[YT Edit] X2 (2003)

I'm surprised that you two are so into these movies. You're turning into proper nerds! Welcome to our bizarre world!

Joe Jupiter

She is attractive in True Blood. She is with Jeff Daniels in both "Fly Away Home" (1996) and "The Squid and the Whale" (2004).

Clay F

No i genuinely hate it. Im a fan of a lot of the X-Men films but i think this one is awful. Its one of two films I can remember considering walking out of the cinema because i was bored. The Jean Grey thing is really just an example of the overall writing. Everything you've said about it might be true. But the key part of how you've explained it is "I think". That's the problem i have with it. Im not saying every nuance should be spoon fed to the audience. But we as fans and watchers should be expanding on what we've been shown rather than filling in the gaps to have it make sense. I could list dozens of plot holes in this film that you could reverse a truck through. It may be enjoyable if you connect with it more than i did. BUt its just not a well written film.

Don

That still of Carly needs to be her new avatar, especially during spooky season. :)

Paul Stelter

@Stan- If you were talking to me, here is part of a discussion in the X-men 1 full reaction that I wrote- Did you read those "articles"? They pretty much proved my point, it was people reading into the comics not what the comics were about, but since I already transcribed the quotes, here you go. "I was just, originally, just trying to get an interesting group of characters with interesting powers and I thought it would make it twice as interesting if the public really didn't like them that much and if they had to worry about their reception by the outside world. Little by little I began getting mail saying how great it is that I'm doing these stories about bigotry and the evils of bigotry and so forth and race hatred and I guess I was doing that but I was doing it subconsciously that wasn't the main purpose." - Stan Lee 2007 Coast to Coast and Interviewer- And when the X-men enjoyed their reincarnation on film, there was a lot of talk about how this was the story of homophobia and that wasn't part of the original blueprint? Stan Lee- No it was the furthest thing from my mind. (I don't have a source for this one, just the audio)

Mike Lemon

Yes!! Thanks for making the suggestion! The XTAS intro still rocks - brings so much fond childhood memories of Saturday mornings watching fav 90s cartoons.

Rose

I love Rogue. Chris Claremont created two of my favorite X-Men/Marvel characters … Rogue&Gambit. I was happy Rogue got more screen time in X2. Anna Paquin is a Canadian Kiwi who has been in some of my favorite movies: Jane Eyre (1996) - my fav adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel / Amistad (1997) / A Walk on the Moon (1999) / She’s All That (1999). She’s also well-known for her role in the HBO vampire drama True Blood.

Rose

I watched this reaction, but I was so tired from 11 sales engagements that I couldn't process it. It is beautiful seeing the sisters love each other. My family only wants me for cash and prizes. It's been 8 years since they wanted to know about my life. What a world indeed.

Author Travis Adams Irish

Do you have a source for that? Cause I have one that contradicts this. Granted Lee has said many contradicting things over the years.

Stan the Man

While I don’t expect to change your mind on the film(I’m not big on it either but “hate” is a little X-Treme-see what I did there?) I think Jean’s death is set up during the missile attack. She can’t stop the second one. I think the idea is she needs to be at her most vulnerable to summon that…power…(no spoilers). She can’t see the missile. And the film hints at this when she kind of looks back toward the ramp at the very end. She has to go out there and face it head on. Now why does she not let Kurt save her? I don’t think “she” did that. I think someone or something else did(and trying not to spoil stuff). I’d love to get into more but I don’t want to spoil anything for Cassie.

Stan the Man

That moment when you flicked something at the camera like you were part of the movie I died laughing. I absolutely love the fact you love these movies so much. They are great and you have a few more to go!

Tinker

Hi, I'd like to point out that all your watchers have different preferences of movie genres and often badmouth your current film. My point is that many, many of us watch your channel to see you just as much or more as the movie. If we're watching to see you, of course we might not like the movie. I'd like to see less negative comments about the movie that they're watching only because they'd watch anything you choose. We like you and we shouldn't badmouth a movie just because it isn't our fave genre.

George Marquette

You’ve misunderstood. Or I gave the wrong impression. I am not more interested in CG action scenes. To me that’s the least interesting part of the movie. I find it interesting in a “behind the scenes” sort of way but as to the narrative of the film, I’m interested in the characters & their relationships. But when there is CG and action, like in this sequence, I would rather it be done right. And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a good action scene but my point is, budgetary constraints got in the way of doing this scene the way it was suppose to be done. Having the kids use their powers doesn’t mean soldiers have to die. We see Pyro use his powers and they make it very clear no one died. And again, we see kids fight back. I honestly don’t think Singer or Ratner are very good directors period, but when it comes to whose better at action? To me Ratner has the better feel for it. Those two Rush hour films have decent action beats. And the third x-men movie,while it’s a movie I don’t really like, it does have more competently action overall, The first X-Men movie you could tell Singer had no idea what he was doing. The cage fight with wolverine, the stuff in the snow with saber tooth. I mean come on, that awkward bit of Wolverine going around the crown of the statue while the camera follows him. Felt like a poor man’s Matrix rip off. Even in the opening scene of X2, a scene I generally like, there’s some sloppiness in the pacing and shot compositions. But yeah I guess we will have to agree to disagree on these issues. Honestly the selfishness and awfulness of the two directors have really ruined the legacy of these movies for me. X-Men was the first Marvel movie to hit it big and start this whole comic book craziness. That should be celebrated(or not depending on where one stands on the whole “comic book movies ruined cinema” issue) but instead the legacy is that of giving more power & fame to a filmmaker who used it to abuse & hurt others.

Stan the Man

17th!!

Philip Alan

Fun reaction as always. But damn i hate this film. I'm a comic book nerd so i love comic book movies but this one always annoyed me. It just doesn't make any sense. Obviously a comic book type film needs more of a suspension of disbelief than most and im fine with that. But the writing is so bad. Perfect example is Jeans sacrifice at the end. Why did she need to get off the plane to hold back the water and lift the plane? Stay on the plane. Lift the plane until they fix it and everyone is safe. I'm sure someone can come up for an explanation for that. But its poor writing that we have to and it isn't clear in the film itself. Its like it was written that way just because they needed her to "die" rather than she died because of what she had to do. The whole film is like that. It drives me nuts.

Don

I feel like we're just going to have to agree to disagree on this. It seems like you're hung up on the comics (which I never read), and this hypothetical of what the movie could have been if they went in another direction that didn't fit with the story they were telling. I get that you're more interested in lots of CG action scenes, even if they come at the expense of the story being told, but stunts and CG take a back seat to themes, story and the emotional impact of a film for me. For me if a movie has great fights and and little else, I find myself bored. I want some kind of stakes for the characters, and for there to be emotional heft to what happens. It's why the last minute of the movie Logan sticks with me far more than all the fighting that came before it. For me seeing little children kill a bunch of soldiers would be tremendously upsetting, even if the script set it up in a way that where the kids had no other choice. A good example of this is the original movie Firestarter. I can appreciate the impressive stunt work and special effects that went into that final scene, but what is far more interesting to me is to think of what the impact of that all would be on this little girl afterwards. I think in this movie, X2, they set up the theme of these super-powered children and what happens when they take things too far with Pyro. This whole series is about the fact that mutants as a whole are being persecuted unfairly, and how they should respond to it. Magneto's approach is to use their powers to overwhelm the humans and get them to submit through force or fear, and failing that to just kill them. The series clearly pushes back against this, which is why Magneto is the villain. For the movie to completely muddy that message and compromise it just in the name of "an extra cool fight scene that's just like the comics I remember!" would be poor filmmaking. And finally, no, Brett Ratner is definitely not better at action scenes than Bryan Singer is. Ratner is not better at any part of filmmaking than Singer is. What's the best movie Ratner ever made? Rush Hour? It doesn't hold a candle in any way to probably 4 or 5 of Singer's films. So again, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

Stranger2Reality

Arguing against an unknown? I mean. It is known. It can be read. Of course you can judge something based on alternate concepts and deleted scenes. I can look at a costume design they didn’t go with and say “Oh, that was a mistake, that costume fit more within the X-Men comic style and looks great”. I can read that draft of the script and compare it to what we got and say “Ok, what’s on the page is far superior”. Whether or not it’s weak criticism isn’t something I worry in the least about. I’m not writing for the New York Times. I’m giving my opinion on a reactors comment section lol. Here’s the problem. You say it’s better the way it is and it’s more consistent with the theme. But it’s not. We see students fight back. We see Banshee, Kitty Pride and Colossus defend themselves and fight back. I don’t think students should be killing Soldiers. Ice Man’s powers aren’t lethal. They can be. But don’t have to be. And I think Pyro getting a taste of violence during this part might’ve worked in his arc. My issue with the scene now 21 years later is that it doesn’t do enough to make this school seem like a place that should ever be attacked again. You like the scene as is despite other students using their powers to defend themselves so why is it suddenly an issue if Ice Man & Pyro do the same? Just look at it from a realistic POV. You’re a mutant. Your surrounded by men with guns and you can throw ice and fire. Guess what most people are doing in that situation? As is i think the sequence is poorly shot and paced at times. Singer has never been much of an action director. That’s one area Ratner has on him. Singer is better with story and actors though. Just look at Wolverine in X3. No. Just…no. Anyways back to mansion attack There’s some sloppy stunt work here though. The dive Wolverine takes and then when he flings the soldiers over his back? That’s why having Wolverine be your hero character is so problematic in a PG-13 movie. Here’s a guy who has sharp knives for weapons and a rage problem. That’s why sentinels would’ve been ideal. He can tear those apart.

Stan the Man

It makes far more thematic sense the way it is. Judging a movie based on what might have been in the original script or whatever is pointless, as you're arguing against an unknown. Jaws was supposed to have a lot more of the shark, and Alien was supposed to have a lot more of the xenomorph, but things were reworked due to not being able to get the effects right or due to budget constraints, and those movies turned out better for it. This movie wouldn't have been as strong thematically if we saw children killing soldiers. They're there at a school, they're not in a militia. Personally I've always found that complaining about a movie not being what you wanted it to be rather than just judging it on what it is is a weak criticism. Not meeting your personal expectations is not something the filmmakers should worry about. Them doing so is how we wind up with stuff like The Rise of Skywalker. Just try to evaluate the movie on what it is, rather than on what you wished it might have been.

Stranger2Reality

"Everyone is free to comment anything they want" coming from the guy who complained that I shouldn't have made the comment that I did. Hypocrisy abounds. That said, I accept your apology for being insensitive. Now please leave me alone unless you have something constructive to say.

Stranger2Reality

Harassing you? No one is harassing you. You’ve responded to my comments that have nothing to do with any of this. If I was harassing you you wouldn’t do that. So Please don’t use harassment in ways that are meant to gaslight me please. That’s wrong. Replying to you isn’t harassment. Explaining something to you isn’t harassment. Saying I’m harassing you is an attempt to gaslight. I don’t appreciate that. You are being very rude and aggressive about this. This is a comment section. Everyone is free to comment on anything they like. You were attempting to say “don’t watch this” while being ignorant of Cassie’s plan. I could have worded my original reply better when i said it bothers me when people do what you were trying to do, I could’ve been more sensitive. For that I apologize. But next time? Please be better. There’s no need for aggressive attitudes or gaslighting. This is the last I’ll say on the matter & I hope you can learn from it as I have.

Stan the Man

Oh no I understand completely what the film is doing. You make some valid points & I agree with a few of them. But unfortunately your missing a piece of key info. knowing the behind the scenes of the film the way I do I know that this sequence was cut waaaay down. Yes, they are just kids. And seeing them using their powers in different ways when facing dangers reveals character. This sequence was suppose to feature a lot more mutant action as well as sentinels that fold out from these wheel devices. But what happened was the films budget was cut from its original 125 million to 110 million after the film Master & Commander went over budget You also need to think about the reality of the situation. Soldiers come in with guns, you are a mutant with powers, you are going to defend yourself. I think the movie takes the easy way out by having Wolverine do most of the work. When you see the powers in the sequence, Banshee, Kitty Pride, Ice Man’s Ice Wall, it’s stuff that’s done very easily and mostly practically with a few CG enhancements. These are budgetary work arounds. Notice how they cut as soon as you see Colossus powered up? They fought like hell to be able to even include that bit in the budget. But they could only afford 2 shots. The original scope of this sequence was hinted at in the final conversation of the first film is about when Xavier mentions “Poor soul who comes to that school looking for trouble”. This should have been a major memorable set piece. These kids are tested in the worst possible way. Many will have to protect their fellow students. You see a bit of that but not enough. This is an X-Men movie with Ice Man. What do you wanna see with that character? Him all iced up! But they couldn’t afford it. Another big set piece that was cut was right before this happens Wolverine was suppose to be in the danger room. If you’ve ever seen the films first teaser, it was designed around what the Bryan Singer Danger Room was going to be like(which you can also read in the draft of the script available online). Again when the budget was cut, that sequence was cut with it. A fight between Toad and Nightcrawler was also cut. But yeah they had the sentinels all designed and ready to go, 3D models made. They even had rhe Danger Set under construction when word came down the budget was cut So yes, kids running and Wolverine protecting them is a big part of it but that was not the original way this was suppose to go down and having read the draft that featured all the extra bits? Man. We missed out. Big time. Stupid cheap Fox

Stan the Man

And he’s fantastic!

Above Average Dave

Yep. Wolverines are not terribly large animals (about the size of a medium dog), but they are reported to be able to scare off much larger animals, even bears, and have been known to prey on animals as large as bison or moose, in part because of their ferocity and temperament, as well as their huge claws. Wolverines are also native to Canada, although more in the northern parts of the country, as well as Alaska. They're also found in northern Russia and the furthest northern parts of Scandinavia.

Stranger2Reality

Yep. It was a big part of what made Thanos and Killmonger such great villains in the MCU movies: you could kinda see their point, but then recoil in horror at their proposed solution.

Stranger2Reality

100% I don't agree with his methods. But I understand them and the motivations behind them.

Laura Thornley

It seems like you either missed the point of the school invasion scene or are just missing a key element of it: other than Wolverine, they're all just kids there. Advocating for them to have engaged in a lethal battle with armed soldiers is not at all why they are at that school. We see with Pyro later what happens when one of them does try to fight back. Maybe you found Pyro's fight with the cops to be an awesome scene or something, but we as the audience are supposed to be horrified by it, just as the other characters are. That's the difference between the X-Men and Magneto's "by any means necessary" crew. Wolverine telling Colossus to "help them" is not about the film not having the proper budget or CG effects for seeing the kids use their powers, it's about protecting the children not only from being captured or killed by the soldiers, but also from protecting them from potentially killing people. They are at that school to learn how to control their powers so they don't pose a threat to others, not become lethal weapons. I thought the film was quite clear about the point it was trying to make here, but evidently not everyone understood it.

Stranger2Reality

Like the best villains, he has a legit axe to grind, it's just that his proposed solution is what is problematic. You want to be able to identify with why the villain is upset, but then differ with them on what they want to do about it. Someone who is simply cartoonishly evil for no reason other than simply to be evil is a pretty shallow, and thinly drawn character, and is hard to take seriously.

Stranger2Reality

"I don't think you should be giving her your opinion of what she should do." "Meanwhile, let me give you my opinion on what I think she should do." Listen man, if you see a comment you disagree with from me, feel free to just skip it. I don't need your advice on anything, and it's pretty rude to hypocritically call people out for something and then turn around and do the exact thing you were whining about. Just make your own comment without replying to me. If I saw you make a comment that you really enjoyed X-Men Origins Wolverine and that you think Brett Ratner is an amazing filmmaker, I wouldn't butt in to tell you to keep your opinion to yourself. You're welcome to your opinion just as I'm welcome to mine. Please respect that and quit harassing me.

Stranger2Reality

@William Brownlee- Stan Lee has explicitly said it wasn't made to be an allegory, he just wanted characters he didn't have to make origin stories for.

Mike Lemon

I’m not telling her to watch anything. What are you talking about? She told us what she was going to do in the first X-Men video. She said in the first video she was watching these in release order. I’m saying let her experience things the way she wants. That’s hardly doing what you are doing.

Stan the Man

Also the scene with Bobby telling his parents he’s a mutant is suppose to be a metaphor for “coming out”. This movie and the comics are full of allegories for racism and the struggle of LGBTQ people face in society. When Bobby’s mom says “Have you tried not being a mutant” this was one of the members of the production’s experience while coming out to his family. This franchise features quite a few members of the LGBTQ community both in front and behind the scenes

Stan the Man

Come on. People are awful with giving things away. Stop spoiling stuff or hinting at fates of characters please.

Stan the Man

It’s so cool to see your reaction to these movies. I’ve often wondered what people who are exposed to the current Marvel movies with their massive budgets would think. X-Men by comparison, the first two films, were not given much money & unfortunately it shows. It’s interesting how the reception of these movies have changed over the years. X2 use to be considered one of the better sequels ever made and at one time I was a huge fan of the film in my younger days. But it’s hard to hold that opinion today. When I see that attack on the X-Mansion in this movie all I can think of is what wasted potential it had. A school full of mutants with powers and what do we get? Wolverine? One quick shot of Terminator man(Aka Colossus), Screaming girl(aka Banshee). Meanwhile Ice Man and Pyro run around doing nothing? This should’ve been the set piece to end all set pieces and it’s a big bleh. Have Ice Man Freezing soldiers, Pyro tossing fire balls at them. Jubilee shooting some sparks. But nope. Just mostly inexpensive powers that don’t require lots of CG. The opening of this movie still rocks though. I remember seeing that in theatre opening day. May 2nd 2003. How was that almost 21 years ago? Jesus. The Mozart music really nails it. The end of this movie always reminded me of Star Trek Wrath of Khan. A dead character narrating infamous words another character spoke while we see the slightest tease at what may come next.

Stan the Man

I agree that Bryan Singer is a POS, but Rattner has his own disturbing allegations to account for. They're both probably awful people, but there's no question Singer was a far superior filmmaker. Also, it's ironic that you're doing the exact thing you're criticizing me for doing with this comment, telling her she should watch these movies when you whined that others are telling her she shouldn't. Your opinion is no more valid than anyone else's, so rather than feel the need to reply to me with a hypocritical complaint, why not just make your own separate comment about how you think she'll enjoy the other movies?

Stranger2Reality

Eventually with this franchise many of us come to a conclusion - Magneto isn't a complete bad guy, he's a tormented extremist who sees violence as the only solution to the endless aggression he's witnessed against mutants all his life. He's possibly a rare character type - an anti-villain, someone who uses the 'wrong' methods for a noble cause. He crosses the line a few times, but I always get dragged back to the conclusion that the true villains of the story are usually regular humans.

Laura Thornley

It really bothers me when people say “skip this” or “skip that”. Just let her watch them like everyone else did. This isn’t about only watching the best movies. She may like The first Wolverine movie. A lot of people enjoy the 3rd film and honestly? Knowing these two? I think they will. You have to remember not everyone is a comic book fan so they don’t know what to expect. And while Brett Ratner definitely isn’t my favourite director, Bryan Singer really isn’t much to write home about either. And when you know what he did? It kinda ruins the legacy of these movies.

Stan the Man

I think maybe you should edit or delete this, someone could easily infer something

Stan the Man

I live in LA and saw this opening weekend at the famous Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and the audience reaction was amazing for this. We all came out of the theater absolutely buzzing, knowing we'd just seen one of the all time great superhero movies. When they replaced Bryan Singer with that hack Brett Ratner for the third film, you could tell it was going to be a huge letdown, and it was. This was really the last good X-Men movie for almost a decade, as it wasn't until First Class and then The Wolverine that we got good X-Men movies again. Cassie should still see X3 The Last Stand, just cause the events of that movie are important for the continuity going forward, but I really don't think she should bother with X-Men Origins Wolverine, unless she's planning on watching Deadpool at some point. Deadpool's horrible appearance in that movie and the way it's constantly mocked in the Deadpool movies is really the only thing of note from that film. Otherwise, after Last Stand I'd go straight to First Class, then The Wolverine, then Days of Future Past, and then I'd just skip Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix and simply finish with Logan. Then if she wants to do Deadpool at some point, go back and watch X-Men Origins Wolverine first.

Stranger2Reality

Wolverine the animal is definitely real. It's like a meaner Badger. It's the University of Michigans mascot. Definitely a real animal. 😁

Matt Atkinson

Yep. Fox was pissed at Brian Singer for doing a Superman movie so they barred him from the lot and fired him off the 3rd movie. They were similarly upset at James Marsden's participation in that Superman movie for Warner Bros., and that's why... well, anyone who's seen X3 knows what I'm referring to.

Stranger2Reality

oh and of course, Brian Cox shines as always!

Pat Cecil

I have to say the cast is great, but having Stewart and McKellern adds such gravitas making the story so much more easy to buy into. Great writing, great performances, what more could we want? :)

Pat Cecil

This is a Spoiler for Cassie. Please Remove.

Larry Darrell

I love this movie :)

Pat Cecil

So just FYI. The X-men movies are very hit and miss. This is one of the best the third one is one of the worst. The guy behind the first 2 movies was supposed to do the third one but some behind the scenes trouble got him kicked off the movie at the last minute. The guy who replaced him threw out the original script and did his own thing. It’s really bad.

SyrupMcWaffle

So apparently the animals that wolverines are most closely related to are things like martens, weasels, badgers, otters, that sort of thing

FleetAdmiralJ

Please remove this post. No spoilers.

Just Plain Bob

Cloaked

William Brownlee

These did a pretty good job of adapting the New X-Men that started in the comics at issue 94. They have never quite got the Phoenix arc correct and I think it is because it is too much for just one movie and they have to cut too much to make it fit. Maybe a trilogy? And Cassie Mutant isn't a bad term, it is just a statement of fact regarding their DNA. But the X-Men is definitely an allegory for the racism experienced by groups of people. The comic started in the 60's and you couldn't just do stories about some of these topics, so they clicked it in a superhero shell.

William Brownlee

Spoiler’s, much?

Mike LL

Cinco DeNio

Has someone advised you yet that Logan, aka Wolverine, IS Canadian? The base is Alkali Lake, which in Marvel Fandom is in ALBERTA! Sorry if I missed it if someone else advised, but it's a huge part of his backstory.

Jason Jardine

Excellent suggestion. The animated was a great series! Maybe she’ll follow up the current series with that.

Tom Furze

I love this franchise. I was first introduced to The X-Men when I was about 7 years old with X-Men The Animated Series. I'd definitely suggest you check that out. It ran from 1991-1997. Disney just released X-Men 97 which is continuing where the original animated series left off and is what everyone has been talking about. I hope you eventually decide to watch it even if it's not with us. I'm sure you're boys would enjoy it to.

Katie Jackson

you need to watch RED, the actor that plays Stryker, plays a russian spy

zynjams

So glad you are doing this series. I grew up collecting the comics, and I didn't always like the rendition that the movies did. But this one I really liked, and I loved how fast this one started.

Tom Furze

Third!

Cinco DeNio

Second!

John Liebling

First!

Wes