X2 was released on May 2^nd, 2003. It went on to gross 214 million domestically. It was a smash hit. To this day it is still one of the biggest X-Men films only behind X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men: Days of Future Past as well as Deadpool and Deadpool 2. The film stars Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen as Eric Lehnsherr/Magneto, James Marsden as Scott Summers/Cyclops, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman, Alan Cumming as Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romjin as Mystique, Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce/Pyro, Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyama/Lady Deathstrike, Bruce Davison as Senator Kelly, and Brian Cox as William Stryker.

X2 was my all time favorite movie when it came out. I saw it three times in theaters. Once it was released on DVD, I watched it a dozen times after getting it. It is still one of my favorite movies and is one of the best X-Men films of all time. X2 is better than the first movie. X-Men is one of my superhero movies. I grew up on the 90s cartoon and I loved it. I enjoyed X-Men: Evolution when that premiered. I was hyped for X2 when it was coming out. I was not disappointed when I saw it on opening night. A lot has changed since X2 came out. The superhero genre has drastically changed since 2003. The X-Men will be arriving in the MCU at some point down the line which is very exciting.

X2 is one of the rare sequels that surpasses the original especially when it came out. There is so much to love about X2. Comic book movies at the time were hit and miss and not just financially. Spider-Man and X-Men were the most successful movies at the time. The Blade films did well but X-Men and Spider-Man did exceptionally well. The Blade Movies did not make over 100 million whereas X-Men and Spider-Man did. X2 has a huge cast. Spider-Man and later sequels never had ensembles. X2 has twelve major characters and that is not counting William Stryker and other supporting characters. Some have more screen time than others. X2 does a good job balancing multiple characters. X2 has a fair number of new characters. William Stryker is the main villain in the movie and has a connection to Wolverine. He is the one behind Wolverine’s adamantium claws. X2 also introduced Lady Deathstrike, Pyro, and Nightcrawler who all had good sized rolls. All four of them have stand out moments. Lady Deathstrike has a final showdown with Wolverine that is epic. Pyro has an epic moment midway through the movie when he sets a bunch of police cars on fire. He later joins Magneto and Mystique. Nightcrawler has a stunning opening scene when he is under the control of Stryker and attacks the President of the United States.

X2 also sets up a lot of things for the future that unfortunately do not go anywhere. There is a scene between Nightcrawler and Mystique that hints at the mother son relationship that they are known for in the comics. Alan Cumming never returned to play Nightcrawler in later films. Nightcrawler had a role in the prequel movies, but he was not in the movies that much and they never touched on the relationship with Mystique. Mystique got to do a little more in this movie. Mystique spoke more. In the first X-Men movie Mystique only had one line. Mystique had a few standout scenes. A big part of the movie was that the X-Men had to team up with Magneto and Mystique to find Xavier and to stop Stryker from annihilating the mutant population. Besides the big action pieces, X2 does a great job at character development and smaller moments. Storm and Nightcrawler develop a bond. Storm and Nightcrawler are the ones who wind up saving Professor Xavier. The Jean, Cyclops, and Wolverine love triangle is still at play. Rogue and Bobby’s relationship is explored. Their main issue is the fact Rogue can’t touch anyone due to her powers which poses unique challenges. Bobby also deals with telling his family that he is a mutant and the reaction does not go well.

There are so many great things about X2 from start to finish. The original X-Men films had a great cast. X2 is still a great movie today and is an example of a great superhero movie before the age of superheroes that would come down the line.