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X2: X-Men United

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 11, age appropriate for kids over 13; suggested age 11.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    Bigger and badder than #1, but still a blast.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 11–13

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    A metaphorical theme of the movie.
  • Violence:

    Intense action sequences and peril. Peril.
  • Sex:

    Some kissing, some revealing outfits.
  • Language:

    Mild.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Character smokes cigars.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of X2: X-Men United was written by Nell Minow

Parents need to know that the movie has violence that's pretty intense and graphic, even if it is "comic book style." Characters are injured, and some die. There are some mild sexual situations and references.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the way the story uses the fights over the mutants as a metaphor for struggles over racism and other forms of bigotry. Or, they could simply ask which movie their kids liked better and why.
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More on X2: X-Men United

What’s the Story?

The ubiquitous Brian Cox (of Adaptation, The 25th Hour, The Ring, and The Rookie) as Colonel Stryker wants to wipe out the mutants. Stryker and his soldiers invade the school run by wise and benevolent mutant Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart). They capture Xavier and some of the students. Stryker plans to use Xavier's brain and the machine he developed to track down and destroy every mutant. Meanwhile, Magneto (Ian McKellan) is in an enormous plastic prison, unable to use his powers because they require metal. He is able to get out after metal is smuggled in to him, and must work with Xavier's mutants (the X-Men), his former enemies, to defeat Stryker.

Is It Any Good?

X2: X-MEN UNITED is bigger, badder, and better than the first one, but in essence, what we said the first time about special effects, attractive stars, fun action sequences, and the perfect popcorn-movie tone applies to this one, too.

That said, while this movie is all about the action, there are so many characters that it's hard to include them all in anything meaningful, giving parts of the movie the feel of a prolongued introduction. The comic fans want to see every character up on the screen, and the movie tries to make it happen. But the result is that it is hard for people who are not familiar with the stories to keep everyone straight or develop much of a commitment to any of them. Halle Berry and Anna Paquin in particular are still criminally underused. The most memorable character is Mystique, played by Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, who is so good that she can even act under all that blue paint and those sequin-like scales. Alan Cummings is a welcome addition as Nightcrawler, but his German accent and Biblical references seem out of place and attracted some laughter from the audience. This is handled with more sensitivity in the comic books, where he is portrayed as a devout Catholic.

Movie Details

Studio: Twentieth Century Fox, Director: Bryan Singer
Run time: 135 minutes
Theatrical release: 5/2/2003, DVD release: 11/25/2003
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action/violence, some sexuality and brief language

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    X2 X-Men United is an exciting and fun movie that is a great adaptation of the X-Men franchise, and is a great way to spend two hours. However violence is a constant in this film including stabbing, drugging someone against there will, and punching/kicking others. Another large part of the movie is the sexuality which is a little scary. This includes Mystique and a men kissing each other passionately while stumbling around a bathroom, then going into a stall (still kissing) and Mystique starts taking off clothing. Then Mystique lays on a bed with Wolverine and kisses. The official review was not very accurate. Copy and paste this link to see a scene from the movie I mentioned in my review... www.hulu.com/watch/13146/x2-x-men-united-bottoms-up. Here's a good comment though Rebecca Romijn is really hot and quite attractive in this film scene.

  2. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    To much sexual content...

    X2 X-Men United is an exciting and fun movie that is a great adaptation of the X-Men franchise, and is a great way to spend two hours. However violence is a constant in this film including stabbing, drugging someone against there will, and punching/kicking others. Another large part of the movie is the sexuality which is a little scary. This includes Mystique and a men kissing each other passionately while stumbling around a bathroom, then going into a stall (still kissing) and Mystique starts taking off clothing. Then Mystique lays on a bed with Wolverine and kisses. The official review was not very accurate. Click this link to see a scene from the movie I mentioned in my review... www.hulu.com/watch/13146/x2-x-men-united-bottoms-up

  3. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    X2 X-Men United is an exciting and fun movie that is a great adaptation of the X-Men franchise, and is a great way to spend two hours. However violence is a constant in this film including stabbing, drugging someone against there will, and punching/kicking others. Another large part of the movie is the sexuality which is a little scary. This includes Mystique and a men kissing each other passionately while stumbling around a bathroom, then going into a stall (still kissing) and Mystique starts taking off clothing. Then Mystique lays on a bed with Wolverine and kisses. The official review was not very accurate.

  4. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in Pennsylvania
    I rate this title iffy for age 7 and give it 5.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content
    • Inappropriate language
    • Drinking, smoking, or drug use
    • My highlights are:
    • Good role models

    LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA ELMO'S WORLD

    KITTY is da bomb! sexual concerns in bathroom. Mstquitic is sexually confused

  5. Kid Reviewer Age 11
    Lives in Ohio
    I rate this title iffy for age 11 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    okay for tweens

    I loved this movie but the common sense review was not good. Parents need to know that there kids are watching people stab each other for like half the movie. there isn't much blood but there's a LOT of violence. characters kiss but other than that no sexy stuff. A character sticks up their middle finger. there's d--k, d--m, and h--l. One character kind of scared me. he made these illusions where he was a freaky little girl that's pretty scary. over all a great movie.

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