By Stephen Pytak 

     Bryan Singer is obviously having some serious 
fun.
     I don't know how else to explain in simple terms 
why "X2" works as well as it does.
     Not unlike the big super-hero flicks of the day, 
the "X-Men" sequel is a big-budget, two-plus-hour 
epic with an ensemble cast and a ton of special 
effects.
     But it beats the competition when it comes to 
execution.
     Why?
     All I can figure is Singer is enjoying himself 
behind the camera.
     He obviously cares a heck a lot about character 
accuracy.
     For instance, he makes sure there's a cool cloud 
of blue smoke just as "Nightcrawler" disappears 
with a BAMPF! Oh yeah. He gets the sound effect 
right too.
     But the director also takes comic-book action to 
whole new levels  without apology or regret.
     There's a fight with a machine gun in Xavier's 
School.
     The total body count in this flick would impress 
the killer from "Friday the 13th."
     And this time out, "Mystique" gets to express 
some attitude with a cool pop off.
     God. Whotta film!
     Whatever his secret is, Singer's got the right 
formula for "X-Men" and I'm hoping he decides to 
stay with the cast for future installments.
     When I saw "X2" for the first time, I was ready to 
see it again.
     Later, my brother asked me what my favorite 
scene was.
     Very tough question.
     But we talked about the scenes we really liked.
     Many involved "Wolverine."
     His fight with "Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu)" 
was a showstopper, but so were some of Logan's 
flashbacks. 
     One, no doubt, would rank on horror critic 
Chas. Balun's Gore Score. 
     Singer's doing a heck of a lot of justice to this 
character and, from what I hear, he and Jackman 
are talking about putting Logan in a film of his 
own. I say go for it.
     My brother thought Brian Cox did a fine job as 
the villain. 
     Cox, who's known for playing "Hannibal Lecter" 
in Michael Mann's "Manhunter (1986)," starred as 
"William Stryker," the mutant-hating military 
scientist who supposedly gave Wolverine his claws.
     He turns the screws on our mutant heroes with 
relish and big hairy smiles.
     His fate we found hilarious.
     I don't know if any critics talked at all about 
Mystique, but I have to give her credit.
     The blue skinned metamorph is given a much 
bigger role this time out. And she's extremely fun to 
watch and scores points for attitude.
       Halle Berry, meanwhile, offers us soul.
       We'll, she's also the best looking of the bunch.
But what her performance as "Storm" will be
remembered for ultimately will be her definitions of
anger.
       Some we get with words, in conversations with
"Nightcrawler."
       "Sometimes anger can help you survive," she 
says with hesitant conviction.
       But the ones that are really haunting are the
displays of her power. Her whole person changes
as she creates wind, dark clouds, lightning and
tornadoes. Those white eyes stick with you. Nobody
can wear them better.
     It's hard to stand out with an ensemble cast like 
this.
     And, it's hard to mention everyone without 
writing some serious essay, or a book.
     But everyone deserves credit. And I hope this 
team sticks together. This is the best super-hero 
movie series we got right now, thanks to each and 
every one of them.