7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.6 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.6 |
When anti-mutant Colonel William Stryker kidnaps Professor X and attacks his school, the X-Men must ally with their archenemy Magneto to stop him.
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke JanssenAction | 100% |
Adventure | 85% |
Sci-Fi | 70% |
Fantasy | 60% |
Comic book | 57% |
Thriller | 30% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional)
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Bonus View (PiP)
D-Box
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Sharing the world has never been humanity's defining attribute.
The X-Men franchise seems to follow the classic trend where a great movie is often
followed
up by a film that comes close to equaling, or even surpassing in quality, the original. Whether it
be Aliens, The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather: Part II,
or The Dark Knight,
sequels to some of the best films ever made often don't disappoint. Then again, there is always
The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Weekend at Bernie's II, and The Chronicles of
Riddick. Fortunately, X2 falls squarely into the former category, the film not
quite as deep as the original but just as exciting, well-scripted, and far darker and somber in tone.
It's a classic sequel to be sure, turning much of the original's foundation on its head without
sacrificing integrity or continuity, and ending on a more emotionally downtrodden note that at
once both leaves the viewer mentally exhausted and eager for more in the inevitable sequel that,
in most instances, can't help but disappoint next to the first two films.
Welcome to Stellar Cartography, Logan! Oops, wrong movie...
X2 comes to Blu-ray with a nicely presented 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer. This is a bit better-looking transfer than that found accompanying the previous film on Blu-ray. Details are sharper, the image sports a bit more clarity, colors are improved, and so forth. One of the more noticeable differences is the appearance of flesh tones. Here, they take on a more natural appearance, but still feature a slightly red push. Grain, too is a bit more pronounced over the entirety of the transfer. The transfer also features improved clarity across the board; details are more intricate and offer a broader spectrum of clearly-defined imagery in most every shot. Hairs are finer and flow more naturally, providing visible structure for each strand. Textures, too, are impressive, the rough stone walls of Stryker's underground base of operations or the small bumps that make up a pair of leather gloves in one close-up shot, for example, reveal plenty of visible information. Black levels are rich and inky, though with a slight lack of detail in a few select scenes. Overall, however, X2 looks great on Blu-ray, again far surpassing all previous home video versions.
X2 dazzles on Blu-ray with, yes, another fantastic DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack from Fox. Once again, this mix offers up a pure sonic assault. Sound effects sweep effortlessly around the soundstage, a fine example being Nightcrawler's constant teleportation all around the soundstage in chapter 10, not to mention the echoing voices heard bouncing off the walls of the cavernous chapel that serves as the scene's setting. Music plays nicely across the front throughout the picture, be it subtle dramatic music or heart-pounding action-oriented notes. Environmental ambience is good, too, from the more mundane of chirping insects or barely-audible drips of water falling to the ground in the back speakers to the power of a series of storms used as cover during the film's thrilling aerial chase sequence. Once again, as was the case with the soundtrack accompanying the first X-Men film on Blu-ray, bass rattles the foundation, reverberates through the chest cavity, and generally leaves the subwoofer crying out for mercy. The surround speakers are used to nearly constant effect, too. Dialogue reproduction is also spot-on accurate. X2 certainly delivers, sonically.
X2 comes to Blu-ray filled to the brim with bonus features, spread across two discs. Disc
one offers up a pair of commentary tracks, the first featuring Director Bryan Singer and
Cinematographer Tom Sigel. This track is another solid one, a light and breezy offering that is
easy on the ears but also fairly informative. Singer and Sigel cover all the basics, dissecting the
action sequences, the sets, the special effects, and more. The second track features Producers
Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, Co-Writers Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, and
Screenwriter David Hayter. This track is not quite as entertaining as the first, but the
participants do a fine job of sharing plenty of anecdotes, recounting the appearances of the sets,
shooting locations, production challenges, character traits and developments, and more. It's
a decent commentary, one that hardcore fans will enjoy, but it doesn't flow as well as the
Director/Cinematographer track and isn't a particularly engaging listen for casual fans. Also
included on disc one are trailers for X-Men Origins:
Wolverine, X-Men,
X-Men: The Last
Stand, Daredevil, and Fantastic Four. This
disc is also D-Box enabled.
Moving along to disc two, the first feature is entitled History of 'The X-Men', a piece
broken into two segments: The Secret Origin of 'X-Men' (480p, 15:26) and
Nightcrawler Reborn (480p, 7:37). The former features Stan Lee and Chris Claremont
discussing
how the characters and the comic came about and moves on to look at the movie franchise,
featuring interview clips with Executive Producers Avi Arad and Tom DeSanto, Producer Lauren
Shuler Donner, Director Bryan Singer, Lee, and Claremont. The latter examines the history of
the character that plays an important role in X2. Next up is Pre-Production,
another piece divided into several segments. Nightcrawler Attack -- Multi-Angle Study
(480p, 2:23) shows the construction of a scene from four perspectives -- Animatic, Unfinished
Effects, Animatic/Final Film Comp, and Unfinished Effects/Final Film Comp. Evolution in the
Details -- Designing 'X2' (480p, 18:01) features Production Designer Guy Dyas and Technical
Advisor Bob Snow taking viewers through the world seen in the film, looking at the sets and
props seen throughout. Concluding the Pre-Production segment is United Colors of
'X2' (480p, 8:57), a look at the costuming of the film.
Production is another feature divided, this time into six separate mini-pieces.
Wolverine/Deathstrike Fight Rehearsal (480p, 1:24) is a brief behind-the-scenes piece
featuring the fight scene in an early stage of development. The Second Uncanny Issue of
'X-Men' -- Making 'X2' (480p, 59:27) is a comprehensive making-of piece that features a
discussion on returning to the world introduced in the first film and moving it forward, writing the
screenplay, ensuring continuity in the cast and director, behind-the-scenes looks at the making
of various scenes, cast and crew interviews, and much more. Intorducing the INCREDIBLE
NIGHTCRAWLER! (480p, 9:49) features star Alan Cumming discussing the character, his
rehearsals for the part, and the make-up and prosthetics used. Nightcrawler Stunt
Rehearsal (480p, 2:27) features an animatic and rehearsal footage of the film's opening
action sequence. Nightcrawler Time-Lapse (480p, 3:40) features the lengthy process of
transforming from actor to mutant in a condensed time period. Finally, FX2 -- Visual
Effects (480p, 24:58) looks at the making of the many intricate special effects seen in the
picture. Post-Production is divided into two parts. Requiem For Mutants -- The Score
of 'X2' (480p, 11:39) features Editor/Composer John Ottman discussing his work on the film.
'X2' Global Webcast Highlights (480p, 17:01) features cast and crew answering fan
questions from the Internet. Next up are a series of 11 deleted scenes (480p, 11:58) and
several still galleries -- Characters, Locations and Sets, Mutant X-Rays,
Nightcrawler Circus Posters, On-Camera Graphics, and The Unseen 'X2'.
Concluding the special features are three of the film's theatrical trailers (1080p, 0:37, 1:44, and
2:26).
X2 is a great sequel to a stellar film. While it is well-paced, congruous with the style and themes of the first, and builds upon the lore of the franchise, it doesn't quite match the level of excellence of the first, but it doesn't miss the mark by all that much, either. X2 is marked, once again, by standout performances by Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, each of whom play incredibly well one off the other and fit their characters nicely. With bigger action sequences and better special effects, once again made a part of the story rather than defining the whole, X2 is one of the best sequels of the decade. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray presentation is first-class. Once again delivering fine picture quality, a demo-worthy lossless soundtrack, and a fine helping of extra material, X2's Blu-ray debut is a must-own. Highly recommended.
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