X2: X-Men United [Blu-ray]

As Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) searches for clues to his shrouded past, a new enemy rises: William Stryker (Brian Cox), a sinister military scientist obsessed with ridding the world of the "mutant menace." Can an uneasy alliance between Magneto (Ian McKellen) and the X-Men stop him before he carries out his genocidal plot? Alan Cumming joins the fray as blue-skinned teleporter Nightcrawler in Bryan Singer's smash sequel; Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos co-star. 134 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English DTS HD 5.1 Master Audio, Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese Dolby Digital 5. 1; Subtitles: English (SDH), Spanish, Korean, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin; audio commentary; deleted scenes; featurettes; theatrical trailers; more. Two-disc set.

IX2/I does a fine job of picking up where IX-Men/I left off, giving fans more of what they liked the first time around. Under the serious-minded custody of returning director Bryan Singer, the second film of this Marvel comics franchise ups the ante on Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and the superhero mutants from the first film, pitting them against a mutant-hating scientist (Brian Cox) who's determined to wipe out the mutant race by tricking Xavier into abusing his telepathic powers. More a series of spectacles than a truly satisfying thriller, IX2/I introduces new mutant allies while giving each of the IX-Men/I alumni--notably the temporarily helpful Magneto (Ian McKellen)--their own time in the spotlight. Well aware of the parallels between "mutantism" and virulent intolerance in the real world, Singer lends real gravity to the proceedings, injecting dramatic urgency into a continuing franchise that, in lesser hands, might've grown patently absurd. I--Jeff Shannon/I