I'm a firm believer that the first X-Men surprised a lot of people. Not knowing much about the X-Men, I went in planning to be bored out of my mind. Needless to say I felt pretty ignorant by the time the credits rolled. By the time the necessary sequel made it's appearance, I was even more baffled since it was not only superior, but one great ride that can hold anyone's interest for the 2-hour running time.
The film is a direct continuation of the original film, but it can still be followed by anyone who may not have indulged in the first. After an attack on the president by Nightcrawler, the already oppressive human society bears down on the mutants further. It immediately takes a sharp turn as the "Xavier School for the Gifted" is invaded on order by the president. Not only do the X-Men have to protect themselves, but disable an attack that could very well decide the fate of every human on Earth.
Everything from the first movie has been crammed into this one, but it's of course bigger and much more fleshed out. It's pace is relentless, there's some spectacular scenes of tension, and the action is jaw dropping. The story does focus on Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) for the most part, but there's a nice cast of new characters as well, most notably Nightcrawler. The makeup used to create his look is uncanny and the film really helps develop his character for the proposed sequel. Also take note of the clues that drop hints at what new characters may be included. You may have to look a bit harder, but there's quite a few.
I simply couldn't imagine this film being cropped for a full screen presentation. Some of the vistas shot for this film are gorgeous (not to mention some of the effects) and the battle sequences use the full print effectively. The video is spectacular for the most part, but certain color heavy segments (notably the cerebo segments) suffer from major color bleeding and compression issues. Still, it's a more than serviceable presentation marred only by about 10 minutes of film time.
If sound is your thing than you won't find much better than the DTS track included here. The rear speakers are used in practically every scene and the segments featuring an echo are unparallel. Bass is set to a perfect level, never overwhelming other sound effects. A 5.1 mix is also included and it also performs admirably.
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