| X-MEN 2 |
13rd May 2003
|
 As
with all movies based on comic books, I was dragged kicking and screaming
to this one. I hate comix movies because I’m not a fan of comix.
Besides, I saw the first X-Men several years ago and thought it was dumb-dumb-dumb.
So imagine my surprise when I really liked “2”. It’s
got an intelligent script, a good story, some passable acting, and of
course the special effects. The bad guy Stryker (Brian Cox) was the CIA
director in THE BOURNE IDENTITY, and he is really nasty. Hugh Jackman
as Wolverine still has that silly hairdo that looks like cat ears, but
he’s better in this movie, and in real life, he’s a gentle-spoken,
affable Aussie who is going to be a big star. The other characters, the
regulars from the first movie, are three-dimensional and fun, cute and
pretty, respectively, and the film has a lot of good humor. One of my
favorites is Nightcrawler, who recites the Bible in a fake German accent
that is hilarious. He is a sweetheart—you think he’s bad,
but he’s good. But he looks bad. But….oh, well. Halle Barry
is back, as different from her role in James Bond as you could imagine.
The movie doesn’t take itself so seriously as, say SPIDERMAN, or
the truly leaden and unbearable three-hour LORD OF THE DINGS, er, RINGS.
This one knows it’s a comic. There’s a ton of symbolism for
those who like symbolism, but all that isn’t necessary to the good
romp of the story. Ian McKellar and Patrick Stewart have lovely arguments
in Shakespearean tones, and both are shaded so that neither is wholly
good or bad. They both wear some of the silliest camp costumes in movies
to date.But I especially recommend this movie for another, far more serious reason: It’s a poignant coming-out story. It’s about going to your parents and siblings for that awful but liberating meeting:  “Mom,
Dad, I have something to tell you.” And the scene where this happens
will break your heart, make you cry, and then cheer for joy all at the
same time. It’s beautifully, cautiously, faithfully written and
acted. You will see a mirror held up to yourself. You see, these kids
are mutants. They are different, and at some point, in order to be true
to themselves, they have to come clean about their identity to those they
love. I would watch this movie again just for those few minutes. They’re
as good as the “Oracle” scene in the first MATRIX—and
as important. And this gay theme is much, much better and more interesting
than this season’s oddly popular FAR FROM HEAVEN, which has every
single homophobic cliché and stereotype known to man. X-2 avoids
all this because it has characters that you come to love, and because
it moves so fast.This surprisingly insightful turn of events, in what is otherwise billed as simply another summer popcorn movie, converts it from the typical comic-book battle between “good and evil, light and dark, the Force and the Dark Side,” into a real-life battle between understanding and prejudice. This makes it far more valuable to us as a myth because, like good myths, as Plato tells us in “The Republic,” the story will save us. The coming-out scene ends with a shot of the stupefied family gazing down on their departing child and his comrades from a high dormer window. The folks, especially the little brother, have not taken the news well, but their story is not yet finished, either. They will be back, I hope, in the sequel. All are, like ourselves, in the process of evolving. So, my fellow X-FOLKS, go see it. Let me know what you think. Bob |