X2 (film): Difference between revisions

At the [[White House]], brainwashed teleporting [[Mutant (Marvel Comics)|mutant]] [[Nightcrawler (comics)|Nightcrawler]] attacks the [[President of the United States]], wounding many agents.; Hehe is shot and retreats. Meanwhile, [[Logan (film character)|Logan]] explores an abandoned military installation at Alkali Lake in [[Alberta]] for clues to his past, but finds nothing. [[Jean Grey (film character)|Jean Grey]] has been having premonitions and struggles to concentrate as her powers become increasingly difficult to control. Later, Logan returns to [[Charles Xavier (film character)|Professor Xavier]]'s school for mutants, and Xavier tracks Nightcrawler using [[Cerebro]]. Xavier and [[Cyclops (Marvel Comics)|Cyclops]] go to question the imprisoned [[Magneto (film character)|Magneto]] about the attack, while JeanGrey and [[Storm (Marvel Comics)|Storm]] retrieve Nightcrawler. Military scientist Colonel [[William Stryker]] approaches the presidentPresident and receives approval to investigate Xavier's mansion for their ties to mutants in the wake of the recent attack. Stryker's forces invade the school and abduct some of the students. [[Colossus (comics)|Colossus]] leads the remaining students to safety while Logan, [[Rogue (comics)|Rogue]], [[Iceman (comics)|Iceman]], and [[John Allerdyce (film character)|Pyro]] escape, and Stryker's assistant [[Lady Deathstrike|Yuriko Oyama]] captures Cyclops and Xavier. During the attack, Logan confronts Stryker, who addresses him as "Wolverine" and seems to know about his past.

The shape-shifting [[Mystique (film character)|Mystique]] gainsgathers information about Magneto's prison and helps him escape while also discovering schematics for a second Cerebro. Logan, Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro visit Iceman's parents and brother in [[Boston]], and then meet up with Storm, JeanGrey, and Nightcrawler. The [[Blackbird (comics)|X-Jet]] is attacked by fighter jets while flying back to the mansion and is shot down, but Magneto saves them from crashing. Magneto explains to the group that Stryker has built the second Cerebro to use it and Xavier to telepathically kill every mutant on the planet. Stryker's son, [[Jason Stryker|Jason]], is a mutant with mind-controlling powers, whom Stryker will use to force Xavier to do this. Stryker had also previously used Jason's powers to orchestrate Nightcrawler's attack as a pretense to gain approval to invade Xavier's mansion. Magneto also tells WolverineLogan that Stryker was the man who grafted [[adamantium]] onto his bones and is responsible for his amnesia. JeanGrey reads Nightcrawler's mind and determines that Stryker's base is underground in a dam at Alkali Lake.

Disguised as Logan, Mystique infiltrates Stryker's base., She letsletting the rest of the mutants in andwhile Magnetoshe and MystiqueMagneto gohead to disable Cerebro before the brainwashed Xavier can activate it. Storm and Nightcrawler rescue the captured students, and JeanGrey fights a mind-controlled Cyclops; their battle frees Cyclops but damages the dam, which begins to rupture. Logan finds Stryker in an adamantium smelting lab and remembers it as where he received his adamantium skeleton. Logan fights and kills Yuriko, then chases Stryker to a helicopter pad and chains him to the helicopter's wheel. Magneto stops Cerebro and, using Mystique impersonating Stryker to command Jason, has Xavier redirect its powers on humans. The two subsequently use Stryker's helicopter to escape, accompanied by Pyro, who has been swayed to Magneto's views. Nightcrawler teleports Storm inside Cerebro, where she creates a snowstorm to break Jason's concentration and free Xavier from his control.

The X-Men flee the dam as water engulfs it, killing Stryker, but the X-Jet loses all power and struggles to take flight as the flood water rushes towards them. JeanGrey sneaks off the jet and telepathically wishes the team goodbye. She holds back the water and raises the jet above it as flames erupt from her body, until she lets go and allows the flood to crash down upon her, presumably killing her. The X-Men give Stryker's files to the presidentPresident, and Xavier warns him that humans and mutants must work together to build peace. Back at the school, Xavier, Cyclops, and Logan remember JeanGrey, and Xavier begins to hold a class. Meanwhile, a [[Phoenix Force (comics)|Phoenix-like shape]] rises from the flooded Alkali Lake.

* [[Brian Cox (actor)|Brian Cox]] as [[William Stryker|William Stryker]]: A military scientist who plans a worldwide [[genocide]] of mutants using Xavier and Cerebro. Stryker has experimented on mutants in the past, including Wolverine, and uses a serum to control them—using his own son as the test subject. Singer opted to cast Cox in the role as he was a fan of his performance as [[Hannibal Lecter]] in ''[[Manhunter (film)|Manhunter]]''.<ref name="singeraudio">[[Bryan Singer|Singer, Bryan]], [[Newton Thomas Sigel|Sigel, Newton Thomas]], DVD [[audio commentary]], 2003, [[20th Century Fox]]</ref>

Producer [[Lauren Shuler Donner]] had hoped to start filming in March 2002,<ref name="xcons" /> but production did not begin until June 17, 2002 in [[Vancouver]] and ended by November.<ref name="greg">{{cite web |last=Schmitz |first=Greg Dean |title=Greg's Preview – ''X2: X-Men United'' |publisher=[[Yahoo!]] |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808406654 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080109062934/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/preview/1808406654 |archive-date=January 9, 2008}}</ref> Over sixty-four sets were used in thirty-eight different locations.<ref name="X2" /> The film crew encountered problems when there was insufficient snow in [[Kananaskis Improvement District|Kananaskis, Alberta]] for them to use for some scenes. A large amount of [[fake snow]] was then applied.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.movieroomreviews.com/x2-x-men-united/motw-why-x2-one-best-superhero-movies-148962 |title=MOTW: Why "X2" is one of the best Superhero Movies. |publisher=Movie Room Reviews |date=June 3, 2013 |access-date=August 24, 2015 |archive-date=June 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604083843/http://www.movieroomreviews.com/x2-x-men-united/motw-why-x2-one-best-superhero-movies-148962 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="update">{{cite news |last=Allstetter |first=Rob |title=''X2'' Update |publisher=Comics Continuum |date=December 1, 2003 |url=http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0312/01/index.htm |access-date=February 18, 2008 |archive-date=May 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504160036/http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0312/01/index.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> While filming the scene where Xavier and Lehnsherr play chess, Stewart and McKellen had no clue how to play chess so a Canadian grandmaster was called on set for a day.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blackfilm.com/20030502/features/patrickstewart.shtml|title=May 2003 &#124; blackfilm.com &#124; features &#124; interviews &#124; x2 (x-men united) : an interview with patrick stewart|website=blackfilm.com}}</ref> Cinematographer [[Newton Thomas Sigel]] and two stunt drivers nearly died when filming the scene in which [[Pyro (Marvel Comics)|Pyro]] has a dispute with [[police officer]]s.<ref name="singeraudio" /> [[James Bamford (stunt coordinator)|James Bamford]] worked as [[Hugh Jackman]]'s stunt double for rehearsals until he suffered an injury; due to Bamford's looks, Singer asked him to play the role of [[Gambit (comics)|Gambit]] for a [[cameo appearance]], but Gambit's scene was deleted from the film's final cut.<ref name="BamfordX2">{{cite web |last=Sauriol |first=Patrick |date=April 28, 2003 |title=X2's Gambit tells his story |url=http://www.mania.com/38444.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071201062254/http://www.mania.com/38444.html |archive-date=December 1, 2007 |access-date=September 21, 2021 |website=Mania Movies}}</ref> According to Alan Cumming, Singer began berating the cast which lead to Halle Berry saying to Singer "you can kiss my black ass".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/halle-berry-bryan-singer-kiss-my-ass-b1942962.html | title=Halle Berry told X-Men director Bryan Singer to 'kiss my Black ass' | website=[[Independent.co.uk]] | date=October 21, 2021 }}</ref> Cumming would also later say that working on the film was a "bad experience".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/alan-cumming-x-men-dangerous-abusive-164435956.html | title=Alan Cumming: The 'X-Men 2' set was a 'dangerous, abusive' situation | date=November 12, 2021 }}</ref>