X2 (film)

X2
Directed by Bryan Singer
Produced by Tom DeSanto
Avi Arad
Bryan Singer
Ralph Winter
Lauren Shuler Donner
Written by Screenplay:
Michael Dougherty
Dan Harris
David Hayter
Story:
David Hayter
Bryan Singer
Zak Penn
Comic Book:
Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
Starring Hugh Jackman
Patrick Stewart
Ian McKellen
Famke Janssen
Brian Cox
Alan Cumming
Anna Paquin
Halle Berry
Shawn Ashmore
James Marsden
Music by John Ottman
Cinematography Newton Thomas Sigel
Editing by John Ottman
Elliot Graham
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date(s) May 2, 2003
Running time 133 min.
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Language English
Budget $110 million
Gross revenue $407.56 million
Preceded by X-Men
Followed by X-Men: The Last Stand

X2 (also known as X2: X-Men United, X-Men 2: X-Men United, and X-Men 2) is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second part of the X-Men film series, following X-Men (2000) and preceding X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). It stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Halle Berry and Kelly Hu. The plot, inspired by the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, pits the X-Men and their enemies, the Brotherhood, against the genocidal Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox). He leads an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth.

Development phase for X2 began shortly after X-Men. David Hayter and Zak Penn wrote separate scripts, combining what they felt to be the best elements of both scripts into one screenplay. Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were eventually hired for rewrite work, changing characterizations of Beast, Angel and Lady Deathstrike. Sentinels and the Danger Room were set to appear before being deleted because of budget concerns. Filming began in June 2002 and ended that November. Most of the filming took place at Vancouver Film Studios, the largest soundstage in North America. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas adapted similar designs of John Myhre from the previous film. X2 was released in the United States on May 2, 2003 and became both a critical and financial success, earning eight nominations at the Saturn Awards and grossing approximately US$408 million worldwide.

Contents

Plot

Nightcrawler, a teleporting mutant, attempts to assassinate the President in the White House, but he fails and escapes. Wolverine reappears after discovering nothing at Alkali Lake, while Storm and Jean find Nightcrawler with the help of Professor Xavier and Cerebro. Cyclops and Professor X visit Magneto in his plastic prison to see if he had any part in the attack on the President. Reading Magneto's mind, Professor X discovers that a covert government operative, William Stryker, has been extracting information from Magneto. A trap is sprung and Cyclops and Professor X are captured by Stryker and his assistant Yuriko Oyama. A military raid of the X-Mansion begins, with the soldiers sedating every student they find, some escape, while Wolverine finds Stryker, but is unable to find anything about his past.

Impersonating Senator Robert Kelly and Yuriko, Mystique gains information about Magneto's prison and provides a means for him to escape. Wolverine, along with Rogue, Iceman and Pyro, heads to Iceman's home in Boston. After a 9-1-1 call by Bobby's brother Ronnie, the police arrive just as the group is about to leave, ensuing into a dispute with Pyro. The X-Jet arrives to pick them all up, and the X-Men team with Magneto and Mystique. Magneto has learned Stryker orchestrated the attack on the President and has been experimenting on mutants, using a drug injected directly into the back of the neck to control them. Jean reads Nightcrawler's mind and determines that Stryker's base is located at Alkali Lake, inside the dam. He has also stolen enough equipment from Xavier's own Cerebro unit to build a second Cerebro, with which he plans to kill all the world's mutants.

Stryker gains control over Professor Xavier through his son, Jason Stryker, who is able to project powerful visions in the mind, blinding a person to reality. Professor X is instructed to use Cerebro to find and kill all existing mutants. Mystique infiltrates Stryker's base using a number of disguises. As the X-Men enter Storm and Nightcrawler pair off, searching for kidnapped students. Jean, Magneto, and Mystique are attacked by a brainwashed Cyclops on their way to rescue Professor X, causing damage to the generators that keep the dam from collapsing. The force of Jean's telekinetic blast awakens Cyclops from his brainwashing. Wolverine finds Stryker in an adamantium smelting room along with Lady Deathstrike. Wolverine and Deathstrike begin fighting, but it ends with Wolverine killing her. Wolverine finds Stryker on a landing pad, while Stryker attempts to bargain Wolverine with stories of his past. Wolverine leaves him for dead, stabbing him and chaining him to the helicopter wheel.

Mystique, disguised as Stryker, uses Jason to convince Professor X to kill all humans. Magneto and Mystique use Stryker's helicopter to escape Alkali Lake, chaining Stryker to concrete rubble, and are also joined by Pyro. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler teleports Storm inside of Cerebro, where she frees the Professor from his telepathic illusion. A malfunction aboard the X-Jet prevents it from taking off, and the dam finally bursts. The flood gets stronger, drowning Stryker. Jean leaves the jet and creates a telekinetic wall in order to stop the wave, and at the same time raises the jet above the flood waters; all the while surrounded by a corona of fire. Jean activates the X-Jet's primary engines, before releasing the torrent of water down on herself. The X-Men are able to supply the President with files from Stryker's private offices, and Professor X warns him that humans and mutants must work together to build peace, or they will destroy each other through war. The film ends with a voiceover by Jean Grey on the process of evolution. The camera floats over Alkali Lake, showing a vague shape of a Phoenix in the lake.

Cast

The following are new characters in the series;

Although the character of Senator Robert Kelly was killed in the first film, Bruce Davison reprised the role for scenes where Mystique uses his persona to infiltrate the government. In other cameos, Katie Stuart appeared as Kitty Pryde, a girl who can walk through walls, Bryce Hodgson as Artie, Kea Wong as Jubilee and Shauna Kain as Siryn, who is able to emit loud screams that alert the students to Stryker's attack. Also in the final scene with Xavier, a girl is seen dressed in a Native American style jacket, as well as a blond haired boy dressed in blue, played by Layke Anderson. These were confirmed to be Dani Moonstar and Douglas Ramsey.[3] Daniel Cudmore appeared as Peter Rasputin / Colossus. Cudmore was set to use a Russian accent, but Singer dropped the idea for unknown reasons, and onset rewrites minimized the character's importance to a cameo.[12]

Jubilee, Psylocke and Multiple Man were to have cameos for the scene when Stryker and his troops storm the X-Mansion. Beast, Gambit and Marrow were to have appearances during the Dark Cerebro sequence. Gambit's cameo was actually shot, but the footage was not used in the final cut. Beast's scene was to show Dr. Hank McCoy transforming into his notable blue fur while Marrow was to be seen lying on a ground in New York City.[3] Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris, the film's writers, cameo in scenes of Wolverine's Weapon X flashbacks as surgeons.[13] Shaquille O'Neal wanted a role in the film but was ignored by the filmmakers.[14]

Development

Writing

The financial and critical success of X-Men (2000) persuaded 20th Century Fox to commission a sequel instantly. Starting in November 2000,[15] Bryan Singer researched various storylines (one of them being the Legacy Virus) of the X-Men comic book series, choosing God Loves, Man Kills (1982) as the premise.[16] Singer wanted to study, "the human perspective, the kind of blind rage that feeds into warmongering and terrorism,"[17] citing a need for a "human villain".[15] Singer and producer Tom DeSanto envisioned X2 as the film series' Empire Strikes Back (1980), in that the characters are "all split apart, and then dissected, and revelations that occur that are significant... the romance comes to fruition and a lot of things happen."[18] Producer Avi Arad announced a planned November 2002 theatrical release date,[19] while David Hayter and Zak Penn were hired to write separate scripts.[20] Hayter and Penn combined what they felt to be the best elements of both scripts into one screenplay.[21] Singer and Hayter worked on another script, finishing in October 2001.[22]

Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were hired to rewrite Hayter and Penn's script in February 2002,[23] turning down the opportunity to write Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005).[24] Angel and Beast appeared in early drafts, but were deleted because there were too many characters. Dr. Hank McCoy, however, can be seen on a television interview in one scene. Beast's appearance was to resemble Jim Lee's artwork of the character in the series X-Men (launched in October 1991).[10] Angel was to have been a mutant experiment by William Stryker, transforming into Archangel.[3] A homage to Dougherty's and Harris' efforts of Angel remains in the form of an X-ray on display in one of Stryker's labs.[16] Tyler Mane was to reprise as Sabretooth before the character was deleted.[25] In Hayter's script, Lady Deathstrike was Anne Reynolds, a character who appeared in God Loves, Man Kills as Stryker's personal assistant/assassin. Singer changed her to Deathstrike, citing a need for "another kick-ass mutant".[15] There was to be more development on Cyclops and Professor X being brainwashed by Stryker. The scenes were shot, but Fox cut them out because of time length and story complications. Hayter was disappointed, feeling that James Marsden deserved more screentime.[3]

Rewrites were commissioned once more, specifically to give Halle Berry more screentime. This was because of her recent popularity in Monster's Ball (2001), earning her the Academy Award for Best Actress.[26] A budget cut meant the Sentinels[16] and the Danger Room were dropped. Guy Hendrix Dyas and a production crew had already constructed the Danger Room set. In the words of Dyas, "The control room [of the danger room] was a large propeller that actually rotated around the room so that you can sit up [in that control room] and travel around the subject who is in the middle of the control room. The idea for the traveling is that if it's a mutant has some kind of mind control powers they can't connect."[11] Dyas and sculptor James Jones merged several Sentinel designs into a final maquette of a almost hollow robot who could compress into a disk shape. Animating the Sentinel would have cost $7 million.[27]

Production

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner had hoped to start filming in March 2002,[20] but production did not began until June 17, 2002 in Vancouver and ended by November.[28] Over sixty-four sets were used in thirty-eight different locations.[11] The film crew encountered problems when not enough snow was produced in Kananaskis, Alberta. An excessive amount of fake snow was then applied.[29] The idea to have Jean Grey sacrifice herself at the end and to be resurrected in a third installment was highly secretive. Singer did not tell Famke Janssen until midway through filming.[30] Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and two stunt drivers nearly died when filming the scene with Pyro having a dispute with police officers.[6]

Michael Kamen, composer of X-Men (2000), offered his services to compose the film score, but Singer opted for fellow collaborator John Ottman, who also assisted in editing the film.[31] Ottman established a new title theme, as well as themes specifically for Magneto, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Mystique and Pyro. Although Ottman tried his best to keep Kamen's basic approach of the previous film, Ottman also found inspiration from X-Men: The Animated Series.[32] Minor compositions of Mozart's Requiem were used for the opening scene with Nightcrawler at the White House.[33]

Design and effects

Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and Singer credited Road to Perdition (2002) as a visual influence. Though Sigel filmed X-Men in the anamorphic 2.40:1 format, he opted to shoot X2 in Super 35mm 2.35:1. Sigel felt the recent improvements in film stocks and optics increased the advantages of using spherical lenses, even if the blowup to anamorphic must be accomplished optically instead of digitally. Sigel noted, "If you think about it, every anamorphic lens is simply a spherical lens with an anamorphizer on it. They'll never be as good as the spherical lenses that they emulate."[34] Cameras that were used during filming included two Panaflex Millenniums and a Millennium XL, as well as an Aaton 35mm. Singer also used more zoom lens than he did in his previous films, while Sigel used a Frazier lens specifically for dramatic moments.[34]

The Blackbird was redesigned and increased in virtual size from 60—85 feet.[11] John Myhre served as the production designer on X-Men (2000), but Singer hired Guy Dyas (X2 was Dyas' first film as production designer).[35] For scenes involving Stryker's Alkali Base, Vancouver Film Studios, the largest sound stage in North America, was reserved.[10]

Visual effects supervisor Mike Fink was not satisfied with his work on the previous film, despite the fact it nearly received an Academy Award nomination. Up to 520 shots were created for X-Men, while X2 commissioned roughly 800. A new computer program was created by Rhythm and Hues for the dogfight tornado scene. Cinesite was in charge of scenes concerning Cerebro, enlisting a 20-man crew. The Alkali Lake Dam miniature was 25 ft. high and 28 ft. wide.[36] Cinesite created 300 visual effects shots, focusing on character animation, while Rhythm and Hues created over 100.[37]

Comic book references

One scene depicts Mystique going through files on Yuriko's computer. Bryan Singer purposely included various characters and hints of storylines in the X-Men comic book on Yuriko's computer screen. Singer "finds great difficulty in adapting all this stuff into a two—two and a half hour long movie".[6]

Among the following mutant files are of Gambit, Cannonball, Husk, Silver Samurai, Garrison Kane, Magneto, Artie Maddicks, Multiple Man, Karma, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Proteus, Danielle Moonstar, Storm, Beast, Feral, Banshee, Black Tom Cassidy, Lila Cheney, Sabretooth, Sunspot, Polaris, Psylocke, Iceman, Blob, Skin and Wild Child. There are also folders seen on the desk, including Omega Red, Project Wideawake, Franklin Richards and Cerebro.

Closer inspection reveals that Stryker is keeping files on Pyro, Sabra, Dr. Ceclia Reyes, Synch, Penance, Nightcrawler, Mystique, Lady Deathstrike, Copycat, Deadpool, Cyclops, Dazzler, Fenris, Jamie Braddock, David North, Sunfire, Boom Boom, Mimic, Dr. Nathaniel Essex, Toad, Wolfsbane, Strong Guy, Kitty Pryde, Sauron and Forge. There are also files on Alpha, Beta and Gamma Flights, Weapon X, Project Wide Awake, Dept H, the Brotherhood, Graymalkin, Zero Tolerance, Massachusetts Academy, Blackbird, the Danger Room, Legacy, Morlocks, Xavier's School, Omega Red, Cerebro, the Salem Centre, Franklin Richards, Kevin McTaggart and Trash.

Reception

Release

The first cut of X2 was rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America, due to more violent scenes concerning Wolverine when Stryker's army stormed the X-Mansion. Very few seconds were cut to secure a PG-13 rating.[38]

X2 opened in America on May 2, 2003, accumulating $85,558,731 in its opening weekend in 3,749 theaters. The film grossed $214,949,694 in North America, while earning $192,607,919 worldwide, coming at a total of $407,557,613. X2 was financial success since it recouped its production budget three times.[39] X2 debuted simultaneously in ninety-three countries, the largest North American and international opening ever at the time.[40] In addition, the film is the fifth highest grossing film based on a Marvel Comic book,[41] and was the sixth highest of 2003,[42] also earning $107 million in its first five days of DVD release.[30]

X2 had a video game tie-in on X2: Wolverine's Revenge, which has nothing to do with the events of the film, although Patrick Stewart voiced Professor X. X-Men: The Official Game bridges the storyline between X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. Specifically, it explains Nightcrawler's absence from The Last Stand. Chris Claremont wrote a novelization of the film, which left out its secretive cliffhanger.[43]

Critical response

Based on 215 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, X2 received an average 87% overall approval rating;[44] the film was more balanced with Rotten Tomatoes' thirty-seven "Top Critics", receiving an 81% approval rating.[45] By comparison, Metacritic calculated an average score of sixty-eight from thirty-eight reviews.[46]

Roger Ebert felt the storyline did not live up to its potential and was critical of plot holes. He was impressed, however, by how Bryan Singer was able to handle so many characters in one film. In addition, Ebert felt the film's closing was perfect for a future installment, giving X2 three out of four stars.[47] Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times felt it was rare for a sequel to be better than its predecessor. Turan observed that the film carried emotional themes that are present in the world today and commented that "the acting was better than usual [for a superhero film]".[48] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone felt Hugh Jackman heavily improved his performance, concluding "X2 is a summer firecracker. It's also a tribute to outcasts, teens, gays, minorities, even Dixie Chicks."[49]

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle was critical of the storyline, special effects and action scenes.[50] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal specifically referred to the film as "fast-paced, slow-witted".[51] Stephen Hunter of The Washington Post quoted, "Of the many comic book superhero movies, this is by far the lamest, the loudest, the longest".[52] Richard Corliss of Time argued that Singer depended too much on seriousness and that he did not have enough sensibilities to communicate to an audience.[53] Empire called X2 the best comic book movie of all time in 2006,[54] while Wizard named the film's ending as the twenty-second greatest cliffhanger of all time.[55] In May 2007, Rotten Tomatoes listed X2 as the fifth greatest comic book film of all time.[56]

X2 won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. In addition, Bryan Singer (Direction), Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty (Writing), and John Ottman (Music) all received nominations. It also received nominations with its costumes, makeup, special effects and DVD release, coming to a total of eight nominations.[57] The Political Film Society honored X2 in categories of Human Rights and Peace,[58] while the film was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form).[59]

References

  1. ↑ Stax (2001-12-08). "X-Men 2 Will Be About...", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  2. ↑ Louise Mingenbach, United Colors of X2, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, David Hayter, Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, DVD audio commentary, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  4. ↑ Rob Worley (2003-04-21). "Bryan Singer's Mutant Agenda", Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  5. ↑ Lew Irwin (2001-10-31). "Lopez Ousts Berry From Gigli", Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-03-07. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Bryan Singer, Newton Thomas Sigel, DVD audio commentary, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Alan Cumming, Introducing the Incredible Nightcrawler, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  8. ↑ Stax (2002-05-30). "Nightcrawler Cumming This Way", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  9. ↑ Rob Worley (2003-04-23). "That's Why They Call It The Blues: Stamos and Cumming Talk X2", Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Rob Worley (2002-10-23). "Comics 2 Film", Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Rob Worley (2002-10-30). "X-Men 2", Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  12. ↑ Tim Nydell (2006-07-28). "Interview with Daniel Cudmore", Rock Bottom. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  13. ↑ Heather Newgen (2006-06-16). "Superman Returns Screenwriters Dougherty and Harris", Superhero Hype!. Retrieved on 2008-04-21. 
  14. ↑ Army Archerd (2001-08-23). "Touchy topic addressed in upcoming pix", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-04-06. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men: Making X2, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Scott Brown (2003-05-09). "The NeXt Level", Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  17. ↑ "Comics 2 Film", Comic Book Resources (2002-08-14). Retrieved on 2007-05-01. 
  18. ↑ Chris Hewitt (2003-03-28). "The X Factor", Empire, pp. 76. 
  19. ↑ "Fantastic Four: The Comedy?!", IGN (2001-04-28). Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Stax (2001-06-15). "Lauren Shuler Donner Talks X-Men 2 and Constantine", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  21. ↑ Stax (2001-11-07). ""Closing In" on X-Men 2", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  22. ↑ Michael Fleming (2001-10-14). "Aussie has bulk for Hulk", Variety. Retrieved on 2008-06-01. 
  23. ↑ Martin A. Grove (2003-04-11). "Fox's X2 marks spot as presummer starts May 2", The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved on 2007-04-15. 
  24. ↑ Stax (2002-05-08). "Magneto Escapes!", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  25. ↑ KJB (2000-08-10). "Tyler Mane Not in Rollerball Just Yet", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  26. ↑ "The X-Men 2 panel", JoBlo (2002-07-30). Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  27. ↑ James Jones. "Realized Art". Retrieved on 2008-11-18. Click "Portfolio" and then "Movies" to find the Sentinel maquette.
  28. ↑ Greg Dean Schmitz. "Greg's Preview - X2: X-Men United". Yahoo!. Retrieved on 2008-08-09.
  29. ↑ "Let It Snow, Let It Snow", Internet Movie Database (2002-11-13). Retrieved on 2008-03-12. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Rob Allstetter (2003-12-01). "X2 Update", Comics Continuum. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  31. ↑ Stax (2001-10-26). "Kamen Settles X-Men 2 Score", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  32. ↑ John Ottman, Requiem for Mutants: The Score of X2, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  33. ↑ Jonathan Jarry (2007-06-27). "Music for Superfantastic Invaders", Soundtrack.net. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Jon Silberg (April 2003). "A Universe X-pands", American Cinematographer. Retrieved on 2008-03-10. 
  35. ↑ Guy Dyas, Evolution in the Details: Designing X2, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  36. ↑ FX2 Visual Effects, 2003, 20th Century Fox
  37. ↑ "Comics 2 Film", Comic Book Resources (2002-07-10). Retrieved on 2007-05-01. 
  38. ↑ Rob Worley (2003-04-28). "X-Producers: Lauren Shulder-Donner and Ralph Winter Talk About X2", Comic Book Resources. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  39. ↑ "X2: X-Men United (2003)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  40. ↑ Brian Linder (2003-05-02). "This Weekend at the Movies: X2 Debuts", IGN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. 
  41. ↑ "Marvel Comics Movies". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  42. ↑ "2003 Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  43. ↑ Chris Claremont (March 2003). X-Men 2. Del Ray Books. pp. 416. ISBN 978-0-345-46196-4. http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780345461964. 
  44. ↑ "X2: X-Men United". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  45. ↑ "X2: X-Men United: Top Critics". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  46. ↑ "X2: X-Men United (2003): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
  47. ↑ Roger Ebert (2003-05-02). "X2: X-Men United", RogerEbert.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 
  48. ↑ Kenneth Turan (2003-05-02). "X2: X-Men United", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 
  49. ↑ Peter Travers (2003-05-29). "Mutants Gone Wild", Rolling Stone, pp. 70. Retrieved on 2007-08-12. 
  50. ↑ Mick LaSalle (2003-05-03). "The Inhuman Touch", San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 
  51. ↑ Joe Morgenstern (2003-05-02). "X2: X-Men United", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 
  52. ↑ Stephen Hunter (2003-05-02). "X-Men United: Missing a Why, It Spawns Zzzzs", The Washington Post. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 
  53. ↑ Richard Corliss (2003-04-27). "Pumping Up For The Sequel", Time. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. 
  54. ↑ "The 20 Greatest Comic Book Movies". Empire. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  55. ↑ Jake Rossen (2007-08-05). "The Top 25 Cliffhangers of All Time!", Wizard, pp. 23-8. Retrieved on 2007-08-05. 
  56. ↑ "Comix Worst to Best". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-03-10.
  57. ↑ "Past Saturn Awards". Saturnawards.org. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
  58. ↑ "X2: X-Men United". Political Film Society. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  59. ↑ "The Hugo Awards By Year". Hugo.org. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.

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Blade: Blade (1998) • Blade II (2002) • Blade: Trinity (2004)
Daredevil: Daredevil (2003) • Elektra (2005)
Fantastic Four: Fantastic Four (2005) • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Spider-Man: Spider-Man (2002) • Spider-Man 2 (2004) • Spider-Man 3 (2007)
X-Men: X-Men (2000) • X2 (2003) • X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) • X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Animated
Single
films

The Invincible Iron Man (2007) • Doctor Strange: The Sorcerer Supreme (2007) • Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow (2008) • Hulk Vs (2009)
Series

Ultimate Avengers: Ultimate Avengers (2006) • Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006)
Films directed by Bryan Singer

The Usual Suspects (1995) • Apt Pupil (1998) • X-Men (2000) • X2 (2003) • Superman Returns (2006) • Valkyrie (2008)