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Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijan, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford

This is a fantastic follow up that even outdoes the first film, which was a pretty good action film in its own right. All of the cast is back and are joined by Alan Cumming as the Nightcrawler. The talented cast all give credible performances and the story is just as strong. The advantage that this film had was more time available to develop characters who were introduced, but underdeveloped in the introductory film. Bryan Singer is back as director and does an admirable job at balancing action and story.

The film starts with Magneto (McKellen) suffering horrible treatment in a special glass prison by an unscrupulous military scientist, William Stryker (Cox), who wants to know everything about Mutants in general and Professor Xavier’s (Stewart) school in particular. The government attitude toward Mutants takes a nasty turn when one tries to kill the president and soon everyone is scrambling for answers and safety. Jean Gray’s character (Janssen) has more to do here, as do Iceman and Pyro (Ashmore and Stanford). Jackman’s body is exploding with his Wolverine muscles and Jackman does a good job playing his character who is always on the edge of explosion, himself.

This is an enjoyable fantasy/action movie that keeps a solid story moving steadily, while keeping away from one-dimensional characters and offering an observation about the choices that human beings make. If you liked the first one, this sequel will not disappoint. If you didn’t, then this release is unlikely to change your mind.

Director: Brian Singer

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Halle Berry, James Marsden, Tyler Mane, Ray Park, Rebecca Romijn, Bruce Davison

Growing up, I was a Spider-man guy. The X-Men were funny-looking and really of no interest to me. Who would have thought that I would have to become an adult to appreciate them? The comic book movie craze has given us great movies (Spider-man) and terrible movies (The Hulk). This is the former. The cast is a bit too large and makes it difficult to tell everyone’s story, so Singer wisely focuses on a few key characters. There are quality performances (particularly Stewart and McKellen) here, as well as an impressive script with an effective message about the dangers of being different in human society. The action scenes go on a little too long (but I usually think that), but are well done and interesting.

The film opens with a moving scene set in the German WWII concentration camp and slams us with the motivation of main bad guy, Magneto (Masterfully played by McKellen in a really silly looking helmet). The movie then moves to the present where there has been a surge in human evolution leading to the existence of ‘mutants’, who possess a limitless variety of supernatural powers. This is a fearful situation for more traditionally-abled humans and an ambitious politician (Davison) wants to obligate all mutants to be registered, along with the powers they possess. Both Magneto and Dr. Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), the founder and operator of a school for Mutant teenagers, oppose this discriminatory and dangerous move, but differ on how to address it. Xavier wants to negotiate and solve the issues through dialog, while Magneto favors a more direct form of expression. There is also a story about Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), a rebellious mutant with a scrappy disposition and a good heart, whose past is lost to him. He crosses paths with a scared Mutant girl, Rogue (Paquin). Rebecca Romijn is the assistant villain, Mystique. She gave me fantasies about furry, blue chicks that I never thought I would have, and is very cool in action, as well. Halle Berry has never looked better (and she always looks great) than as the white-haired, weather wonder, Storm. Famke Janssen is gorgeous, but rather boring as Jean Grey, which makes her a good match with her blander than bland boyfriend, Cyclops. Still, this is a very busy movie and there was not enough time to properly develop all of the many characters.

The angle taken on this story is intriguing and effective and is helped along by a few interesting characters and skilled experienced actors. The action is fast and plentiful. The result is one of the best super-hero movies ever made. Action fans and comic book buyers will like it for sure, but the connoisseurs of thinking-man action movies may find it surprisingly enjoyable, as well.

Director: Brett Ratner

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammar, James Marsden, Rebecca Ramijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford,

Well, here it is; presumably, the final chapter in the X-Men trilogy! And just in the nick of time, I have to say. While still a pretty good action movie, the series is clearly losing steam here and characters drop like flies, so any further sequels will lack several strong characters, unless of course they are miraculously resurrected, comic book style. The acting performances are still strong, but this entry is less story-driven and more about giant conflicts. Solid direction augments the veteran (and costly) cast and some pretty cool effects help make this a pleasing action effort.

The entire cast has returned, once more, with the exception of Alan Cummings’ Night Crawler, who has been more or less replaced by Kelsey Grammars’ Beast character. Several other new mutants appear, as well, and help to generate interest. The series old question about how humans can live with Mutants in their midst is still here, and builds to a crisis level when humans find a ‘cure’ for the Mutant condition. It is claimed that it will only be used voluntarily, but Magneto and his crew find those claims hard to believe and soon tensions rise (along with the Golden Gate Bridge) and build to a spectacular and epic climax.

This is still a good movie, but it feels too similar to the previous entries and seems just a little tired. Still the ramped up action and high hero/villain mortality rate held my interest as it seemed like no one was untouchable. I would expect fans of the previous features to enjoy this death-match entry, but I can’t see any new converts being won over.