X-Men 2

[CYPHER 1]

Alright boys and girls, I know some of you must have seen X2 by now and guess what? I wanna know what you thought!!! I'm obviously a big X-Men fan, so I pretty much loved it . However I've been trawling the internet for a while now and I'm exhausted so I'll save my more, shall we say 'sophisticated' reflections till later . I know this isn't a very inspiring way to start a topic, but I'm hoping the movie is sufficient inspiration enough to get the ball rolling .

CYPHER

[Justin 2]

Dang it! I want to see it today....but I'd have to go to the evening showing....who knows what the crowds will be like...

Justin -Who considers a half full theater a "crowd" :?

[Justin 2]

Acctually though the Chamber of Secrets friday night show was sold out here. That's a first that I've seen. (I didn't go to it of course I was at the showing previous. )

Justin

[CYPHER 1]

Justin, I hate crowds too . I saw X2 in the middle of the day and it was still a packed session, which thankfully did not detract from the viewing experience.

CYPHER

[Lurker 5]

Justin -Who considers a half full theater a "crowd" :?

I consider it half empty.

Neil - who knows he'll be dealing with a crowd at 7:50 tonight!

[ocelot 508]

Cypher.... Cypher.... Wait, is that a character from The New Mutants? I have this feeling it's two characters fused together, Doug Ramsey and that Computer.. Am I right?

[IrishCal24 0]

Quite close there, Wael. Doug was codenamed Cypher whose best friend was Warlock, a living machine. Cypher had the unusual mutant power to understand and decipher any language and gave him the ability to communicate with the alien Warlock, and in turn teach him to communicate with others. The two could also merge to combine their abilities. It gets really convoluted from that point but to simplify, when Doug was killed Warlock retained his memories.

I must confess, I'm an X-Men junkie and have been for nearly twenty years. Hell, I even have an X-logo tattoo. When I had it done a few years ago, I was always having to explain what it was, now everyone knows!

I'm with you Neil. I love a crowded theater, as long I'm not stuck with lousy seat. It's difficult to describe, but it just increases the overall feeling of exctiement in the air. Oh, and It's also fun to collectively boo the lone idiot who's left their cell phone on. You just can't replicate that experience at home.

Cal - who'll also be dealing with crowd at 8 pm and again on Sunday.

[Kradia 1]

I saw it this morning at 10:00. THere were only 20 people in the theater.

Great movie! Felt it was a little rushed! And the Wolverine-Deathstrike fight was short, I said to myself "That's it?!".

I was so sad when it was over! I'm gonna go see it again this weekend. I've been a fan of X-men since the X-men Animated Cartoon series 1. Absolutely love X-men Evolution.

I can't wait for X3!

[tpigeon 3]

I enjoyed the movie very much. I felt it copped out in the final portion, but overall I thought it was great entertainment. Lots of a great action and a well told story. I loved the Magneto angle!

Ted

[Lurker 5]

I caught it tonight. It was a sold out crowd. My sister showed up unexpectedly and had to drop my name (I wasn't there yet) to get a ticket.

This will probably stun everybody, but my reaction to it was the same as the first movie......I really enjoyed it! The thing is, these films do not ever seem to lose sight of the characters, which is usually the first thing to go in a summer action film.

Oh, and I know I can't be the only one to realize that the ending of this movie was lifted right out of Star Trek II. So much so that I even suspect that it was temp tracked with Horner's Trek score.

Neil

[Guest]

Loved it. Better than the first. The characters are interesting and you care about them. The action is great and not overdone or overlong. And let me just say.

Nightcrawler.

WOW.

[Morn 8]

Ohh, I guess it is worth.... seeing... then? hey?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah, better start looking for a divx Morn.

Stefancos-

[Justin 2]

Minor Spoilers:

Really quite a fine film. The score was very nice, I love the theme a great improvment on Kamen's. The opening in the White House is an amazing sequence. Also Magneto's escape from the plastic prison is another highlight.

Justin

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Indeed so, Justin.

And I can't believe MAJOR SPOILER!!!

P.S.: I was really pissed off at the end, because I ALWAYS stay until the very end of the credits. But now some f*cking idiot stopped the movie the moment the credits started! We got to see that final shot, where you wait for something to happen (a really teasing moment for the next film ), then they cut to black, we saw "Directed by BRIAN SINGER" on screen, and then it just stopped, and all the lights went on. Sure, everyone was leaving, but why the hell did they stop the friggin' movie?! Bastards!

- Marc, still pissed off about it.

The Flying Sequence from Superman: The Movie

[Lurker 5]

Marc, that happened to me one time when I saw The Godfather. Most movie projectors are automated today, and it leads me to think that whoever built your print of X2 put a cue on the film in the wrong spot, thus telling the projector to shut off and not just raise the lights halfway (which is what shold happen when the credits start).

Neil

[CYPHER 1]

Marc, I pretty much always stay until the end of the credits as well, and whilst I was really hoping for some kind of Phoenix-related teaser, there was nothing. So don't worry, you didn't miss out on anything (other than the credits themselves of course)

CYPHER

[Justin 2]

I LOVE the way the End credits begin. It's so exciting.

Justin -Who thinks the X2 theme and score are probably some of the best superhero music. (Minus Superman and Batman of course. )

[Morn 8]

Yeah, better start looking for a divx Morn.  

Ok.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I hate it when people start leaving early. When I watched Minority Report, people started leaving the moment the first credit came on screen, which is almost a minute before the screen goes black. On Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, I was the only one to see the gag with Lockhart at the end, because everybody had left already. And Saturday, I went to see Johnny English where at the end, the cast rolls by, then there's a small scene, and then the credits continue to the end. Half the people in the theatre had to watch that little gag from the doorstep, as they were already on their way out. Bah, fools!

- Marc, who stays until the end to hear the music.

The Cover-Up from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

[Elmo Lewis 6]

It's a great bother for the usher to wait until the credits are over and the people are gone to pick up the room in a hurry. Some of my friends work in movie theaters and they all agree that people who stay and watch the credits are a pain for them. So if I'm really interested in hearing the music from the end credits, I try to get an mp3 and make the job easier for the ushers.

[Kradia 1]

Well, Morn, I don't know about that....I heard the one going around Kazaa was missing 30 minutes of footage....

I always stay, but the cleaning crew gives me dirty looks. And I'm usually the last one in the theater.

The Pixar/Jackie Chan end credits are always fun. They usually have those funny gags and really bad mistakes. Most people usually stay to see those screw-ups.

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

they all agree that people who stay and watch the credits are a pain for them.

Yeah, well, sorry, but that's REALLY their problem. When I go see a movie and pay for it, and some people are unhappy when I actually watch the entire movie, I can't help them. And if they turn off the projector before the movie is over, they can censored my censored.

What if the LSO considered it a real pain to play the second half of Throne Room and End Titles? Would you go and get an MP3 instead?

Marian - who has absolutely no respect for people who don't let him watch movies to their actual end.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Well, Marian, I guess we just have different views on the issue. I must be biased since I'm friends with some ushers, but I have always considered the end credits a chance for the composer to show off. If I see I'm bothering somebody with my listening to the music, I personally have no problem in leaving and listen to the music by myself.

Of course, I don't think that preventing people to decide whether they want to stay or go is anywhere near acceptable, so I'm somewhat with you.

[Lurker 5]

I'm with Marian on this one. I like to see a movie from the start until the finish. I paid to watch the entire movie. And you know what, I've been an usher. I've cleaned theaters (and found money, to boot ) and you know what, having someone stay until the end of the credits is not a pain. If your friends can't respect that someone wants to watch a complete movie, that's not the movie goers problem.

Neil

[Marian Schedenig 8,191]

Some movies simply aren't complete without the end credits. Leaving Star Wars after the famous end credits transition? Movies like these just don't feel complete when you leave them early. In my opinion, good end credits music serves an important purpose: It ends the movie, reminding you what you've just seen, basically summing it up.

Marian - who hates it when TV stations cut off the endings.

[Justin 2]

I only leave when there is a song over the credits that I can't stand.

Justin

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

All right, so I said that I stayed for the music, but that's not the only reason. It IS the reason I STARTED watching end credits, back on VHS, when my interest in film scores was just a tiny seed in my brain. But I also stay for the cast listing, or see if I see any familiar names among the crew. It's also a great way to look back on the picture and evaluate it, just sitting there still in the dark.

And of course, as has been said, I paid for the entire film, and I want to see all of it. Plus I think it is quite respectless to walk out the minute the first line of credits comes on screen, but that's just my point of view.

And I don't see how one person sitting in the back of the theatre can stop the personnel from cleaning.

- Marc

[ocelot 508]

I LOVED this film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have to go see it again.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Good points, everyone. Not all shared by me, of course, although I do admit my friends are all on the lazy side. Perhaps Neil is a more apt voice to listen to, since he was an usher who actually likes movies.

[CYPHER 1]

I stay until the end of the credits partly to listen to the music, partly to reflect further on the film and partly in case there are any hidden scenes waiting at the end. Sure I've got some stink eye looks from ushers from time to time, but most seem not to mind waiting for an extra few minutes. They have a policy here of not cleaning the cinema until the last patron leaves, which in many ways can be interpreted as a gesture of respect for the cinema-goer. I mean the last thing you want is someone rooting about under your chair for lolly wrappers or clanging their portable garbage cans while you're trying to appreciate some brilliant end-credit music LOL .

Anyway, back to the thread topic... (). With this type of movie, with this type of cast and these kind of characters, I really have got to ask: who was your favourite character? Well, who was it, huh, huh? Personally I'd have to pick Jean Grey - she had such an impressive elegance and quiet vulnerability beneath the incredible power potential.

CYPHER - who once used to work at a cinema and occasionally had to clean them out after the end of a session. But I never took it that seriously at all...

[Trumpeteer 302]

I was really pissed off at the end, because I ALWAYS stay until the very end of the credits. But now some f*cking idiot stopped the movie the moment the credits started! We got to see that final shot, where you wait for something to happen (a really teasing moment for the next film ), then they cut to black, we saw "Directed by BRIAN SINGER" on screen, and then it just stopped, and all the lights went on. Sure, everyone was leaving, but why the hell did they stop the friggin' movie?! Bastards!

- Marc, still pissed off about it.    

Marc, you should have gone to the manager and complained. As people have said here, you paid to see the entire film from opening credits to the complete end credits. While I didn't stay for the entire end credits of "X2," I know that there were some people in my screening that stayed longer, obviously to talk about the ending and what "X3" will be about.

Back on topic. I didn't think it was as exciting as the first one, but it was still a lot of fun, especially because the characters were so interesting. I still wish we got more on Storm, and I felt really bad for James Marsters, who was "unconscious" for most of the film. Still, Wolverine (as played by Hugh Jackman) is still the best character, and I was glad Magneto and Mystique were back in the picture.

Also, the addition of Nightcrawler was a godsend. You can't ask for better than Alan Cumming. And I loved watching and hearing him teleport. Those blue wisps of smoke were probably the best effect in the film.

Jeff -- who doesn't think the score was that memorable

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Yeah, those blue smoke effects were great. I gripped my seat with that revolving slow-motion shot in the oval office where all the agents are firing at Nightcrawler and he keeps teleporting to the next agent. The music and the visuals for that opening scene were great!

- Marc

Cantina Band #2 from Star Wars

[ocelot 508]

as I said, loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!!!!!

[Trumpeteer 302]

as I said, loved it, loved it, loved it!!!!!!!!

Hmmm. I wonder if he loved it?

[ocelot 508]

nah.....

[IrishCal24 0]

X2 sure beat the living snot outta Spider-Man and raises the bar for the rest of the summer "blockbusters" this year. Can't wait for X3! I know where there going with it, at least somewhat, but I just don't know how they're going to pull it off because it's a very ambitious story to translate to film.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I'm wondering, I'm not familiar with the comics, but are the stories for the films taken directly from the comics, or are they adapted, or is it mostly original work?

- Marc

[CYPHER 1]

It's a bit of both actually - part adaptation and part original composition. The thing to appreciate is that the X-Men have been around since the sixties and they have starred in many, many comics and been involved in many, many different storylines. Various different aspects of these stories permeate both movies, but neither are direct adaptations of any specific issue(s).

Plots are borrowed and adapted to suit the needs of the medium and the specific approach of the film-makers. Characters are appropriated and aspects of their personalities enhanced or downgraded to suit the story and the action. In the comics the X-Men fought a Brotherhood of (Evil) Mutants whose membership at various times included Magneto, Mystique, Toad and Pyro. Senator Kelly proposed a Mutant Registration Act in Congress but it never got up. There was never a fight with Magneto atop the Statue of Liberty.

X2 draws primarily on the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills published in the early 1980s in which Reverend Stryker, an anti-mutant evangelist kidnaps Xavier, psychically manipulates him and launches a much smaller assault on the much smaller school. Jean Grey meets a similar fate, under similar circumstances but in a vastly different context and in a completely different story.

Thus the movies are an inspired blend of comic continuity and original creativity, both rendered in a unique style and conveyed in a way that even those familiar with the source stories and characters find engaging and involving.

CYPHER

[Morn 8]

Well, Morn, I don't know about that....I heard the one going around Kazaa was missing 30 minutes of footage....  

But I don't use Kazaa, I use places which are more.... organised.

I mean the last thing you want is someone rooting about until your chair for lolly wrappers or clanging their portable garbage cans while you're trying to appreciate some brilliant end-credit music

Hey, which cinema complex is that?

But I don't hang around for the end titles, if I have the score I don't have a great need to and I feel weird hanging around when everyone else is walking off.

[Lurker 5]

I don't hang around for the end titles, if I have the score I don't have a great need to and I feel weird hanging around when everyone else is walking off.

I thought by this point you'd be used to being alone.

Neil

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

I finally saw this today, my friends and I were waiting until after our final AP test today (calculus), so it was kind of a celebration. I absolutely loved the film. I felt it was better than the first, which I really liked also. Like Neil said, it doesn't lose sight of the characters, and that is what takes it beyond the cliche, mindless summer blockbuster. However, a girl at school blurted out to me about *X2 and potential X3 SPOILER* Jean Grey dying *sniff* so I knew about that, and someone else told me about how in the comics she apparently comes back as 'Phoenix' (no, not Fawkes), which makes sense regarding Prof X's look out the window and the form under the water at the very end. *END SPOILER* I really can't wait for the next in the series, and I would like to see this one at least once more in the theatre.

Ray Barnsbury

[Justin 2]

Ray: D'oh I'm not sure if I wanted to know that about X3....oh well...now I'm looking forward to it even more.

Justin -Suprised how much more he wants to see X3 now.

[Ray Barnsbury 8]

Oh, I'm sorry if I ruined anything for you Justin. I should put *potential X3 spoilers.* But yeah, it makes me excited too.

Ray Barnsbury

[CYPHER 1]

I mean the last thing you want is someone rooting about under your chair for lolly wrappers or clanging their portable garbage cans while you're trying to appreciate some brilliant end-credit music

Hey, which cinema complex is that?

Any cinema dude! I used to work at Reading cinemas in Market City, Haymarket but I would never do that sort of thing. Why, I was so quiet you could almost be forgiven for thinking I wasn't cleaning up at all! LOL

CYPHER

[UCFKevin 0]

I loved it as well. Hell of a flick. Probably the best I've seen in a while, in terms of this sorta movie, like a big budget thing.

[Morn 8]

Err, I quoted the wrong part cypher, I meant.

They have a policy here of not cleaning the cinema until the last patron leaves, which in many ways can be interpreted as a gesture of respect for the cinema-goer.

[Wojo 2,453]

After I saw the film, I was left with one impression, but it's SPOILER laden, so it's time for the magical white font, read at your discretion.

***

The ending of the film had a bit in common with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. I mean, the death of a major character is not uncommon in many films, but the way that Jean's was handled in X2 had a lot in common with Star Trek II. Not only the fact that both are second in a (hopefully for X-Men) long line of feature films, but they feature the death of a major and beloved character, which has the promise to return.

Jean sacrificed herself to save the larger group of people, not the Enterprise but the rest of the X-Men in the otherwise doomed Blackbird, and her sacrifice was not only noble, but it was unavoidable and unstoppable; only in this case, she herself kept others from helping her (namely, Nightcrawler), unlike Star Trek II, where it's McCoy and Scotty who stop Kirk from saving Spock. It is a shame that someone like Iceman or Storm couldn't somehow freeze the oncoming water, but when someone's gotta die, there's no way around it.

Additionally, it is Jean who reads the end narration, much like Spock reading the "Space...the Final Frontier" bit at the end. Plus, both films give us a visual treat that, when combined with the "dead" character's narration, basically slap us in the face and say "hey, he/she's not dead, they'll be back in the sequel, we're just shoving this down your throat so you cheer and don't cry." Namely, the faint logo of the Phoenix in the lake, and Spock's coffin on the Genesis Planet. I pointed at the screen and cheered when I saw the Phoenix logo, but that's because I read this post earlier last week, knew of the death, and had time to ask someone to explain it. I don't usually mind spoilers, anyways.

I'm not saying that X2 is cheapened for behaving like Star Trek II in this manner, just the opposite. I love both films, and believe it was a perfect way to end the second X-Men film, and kick the door wide open to sequels. Bring on the Sentinels. Just no Shi'arr, Apocalypse, Bishop, or Cabel...time travel or extra-terrestrials would cheapen and cheese up the franchise, and destroy the credibility that Brian Singer's given us so far.

***

Spoilers over.

Enjoy.

[Kradia 1]

Seems everyone's into Matrix now...but anyways I'm just going to rant

About X2

Spoilers below. Highlight

About the Bobby Freeze thing...

This has been debated on other X-boards,

Assuming physics applies....

Bobby wouldn't have been able to anyway.

1) He's a junior X-men, not up to full potential probably would have died in the process.

2) Running water does not freeze easily

3) object in motion stays in motion.

If Bobby froze the oncoming water, the melted ice chunks would have hit the plane anyway. so which hurts more, rushing water or rushing solid ice....

4) Some argue an ice wall...it'd have to be a really thick wall to hold all that oncoming water.....

If you throw out all that physics laws,

I would have liked this for an ending:

Bobby and Rogue make an ice wall to save their friends, and die in the process. or maybe nightcrawler could have saved them...

ENd spoilers.

By the way, after seeing the movie for the 4th time, I really liked Ottman's score over Kamen's pop-orchestra score.

Ottman's X2 Suite had a really nice subtle piano theme.

Also, if anyone asks again....the music during opening White house sequence is Dies Irae from Mozart's Requiem K 626.

I'm so glad, Ottman used some good classical music for the movie.

Alan Cumming was perfect as Nightcrawler, great in Goldeneye too.

And my god, the toy actually looks like him!! wish the others looked like their counterparts.

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine....perfect casting....

could you even imagine Dougray Scott as Wolverine....ugh

Cyclops....I thought he was good, with the little part given to him..... can really convey emotion without seeing his eyes.

Iceman-Rogue-Pyro: the Obi-wan, Padme, and Anakin of X2....

Aaron would have been loads better than the cardboard Hayden.

Anyways, I can't wait for X2 dvd. and hope they don't pull a X 2.5

I can't wait for X3. I wonder how they're going to pull off....the next part.

Also, I don't give a flying F about Gambit. I'd rather see Beast or more Colossus, and more of the other X-kids.

[CYPHER 1]

Yeah Gambit can go jump in the lake for X3 as far as I'm concerned. I used to be a big fan of the character but he really is quite silly isn't he? And not really X-Men material I think.

As much as I loved the film's climax, I couldn't help feeling that it was a little contrived. I felt a constant niggling doubt that there could have been some other way to resolve the situation. It was much more decisive in the comics (although a lot more extraordinary too). Then again maybe it was one of those choices you have to make with great expediency and at great risk, and the fact that we are left wondering about possible alternatives only heightens the nobility and the tragedy of Jean's decision. See - quality comic book stuff here.

CYPHER - who prefers X2 to The Matrix Reloaded and prefers Kradia's old avatar to this new one