X2: X-Men United

Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) is taken prisoner and his school for gifted evolutionary oddities comes under attack in this solid superhero sequel that finds the X-Men battling an evil military scientist (Brian Cox) who has conducted years of torturous secret experiments on mutants. Now running for their lives, blade-knuckled Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), telekinetic genius Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), weather-manipulator Storm (Halle Berry), deadly-to-touch Rogue (Anna Paquin), etc., team up with villain mutant Magneto (Ian McKellen) and sexy, kung-fu-killing shape-shifter Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) to save their species from being wiped off the Earth. While X2 never scrimps on its comic book fantasy or astounding action sequences, what sets this movie apart from almost every other entry in the superhero genre is its depth of character development and underlying, well-integrated (and apropos to current events) theme of tolerance. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras on this two-disc set include audio commentaries (one by director Bryan Singer and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel, the other by producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, and co-writers Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, and David Hayter), the “History of the X-Men” featurettes “The Secret Origin of X-Men” and “Nightcrawler Reborn,” several “Preproduction” featurettes (“Nightcrawler Attack: Multi-Angle Study,” the production design-themed “Evolution in the Details: The Design of X2,” and the costume design-themed “United Colors of X”), several “Production” featurettes (“Wolverine/Death Strike Fight Rehearsal,” the making-of “The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men,” “Introducing the Incredible Nightcrawler,” a “Nightcrawler Stunt Rehearsal,” “FX2: Visual Effects,” and “Nightcrawler Time Lapse”--the last on Alan Cumming's makeup preparation), the “Postproduction” featurettes “Requiem for Mutants” (on the score) and “X2 Global Webcast Highlights,” 11 deleted/extended scenes, galleries (for characters, locations and sets, mutant x-rays, Nightcrawler circus posters, and on-camera graphics; as well as “The Unseen X2,” comprised of stills, photos, and storyboards), trailers, a PSA from freevibe.com, and DVD-ROM features (including a link to details about three free comics). Bottom line: an x-cellent extras set for a solid sequel.] (R. Blackwelder)