X2: X-Men United

Much like the original X-Men film, X2: X-Men United is a fun, clever action/comic book movie. It really doesn't add up to all that much, but it is entertaining and is unlikely to really disappoint someone who is interested in this kind of thing. I admit I was a bit disappointed because I found the original movie to be a real surprise in the summer of 2000, but it is hard to complain when an action movie is done with style and wit as this clearly is.

X2: X-Men United picks up almost exactly where the first film left off, and if you haven't seen the original (I had) or read the comic books (I haven't), you will probably be very confused by this film. Even having seen the first film, I spent a lot of time during this one trying to remember what mutant had what powers, and X2 does not spend much time reminding you. (A lot of critics complained that the first film spent too much time establishing the characters' origins, but I really like that stuff in this kind of movie.) But less time spent on story and character can often mean more time spent on action, as is the case here.

X2 is very much like a standard-to-good James Bond movie (like the recent Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day): It has a lot of action and well-integrated special effects, but its humor and character are what take it well above a generic shoot-'em-up; it has plenty of cute babes (two of whom - Famke Janssen and Halle Berry - actually are Bond girls!); it also goes on a bit too long, like many Bond movies.

Unlike a Bond film, however, there also really isn't all that much structure to the story, as the film does not really build to its finale; it took me awhile to realize I was approaching the end of the film, not just a major action set piece. (But at least this film has an ending, unlike Jurassic Park III which just stopped. Has to be seen to be believed, although the rest of JPIII is pretty good. But I digress...) Also, action scenes like Wolverine's face-off against Kelly Hu (whose prescence in the film prompted Jeremy and I to go into a Hu's On Screen? routine) seem to exist because Now It's Time For The Two Steel-Armed Mutants To Fight, not because either character has any objective related to the plot. Still, it was a cool fight scene.

The performances are all fine, but as in the original, there are so many characters that some inevitably get short shrift. Missing this time is anything approaching the surprising emotion of Rogue and Wolverine's relationship, but Famke Janssen is quite interesting (and hot) as the conflicted Jean Gray. McKellan is more campy and less menacing this time around, but still fun. Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry and others were fine, but not given all that much to do. The set design was fairly cool, repeating the Scarface motif from the first film of having subtle and not-so-subtle X's all over everything. (But again, like a Bond film, the Everything Blows Up Real Good finale scenes look a little fake, and there's a bit of a reliance on obvious CGI).

All in all, I had a good time at X2. It lacked the freshness of the original and could have been much, much better. But I pretty much got what I expected: action, style, and wit... and Janssen, Romijn-Stamos, Hu, Berry, and Paquin. Hey now!

*** (out of ****)

posted by Michael 5:29:59 PM

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Ministry of Information

I do not generally reference Paul Krugman's columns because they are usually too nutty to merit much attention. But in today's piece, Krugman makes an assertion that has to be highlighted. He actually argues that a governement-owned/run media is preferable to independently operated stations because the former would be concerned about appearances! Really, look for yourself:

[T]he U.S. government can reward media companies that please it, punish those that don't. This gives private networks an incentive to curry favor with those in power. Yet because the networks aren't government-owned, they aren't subject to the kind of scrutiny faced by the BBC, which must take care not to seem like a tool of the ruling party.

I am sorry Paul, but that sounds like an argument that Josef Goebbels or the Iraqi Information Minister would make. Our media system may not be perfect, but it is certainly preferable to a state-run operation.

It is actually an interesting and suprisingly (for Krugman) non-hysterical piece. But that has got to be one of the more ridiculous assertions I have read recently.

posted by Michael 6:10:56 PM

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