Search - X2: X-Men United [Widescreen] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Adult Language, Sci-Fi Violence, Suitable for Teens Movie Release: 2003 DVD Release: 11/25/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French, Spanish Subtitles: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 2 hrs 14 mins Studio: 20th Century Fox Total Copies: 129 Genres: Action, Fantasy, Superhero Film, Sci-Fi Action See Also: X2: X-Men United [Fullscreen], X2: X-Men United [Fullscreen], X2: X-Men United [Widescreen], X-2: X-Men United [UMD for PSP], X-2: X-Men United [Steelbook], X-2: X-Men United [Widescreen], X2: X-Men United [Widescreen] [Blu-ray]

When a failed assassination attempt occurs on the President's (Cotter Smith) life by the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), it's Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his School for Gifted Youngsters who are targeted for the crime. While Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) try and locate the assassin, Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier (also known as 'Professor X') seek answers from their old foe Magneto (Ian McKellan) in his glass cell...Little do they know they're walking into a trap set by the villainous William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious governmental figure that figures into Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) secretive past, along with information about the X-Men's operation, supplied by Magneto through a mind-controlling agent. Meanwhile Wolverine, just home from a failed mission to regain his memory, is in charge of the students when a crack-commando team led by Stryker infiltrates the school by order of the President. With a mansion full of young, powerful mutants and the ferocious Wolverine in babysitter mode, can he defend the school against the one man who can answer his questions? What roles do the sinister Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) have in all of this? Why does Stryker want Professor X and his Cerebro machine? With the war between humanity and mutants escalating to extremes, can the rest of the X-Men trust their old foes to help them? Director Bryan Singer returns and raises the stakes in this sequel to the highly lauded 2000 adaptation of Marvel Comics' -X-Men. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Patrick Stewart - Prof. Charles Xavier, AKA 'Professor X'
Hugh Jackman - Wolverine
Ian McKellen - Magneto
Halle Berry - Storm

X2: X-Men United explodes onto DVD in 20th Century Fox's two-disc widescreen edition (also available in the full-screen edition). With superb picture and sound quality, the disc is a technical wonder that'll no doubt give your home entertainment system a thorough workout. Its 2.35:1 widescreen picture superbly displays the film's vibrant colors and sharp imaging, while both the 5.1 DTS and Dolby tracks are bombastic in tone and perfect for John Ottman's rousing score. Loads of bonus features await the viewer, with the disc one's two commentaries starting things off with a bang. First off is director Bryan Singer and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel's track, which finds the two in good spirits as they discuss the upsides of working on the sequel (along with a few hints at what's to come in the third film). The other commentary is more of an ensemble piece, with producers Lauren Shuler-Donner and Ralph Winter holding court with the original writer David Hayter and the team that put their final stamp on the script -- Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty. Surprisingly, the second track is still just as entertaining as the first, considering the fact that producer tracks tend to be more than a little dry. After listening to both, you can't deny the confidence and fun that the filmmakers obviously felt -- an almost complete contrast to the first film (as can be heard through Singer's commentary on the =X-Men 1.5 DVD).

The second disc is where the real goodies are. Split up between seven different sections, the extras cover the History of the X-Men, Pre-Production, Production, Post-Production, Deleted Scenes, Galleries, and Trailers. Within the History of the X-Men, you get "The Secret Origin of X-Men" and "Nightcrawler Reborn" featurettes, which cover the comic's history and the first film, along with a special look at the -Nightcrawler prequel comic published by Marvel. Following that is the Pre-Production section, starting off with a multi-angle study of the visceral opening Nightcrawler scene, which is composed of the entire scene's early animatics all the way through the various steps that eventually make the final composited shot. Pre-Production continues with featurettes chronicling the challenges and improvements that the superheroes' highly realized world demanded of production designer Guy Dyas and costume designer Louise Mingebach in the sequel. Mingebach especially comes off quite charming in a very non-Hollywood way, giving the disc its most priceless moment when she sputters while discussing dressing the film's hunky star, Hugh Jackman. Next up is the packed-to-the-gills Production section, most of which focuses on Alan Cummings' task of bringing Nightcrawler to life though movement training and arduous makeup appliances. Also included is a fight rehearsal for the Wolverine/Deathstrike battle, a 23-minute visual effects featurette, and most importantly, a strangely worded, yet highly engrossing documentary on the making of the sequel -- "The Second Uncanny Issue of X-Men: Making of X2." Clocking in at just about an hour long, the feature consists of a flurry of interviews, along with loads of behind-the-scenes footage from the film.

Extras on disc two continue with the Post-Production section, where you can find a featurette on John Ottman and his incredible score for the second installment of the series, the first of which was denied to him due to scheduling conflicts, along with some interview highlights from the X2 Global Webcast. The Deleted Scenes section features 11 deleted/extended scenes, where you'll find a more brutal take on the Wolverine/Deathstrike fight, along with a few throwaway bits and character appearances (such as Jubilee, for any comic fans out there). Finally, there's an extremely packed Galleries section (with peeks into the unfilmed Danger Room sequence, the set of which was built and stored for future installments), along with a Trailers section that includes the first, hardly seen internet-only teaser (!). In all, this two-disc set is a home video marvel that delivers where the first DVD release of =X-Men did not. Recommended for any fan or mutant lover in your household. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide