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X2

Play trailer 1:40 Poster for X2 PG-13 2003 2h 14m Action Adventure Fantasy Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
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85% Tomatometer 249 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
Stryker (Brian Cox), a villainous former Army commander, holds the key to Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) past and the future of the X-Men. This threat re-ignites the call for a mutant registration act. Stryker starts a full-out assault on Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) mansion and school. After escaping his plastic cell, Magneto (Ian McKellen) proposes a partnership with Xavier and the X-Men to combat this new formidable enemy they both have in common.
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X2

X2

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Tightly scripted, solidly acted, and impressively ambitious, X2: X-Men United is bigger and better than its predecessor -- and a benchmark for comic sequels in general.

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Critics Reviews

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Alonso Duralde The Advocate Apr 5, 2022
X2 is pretty much all that you’d ever want out of a comic book movie -- it’s smart, it’s breathlessly paced, the characters have at least 2 1/2 dimensions, and the action sequences are jaw-droppers, even on the small screen. Go to Full Review Alexander Walker London Evening Standard Jan 10, 2018
The truth is, the film is never again as good as its brilliant opening sequence. Go to Full Review Barbara Ellen The Times (UK) Jan 3, 2018
X-Men 2 remains a decent enough sci-fi effort, which delivers on most of the levels fans could expect. Too bad it's hampered by a plot that wouldn't get green-lit for an average episode of Buffy. Go to Full Review Patrick Cavanaugh The Wolfman Cometh Sep 11, 2025
4/5
Shockingly manages to balance the sillier, more cartoonish tone of the X-Men franchise to tell an unexpectedly mature narrative. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand May 4, 2024
At 135 minutes it never feels long, thanks to a driving pace, rapid crosscutting between parallel stories, and spectacular action scenes that never forget about the characters at the center. Go to Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Dec 15, 2023
3.5/4
Inspiring hope for equality and further suggesting that governments are at the mercy of the populace, the franchise actionizes these themes to gratify both the mind and senses as few comic book movies have ever done to this point. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Evan I @WhyteTiger Oct 8, 2026 Great sequel. I love Nightcrawler cause he looks creepy but is actually really kind and faithful! See more Jaime B @Jimmy393 Sep 18, 2026 The best x men movie See more Mason L @sheepwhorns Sep 17, 2026 Just as good, if not better, than the original. A couple questions on why certain things couldn’t happen. Like why couldn’t Jean Grey do everything she did at the end INSIDE the ship instead of outside but that’s inconsequential to the quality of the movie See more Noah S @Noah2002 Sep 17, 2026 I maintain that this is the Empire Strikes Back of the original X-Men trilogy. This would be the best “proper” (Logan is a contender) X-Men film if we didn’t have Days of Future Past. #RoadtoDoomsday See more Clark T @RT11871854 Sep 16, 2026 If Marvel were trying to take a punk rock theme then they succeeded. Probably the most punk rock marvel film I’ve ever seen. Opening scene was great and politics side of things really made it feel like the 2025 Superman. See more OOM P @OOMPod Sep 16, 2026 X2 is a great sequel and definitely does a better job developing the characters, but I still slightly prefer the first X-Men. My biggest issue is that the overall story feels somewhat familiar. We're once again dealing with humans fearing mutants, someone trying to eliminate/control them, Magneto responding by basically saying “fuck the humans,” and the X-Men getting caught in the middle. Stryker is a good villain and adds a much more personal connection through Wolverine's past, but the basic mutant-vs-human conflict didn't feel as fresh to me this time. Where X2 really improves is the characters. Wolverine gets more of his backstory, Bobby's family scene takes the mutant discrimination theme to a much more personal level, Pyro slowly starts understanding Magneto's worldview, Jean's powers are developing, and Mystique gets to be fucking awesome. And Nightcrawler? Easily one of my favorite parts. That opening White House sequence is still incredible. The effects and action also hol See more Read all reviews
X2

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Bryan Singer

Director

Patrick Stewart

Professor Charles Xavier

Hugh Jackman

Logan

Ian McKellen

Erik Lehnsherr

Halle Berry

Ororo Munroe

Famke Janssen

Jean Grey

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X2

X2: Trailer 1 X2: Trailer 1 1:40 Now Playing View more videos
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X2

A scene from the film X-2. A scene from the film X-2. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Storm (Halle Berry) in the X-Jet. Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) Pyro (Aaron Stanford). Director Bryan Singer on the set. Storm (Halle Berry), Cyclops (James Marsden), and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). Pyro's (Aaron Stanford) formidable ability to manipulate and control fire is in full display as a group of mutants are surrounded by police. Mazda's new RX-8 plays a key role in X2. In his plastic prison, Magneto (Ian McKellen) uses his mutant powers to overcome a guard (Ty Olsson). View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Stryker (Brian Cox), a villainous former Army commander, holds the key to Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) past and the future of the X-Men. This threat re-ignites the call for a mutant registration act. Stryker starts a full-out assault on Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) mansion and school. After escaping his plastic cell, Magneto (Ian McKellen) proposes a partnership with Xavier and the X-Men to combat this new formidable enemy they both have in common.
Director
Bryan Singer
Producer
Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter
Screenwriter
Dan Harris, Michael Dougherty, David Hayter, Bryan Singer, Zak Penn
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Production Co
Marvel Films
Rating
PG-13 (Sci-Fi Action|Brief Language|Sci-Fi Violence|Some Sexuality)
Genre
Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 2, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$214.9M
Runtime
2h 14m
Sound Mix
Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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