden as Scott Summers / Cyclops: The field leader of the X-Men, and a teacher at Xavier's

Institute, he shoots uncontrollable beams of concussive force from his eyes and wears a visor to control them. He

is engaged to Jean. Cyclops is taken prisoner by Stryker.
• Rebecca Romijn as Mystique: Magneto's henchwoman, she is a shapeshifter. Mystique is blue, naked and

covered in scales, and she acts as a spy. She injects a prison guard with metal, with which Magneto makes his

escape, and also sexually tempts Wolverine. Romijn's makeup previously took nine hours to apply, however, the

make-up department was able to bring it down to six hours for X2.[4]
• Anna Paquin as Marie D'Ancanto / Rogue: A girl who can absorb any person's memories and abilities by

touching them. As she cannot control this power, Rogue can easily kill anyone and thus is unable to be close to

people.
• Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake / Iceman: Rogue's boyfriend, he can freeze objects and create ice. His

family is unaware that he is a mutant and simply believe he is at a boarding school. After returning home, Bobby

reveals to them what he actually is, much to his brother's derision.
• Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce / Pyro: A friend of Bobby and Rogue, Pyro has anti-social tendencies

and has the ability to control (although not create) fire. Magneto tells him that "You are a God amongst insects;

never let anyone tell you different." The filmmakers cast Stanford in the role after they were impressed with his

performance in Tadpole.[5]
Brian Cox as Colonel William Stryker: A human military scientist who plans a worldwide genocide of mutants

using Xavier and Cerebro. Stryker has experimented on mutants in the past, including Wolverine, and uses a serum

to control them. Singer opted to cast Cox in the role as he was a fan of his performance as Hannibal Lector in

Manhunter.[6]
• Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler: A kindly German mutant with a strong Catholic faith, yet

ironically he has the appearance of a blue demon. Nightcrawler was used by Stryker in an assassination attempt on

the President of the United States and gives help to the X-Men. He is capable of teleporting himself (and others)

instantly from one location to another. On his body are many tattoos, one for every sin. Cumming had always been

Singer's choice for the role, but Cumming could not accept the part due to scheduling conflicts.[7] Ethan Embry

had been reported to be in contention for the role,[8] but the film labored in development long enough for

Cumming to accept the part.[7] Singer also felt comfortable in casting Cumming since he is fluent in the German

language.[9] The drawings of Adam Kubert were used as inspiration for Nightcrawler's makeup design,[10] which

took four hours to apply.[11] For the scene where Nightcrawler has his shirt off, Cumming went through nine

hours.[7] To best pose as Nightcrawler, Cumming studied comic books and illustrations of the character.[11]
• Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama / Deathstrike: A female mutant that has a healing ability like Wolverine's, and

is controlled by Stryker. She wields long adamantium fingernails. Only her first name is mentioned in dialogue.
• Michael Reid McKay as Jason Stryker / Mutant 143: William Stryker's son. He was sent to Xavier's school

in an attempt to "cure" his ability to create illusions. Returning home, Jason tortured his parents until his mother

committed suicide. His father lobotomized him and uses a fluid from his brain to control mutants. Xavier's mind is

too strong for the fluid, however, and Jason is instead used in order to manipulate him in Stryker's genocidal

scheme.
Although the character of Senator Robert Kelly was killed in the first film, Bruce Davison reprised the role for scenes

where Mystique uses his persona to infiltrate the government. In other cameos, Katie Stuart appeared as Kitty

Pryde, a girl who can walk through walls, Bryce Hodgson as Artie, Kea Wong as Jubilee and Shauna Kain as

Siryn, who is able to emit loud screams that alert the students to Stryker's attack. Also in the final scene with

Xavier, a girl is seen dressed in a Native American style jacket, as well as a blond haired boy dressed in blue,

played by Layke Anderson. These were confirmed to be Danielle Moonstar and Douglas Ramsey.[5] Daniel Cudmore

appeared as Peter Rasputin / Colossus. Cudmore was set to use a Russian accent, but Singer dropped the idea

for unknown reasons, and onset rewrites minimized the character's importance to a cameo.[12]
Jubilee, Psylocke and Multiple Man were to have cameos for the scene when Stryker and his troops storm the

X-Mansion. Beast, Gambit and Marrow were to have appearances during the Dark Cerebro sequence. Gambit's

cameo was actually shot, but the footage was not used in the final cut. Beast's scene was to show Dr. Hank

McCoy transforming into his notable blue fur while Marrow was to be seen lying on a ground in New York City.[5]

Hank McCoy appears on a television during the scene where Mystique drugs Magneto's prison guard. Michael

Dougherty and Dan Harris, the film's writers, cameo in scenes of Wolverine's Weapon X flashbacks as surgeons.[13]

Shaquille O'Neal wanted a role in the film but was ignored by the filmmakers.[14]
Development
[edit] Writing
The financial and critical success of X-Men persuaded 20th Century Fox to commission a sequel instantly. Starting

in November 2000,[15] Bryan Singer researched various storylines (one of them being the Legacy Virus) of the

X-Men comic book series, choosing God Loves, Man Kills as the premise.[16] Singer wanted to study, "the human

perspective, the kind of blind rage that feeds into warmongering and terrorism,"[17] citing a need for a "human

villain".[15] Singer and producer Tom DeSanto envisioned X2: X-Men United as the film series' Empire Strikes Back,

in that the characters are "all split apart, and then dissected, and revelations occur that are significant... the

romance comes to fruition and a lot of things happen."[18] Producer Avi Arad announced a planned November

2002 theatrical release date,[19] while David Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write separate scripts.[20] Hayter

and Penn combined what they felt to be the best elements of both scripts into one screenplay.[21] Singer and

Hayter worked on another script, finishing in October 2001.[22]

Concept art of the Danger Room before the setpiece was stored due to budgetary concerns
Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were hired to rewrite Hayter and Penn's script in February 2002,[23] turning

down the opportunity to write Urban Legends: Bloody Mary.[24] Angel and Beast appeared in early drafts, but were

deleted because there were too many characters. Dr. Hank McCoy, however, can be seen on a television interview

in one scene. Beast's appearance was to resemble Jim Lee's 1991 artwork of the character in the series X-Men:

Legacy.[10] Angel was to have been a mutant experiment by William Stryker, transforming into Archangel.[5] An

homage to Dougherty's and Harris' efforts of Angel remains in the form of an X-ray on display in one of Stryker's

labs.[16] Tyler Mane was to reprise as Sabretooth before the character was deleted.[25] In Hayter's script, the role

eventually filled by Lady Deathstrike was Anne Reynolds, a character who appeared in God Loves, Man Kills as

Stryker's personal assistant/assassin. Singer changed her to Deathstrike, citing a need for "another kick-ass

mutant".[15] There was to be more development on Cyclops and Professor X being brainwashed by Stryker. The

scenes were shot, but Fox cut them out because of time length and story complications. Hayter was disappointed,

feeling that James Marsden deserved more screentime.[5]
Rewrites were commissioned once more, specifically to give Halle Berry more screentime. This was because of her

recent popularity in Monster's Ball, earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress.[26] A budget cut meant that

the Sentinels[16] and the Danger Room were dropped. Guy Hendrix Dyas and a production crew had already

constructed the Danger Room set. In the words of Dyas, "The control room [of the danger room] was a large

propeller that actually rotated around the room so that you can sit up [in that control room] and travel around the

subject who is in the middle of the control room. The idea for the traveling is that if it's a mutant has some kind

of mind control powers they can't connect."[11] Dyas and sculptor James Jones merged several Sentinel designs into

a final maquette of an almost hollow robot who could compress into a disk shape. Animating the Sentinel would

have cost $7 million.[27]
Production
Producer Lauren Shuler Donner had hoped to start filming in March 2002,[20] but production did not began until

June 17, 2002 in Vancouver and ended by November.[28] Over sixty-four sets were used in thirty-eight different

locations.[11] The film crew encountered problems when not enough snow was produced in Kananaskis, Alberta. An

excessive amount of fake snow was then applied.[29] The idea to have Jean Grey sacrifice herself at the end and

to be resurrected in a third installment was highly secretive. Singer did not tell Famke Janssen until midway through

filming.[30] Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and two stunt drivers nearly died when filming the scene in

which Pyro has a dispute with police officers.[6]
Michael Kamen, composer of X-Men, offered his services to compose the film score, but Singer opted for fellow

collaborator John Ottman, who also assisted in editing the film.[31] Ottman established a new title theme, as well

as themes specifically for Magneto, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Mystique and Pyro. Although Ottman tried his best to

keep Kamen's basic approach of the previous film, Ottman also found inspiration from X-Men: The Animated

Series.[32] Minor compositions of Mozart's Requiem were used for the opening scene with Nightcrawler at the White

House.[33]
Design and effects


Nightcrawler's tail was mainly computer-generated, although Alan Cumming sometimes used one made of rubber.[6]
Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and Singer credited Road to Perdition as a visual influence. Though Sigel

filmed X-Men in the anamorphic 2.40:1 format, he opted to shoot X2 in Super 35mm 2.35:1. Sigel felt the recent

improvements in film stocks and optics increased the advantages of using spherical lenses, even if the blowup to

anamorphic must be accomplished optically instead of digitally. Sigel noted, "If you think about it, every anamorphic

lens is simply a spherical lens with an anamorphizer on it. They'll never be as good as the spherical lenses that

they emulate."[34] Cameras that were used during filming included two Panaflex Millenniums and a Millennium XL,

as well as an Aaton 35mm. Singer also used more zoom lens than he did in his previous films, while Sigel used a

Frazier lens specifically for dramatic moments.[34]
The Blackbird was redesigned and increased in virtual size from 60—85 feet.[11] John Myhre served as the

production designer on X-Men, but Singer hired Guy Dyas (X2 was Dyas' first film as production designer).[35]

For scenes involving Stryker's Alkali Base, Vancouver Film Studios, the largest sound stage in North America, was

reserved.[10]
Visual effects supervisor Mike Fink was not satisfied with his work on the previous film, despite the fact it nearly

received an Academy Award nomination. Up to 520 shots were created for X-Men, while X2 commissioned roughly

800. A new computer program was created by Rhythm and Hues for the dogfight tornado scene. Cinesite was in

charge of scenes concerning Cerebro, enlisting a 20-man crew. The Alkali Lake Dam miniature was 25 ft (7.6 m)

high and 28 ft (8.5 m) wide.[36] Cinesite created 300 visual effects shots, focusing on character animation, while

Rhythm and Hues created over 100.[37]

Comic book references
One scene depicts Mystique going through files on Yuriko's computer. Bryan Singer purposely included various

characters and hints of storylines in the X-Men comic book on Yuriko's computer screen. Singer "finds great

difficulty in adapting all this stuff into a two—two and a half hour long movie".[6]
Among the following mutant files are of Gambit, Cannonball, Husk, Silver Samurai, Garrison Kane, Magneto, Artie

Maddicks, Multiple Man, Karma, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Proteus, Danielle Moonstar, Storm, Beast, Feral, Banshee,

Black Tom Cassidy, Lila Cheney, Sabretooth, Sunspot, Polaris, Psylocke, Iceman, Blob, Skin and Wild Child. There

are also folders seen on the desk, including Omega Red, Project Wideawake, Franklin Richards and Cerebro.
Closer inspection reveals that Stryker is keeping files on Pyro, Sabra, Dr. Ceclia Reyes, Synch, Penance,

Nightcrawler, Mystique, Lady Deathstrike, Copycat, Deadpool, Cyclops, Dazzler, Fenris, Jamie Braddock, David North,

Sunfire, Boom Boom, Mimic, Dr. Nathaniel Essex, Toad, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, Kitty Pryde, Sauron and Forge.

There are also files on Alpha, Beta and Gamma Flights, Weapon X, Project Wide Awake, Dept H, the Brotherhood,

Graymalkin, Zero Tolerance, Massachusetts Academy, Blackbird, the Danger Room, Legacy, Morlocks, Xavier's School,

Omega Red, Cerebro, the Salem Centre, Franklin Richards, Kevin McTaggart and Trash.
[edit] Reception
[edit] Release
The first cut of X2 was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America, due to more violent scenes

concerning Wolverine when Stryker's army stormed the X-Mansion. Very few seconds were cut to secure a PG-13

rating.[38]
X2 opened in America on May 2, 2003, accumulating $85,558,731 in its opening weekend in 3,749 theaters. The

film grossed $214,949,694 in North America, while earning $192,761,855 worldwide, coming at a total of

$407,711,549. X2 was a financial success since it recouped its production budget three times.[1] X2 debuted

simultaneously in ninety-three countries, the largest North American and international opening ever at the time.[39]

In addition, the film is the fifth highest grossing film based on a Marvel Comic book,[40] and was the sixth highest

of 2003,[41] also earning $107 million in its first five days of DVD release.[30]
X2 had a video game tie-in on X2: Wolverine's Revenge, which has nothing to do with the events of the film,

although Patrick Stewart voiced Professor X. X-Men: The Official Game bridges the storyline between X2 and

X-Men: The Last Stand. Specifically, it explains Nightcrawler's absence from The Last Stand. Chris Claremont wrote

a novelization of the film, which left out its secretive cliffhanger.[42]

Critical response
Based on 217 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, X2 received an average 88 percent overall approval

rating;[43] the film was more balanced with Rotten Tomatoes' 37 "Top Critics", receiving an 82 percent approval

rating.[44] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of sixty-eight from thirty-eight reviews.[45]
Roger Ebert wrote "the storyline did not live up to its potential" and was critical of plot holes. He was impressed,

however, by how Singer was able to handle so many characters in one film. In addition, Ebert wrote that the film's

closing was perfect for a future installment, giving X2 three out of four stars.[46] Kenneth Turan of the Los

Angeles Times wrote that it was rare for a sequel to be better than its predecessor. Turan observed that the film

carried emotional themes that are present in the world today and commented that "the acting was better than usual

[for a superhero film]".[47] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote that Hugh Jackman heavily improved his

performance, concluding "X2 is a summer firecracker. It's also a tribute to outcasts, teens, gays, minorities, even

Dixie Chicks."[48]
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle was critical of the storyline, special effects and action scenes.[49] Joe

Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal specifically referred to the film as "fast-paced, slow-witted".[50] Stephen

Hunter of The Washington Post quoted, "Of the many comic book superhero movies, this is by far the lamest, the

loudest, the longest".[51] Richard Corliss of Time argued that Singer depended too much on seriousness and that

he did not have enough sensibilities to communicate to an audience.[52] Empire called X2 the best comic book

movie of all time in 2006,[53] while Wizard named the film's ending as the twenty-second greatest cliffhanger of

all time.[54] In May 2007, Rotten Tomatoes listed X2 as the fifth greatest comic book film of all time.[55]
X2 won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. In addition, Bryan Singer (Direction), Dan Harris and

Michael Dougherty (Writing), and John Ottman (Music) all received nominations. It also received nominations with

its costumes, makeup, special effects and DVD release, coming to a total of eight nominations.[56] The Political

Film Society honored X2 in categories of Human Rights and Peace,[57] while the film was nominated for the Hugo

Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form).[58]