X Men 2

X Men 2 literally bursts into action in kaleidoscopic editing of an assailant disappearing and reappearing into and out of inky nothingness. An apparent attempt on the President’s life, in the oval office no less, by our beloved mutants sets an unsettling scenario. As we don’t recognize the character from the original X Men, intrigue is obviously afoot. X Men 2 revisits the mutant culture of comic book fame with original X Men Patrick Stewart (Xavier), Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Halle Berry (Storm), James Marsden (Cyclops), Anna Paquin (Rogue) and Famke Janssen (Dr. Grey) and bad guy mutants Ian McKellen (Magneto), Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (Mystique.) Plenty of young newcomers with unknown affiliations are Kelly Hu (Yuriko/Deathstrike) Aaron Stanford (Pyro), Michael Reid MacKay as beleagered Jason 143, Shawn Ashmore (Iceman), Daniel Cudmore (Colossus), Kea Wong (Jubiliee)…and more new young characters than room in this column allows. The pivotal new mutant with a complex value system and true depth of character is Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler—an excellent performance. We learn more of Wolverine’s mysterious past as his character is expanded for the storyline of X Men 2 in a very satisfying film experience, albeit a tad more violent than necessary for the story development (read gratuitous), and definitely a big screen viewing must. Brought to us by 20th Century Fox and filming collaborators.

METAPHYSICAL OVERVIEW Mutation in evolution is a spontaneous and almost instantaneous reshuffling of genetic material in a species. It is not a comic book fantasy for our species to encounter such offspring, though it would happen a bit differently. And if it did, how would we greet these beings? Exploring the complexities of cultural acceptance are timely and hopefully not lost on the viewers.

Chow Yun Fat skips lightly over roof tops, down—and up—walls, in similar fashion to his acting experience in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which might cause the viewer a sense of déjà vu. Grasshopper for this film is Seann William Scott, rather than Ziyi Zhang, certainly not the same league, but no matter. Scott’s winsome smile, reminiscent of Harrison Ford, is surmounted by a certain acting style and screen presence that overcomes the fleeting daydream of whether he would have made a better Indiana Jones than Harrison Ford. This generation’s new pretty face delivers a sound performance, whilst giving just the right amount of unselfconscious joie de vivre to his role as the prophesied recipient of this film’s precious artifact—the scroll. Scott’s acting has really matured in the five years since his first Stifler appearance in American Pie—surprisingly entertaining. MGM distributed this five company collaboration.

METAPHYSICAL OVERVIEW Acceptance of realities in which one can "move through air as if swimming in the sea or stepping on it as one would pebbles above water" is to the enlightened (suggestible?) mind an obvious possibility.

WB’s six-company collaboration, What A Girl Wants lightly romps from the US abroad to the UK, with young Amanda Bynes’ own brand of brightness assisting a fairly tried and true scenario of a daughter discovering her royal blood, contributed by Lord Dashwood (Colin Firth) who is rather inexplicably not brought into the ‘loop’ until Bynes’ character is approaching her sixteenth birthday.

UPCOMING MAY RELEASES It’s time for Matrix 2! Watch for The Matrix Reloaded, opening May 15th. Another Warner Brothers shoo-in is a remake of The In-Laws, with Michael Douglas and Albert Brooks. A USA Films collaboration, The Shape of Things with Paul Rudd (Clueless), Gretchen Mol and Rachel Weisz (Confidence, About A Boy, The Mummy Returns) should also be a crowd pleaser.

UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS May 3rd-4th Bo Svenson Actors Workshop, May 31st-June 1st Horse stunt clinic, June 12th-15th Las Vegas Screenwriting Conference. CineVegas is set for June 15th-21st. Inquire at cpatterson@lvcm.com.

A Metaphysical, Spiritual, Holistic Publication   |   In Light Times   |   Issue Index