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X2 (movie)

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X2
Official Logo
Directed byBryan Singer
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNewton Thomas Sigel
Edited by
Music byJohn Ottman
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • April 24, 2003 (2003-04-24) (London)
  • May 2, 2003 (2003-05-02) (United States)
Running time
133 minutes[2][3][4]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110–125 million[5][6][7]
Box office$407.7 million[5]

X2 (also marketed with the subtitle X-Men United,[5][8] and known internationally as X-Men 2[9][10])is a 2003 American superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter, from a story by Singer, Hayter and Zak Penn, it is the second installment in the X-Men film series and the sequel to X-Men (2000). It stars an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, and Anna Paquin. The plot concerns the genocidal Colonel William Stryker leading an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer, Cerebro, to destroy every mutant on Earth and to save the human race from them, forcing the X-Men to team up with the Brotherhood of Mutants to stop Stryker and save the mutant race.

Development on the sequel began shortly after the first film was released on July 14, 2000, by 20th Century Fox. 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 to rewrite the work, and changed the characterizations of Beast, Angel, and Lady Deathstrike. Sentinels and the Danger Room were set to appear before being deleted because of budget concerns from Fox. The film's premise was influenced by comic storyline "Return to Weapon X" and the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills. Filming began in June 2002 and ended that November, mostly taking place at Vancouver Film Studios, the largest North American production facility outside of Los Angeles. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas adapted similar designs by John Myhre from the previous film.

X2 was released in the United States on May 2, 2003, by 20th Century Fox, and received positive reviews for its storyline, musical score, action sequences, and performances. The film grossed $407 million worldwide, making it the ninth-highest-grossing film of 2003, and received eight Saturn Awards nominations. A sequel, X-Men: The Last Stand, was released on May 26, 2006.

Plot

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The movie opens with a mutant named Nightcrawler. He is at the White House and attempts to kill the president. At the last moment, a security guard shoots Nightcrawler, forcing him to run away. Meanwhile, Wolverine reaches a location called Alkali Lake, and does not find anything. He returns to Charles Xavier's school for gifted students.

William Stryker, who hates mutants, uses this attack. He talks to the President, who then allows him to raid Charles Xavier's school for gifted mutants. Before he does this, he visits Magneto. Magneto was the bad guy in the first movie and now is in jail. Stryker uses a fluid to make him talk about the school.

Xavier attempts to find Nightcrawler. He uses a machine called Cerebo, which makes his power stronger and allows him to connect to every person's mind. He gives Jean Grey and Storm the last location where he could see Nightcrawler. They leave in the Blackbird. Then, he and Cyclops go to the prison to pay a visit to Magneto.

Stryker raids the mansion. A mutant named Siryn, whose power is a very loud scream, alerts everyone. A series of passageways and escape tunnels allow all but six of the mutants to escape. Wolverine, who has returned, takes Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro with him into a car. They drive to Boston. Meanwhile, Storm and Jean have located Nightcrawler and have him on their ship. Stryker also takes Cerebro with them. At the prison, Stryker has captured Xavier and Cyclops.

At Alkali Lake, Stryker reveals his plan. He has rebuilt Cerebro. He uses his son Jason, a mutant, to create a fantasy world for Xavier. In Xavier's mind, he sees a little girl who thinks that everyone is gone. Xavier goes to his Cerebro, locates everyone, and then starts to focus, which will kill all mutants.

In Boston, Wolverine and his friends go to Iceman's house, where Iceman reveals that he is a mutant. Iceman's brother does not like this and calls the cops. One cop shoots Wolverine in the head. Pyro uses his power – he can control fire – and pushes the police away. Wolverine, whose power is to heal very fast, wakes up. Jean and Storm come in and pick them up.

Mystique has found out where Magneto was staying. She seduces the security guard and injects him with iron. When the security guard comes in, Magneto senses the iron. Magneto can control all metal. Magneto rips it out of the guard and escapes.

The United States Air Force sends two jets to intercept the Blackbird, the plane where all the X-Men are on. Storm, whose power is to control the weather, whips up a tornado that sends both pilots down, but one manages to fire two missiles. Jean Grey, whose power is psychic, manages to destroy one, but the other one hits the jet. They start to go down. Magneto is in the area and saves them.

The X-Men and Magneto make some peace and come together to beat Stryker. The dam is built so that Stryker can flood the tunnel if someone comes in. 15 years ago, Wolverine volunteered for an experiment and was given claws and suffered a lot of pain. Stryker is very interested in Wolverine. So Mystique, whose power is to make herself look like other people, pretends to be Wolverine. She gets in and takes over the control room.

Cyclops appears and attacks Magneto, Mystique, and Jean Grey. Jean uses her psychic power to stop Cyclops, but Cyclops' beam power damages the dam very badly. Wolverine leaves to find Stryker. Stryker shows him Lady Deathstrike, who also has an adamantium skeleton and claws on the tips of her fingers. They fight. Wolverine pumps her full of adamantium and kills her. Storm and Nightcrawler find the six mutants and rescue them.

All mutants suddenly go into pain when Xavier starts focusing. Magneto forces himself into Cerebro and stops it. He then tells Mystique to transform into Stryker and change the rules so that Xavier will kill all the humans instead. The X-Men find out what is happening. Storm and Nightcrawler teleport in there. Storm creates a storm that breaks the spell, and Xavier returns to normal.

All of the X-Men escape the dam. Rogue and Iceman, who were in the Blackbird, land it in front of them. The plane is badly damaged. The dam explodes and a ton of water comes down. At the last second, Jean Grey rushes out of the ship, gets it into the air, and drowns when she can no longer hold back the water. Xavier and his crew go to the White House to inform the President of what has happened. Xavier tells the president that humans and mutants must work together or else they will destroy each other in war.

Cast

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References

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  1. ↑ "AFI|Catalog - X2". American Film Institute. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "AFI|Catalog - X2". American Film Institute. Retrieved 21 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "X2 (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. April 16, 2013. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2016. Approved Running time 133m 38s
  4. ↑ Turan, Kenneth (May 2, 2003). "X2 might get its claws in you". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "X2: X-Men United (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2008.
  6. ↑ "X2 (2003) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ Jensen, Jeff (May 8, 2003). "Why X2 is the perfect movie adaptation". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
  8. ↑ Schmitz, Greg Dean. "Greg's Preview – X2: X-Men United". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008.
  9. ↑ "X-Men 2 Poster #6". IMPAwards.com. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  10. ↑ "X-Men 2 Poster #7". IMPAwards.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2012.

Other websites

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