 Overseas critics are reviewing X-Men 2 a day ahead of its U.S. opening. (It apparently is opening overseas a day earlier because of the May Day labor holiday, which is not celebrated in the U.S.) Most appear to agree, it's a spectacular improvement on the original. Sandra Hall in the Sydney Morning Herald calls the film "infinitely lighter on its feet" than the first film. "This is a film which excites the eye without numbing the brain," she adds. Pavel Ivanov, in the Bulgarian English-language newspaper Sofia Echo comments: "Allowed to spend all the money he ever wanted, [director Bryan Singer] delivers a film that is tightly paced, and with a story that functions well within its defined universe. It is not our own, but there are exhilarating moments when we wish it were." BBC critic Darren Waters writes: "The golden rule of any blockbuster sequel is to give the audience more of everything - and in this respect at least, X-Men 2 does not disappoint." Mike Goodridge, writing for the British trade paper Screen International, says that the film rises above "the formulaic superhero realm" to produce "rousing blockbuster entertainment." Other critics are not so impressed, damning the film with faint praise. Writes Barbara Ellen in the London Times: "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." And Ong Sor Fern of the Singapore Straits Times concludes: "This summer blockbuster will please the peanut gallery, but more hardcore fans might mourn the loss of some of the brainy layering which made the first one such a joy." |
