I just watched "X2" again and it's still my favourite movie of the 2000s (2000-2009). As soon as "Spider-Man 2" came out, everyone seemed to forget about it and think of it as passé, clearly outclassed and no longer relevant or worthy of mention in the conversation about superior comic book movies. When "Iron Man" came out, it was further buried, and "The Dark Knight" was the final nail in the coffin of its relevance. It's practically forgotten now, considered a relic of a genre that has matured by leaps and bounds, leaving it exposed as a shallow lark was only praised upon release because the genre was in its infancy and it was only adequate compared to the mediocre dreck that had been produced up to that point. A big fish in a small pond.
I vehemently oppose this reasoning. I sort of get it. A movie with an ensemble cast like that is harder for people to get emotionally invested in. They want superhero movies that focus on a single individual so they can root for him and consider it more poignant because they get more moved by his personal individual struggles. I don't think the fact they're centered around one hero rather than a whole team of them automatically makes more recent comic books movies better, though.
When I was saw "Spider-Man 2", I was infuriated by all the melodrama about how much Peter Parker's life sucks. Yeah, it's good to have that in the movie to make the character more sympathetic and to give his dilemma more poignancy, but I thought they laid it on a bit too thick (i.e. Peter being attacked by a bunch of backpacks). Watching the movie several times on DVD, I appreciated it more than I had when seeing it at the movies, but I still think it gets too melodramatic at times. The best parts of the movie are the action sequences in which Spider-Man fights Doctor Octopus, yet it seems like many consider the drama in Peter's personal life to be what elevates it to a masterpiece of its genre. "The Dark Knight" is great except for some stupid plot stuff (the sonar shit was lame for example) and Bale's shitty-ass hero voice. "Iron Man" was brought to a screeching halt by the cave sequence which just felt like a dull retread of "Batman Begins", but it recovered nicely and the rest of the movie was fine, if not spectacular.
"X2" doesn't have a larger-than-life, flamboyantly dressed villain like Doctor Octopus or The Joker to give it the iconography of the Batman and Spider-Man sequels, but in the places where it counts most (plot, character, dialog, and tone), I think it succeeds more. I love Brian Cox's performance as Stryker. So supremely confident, gleefully cruel, and delivering smart and memorable dialog with wonderful malice. The same goes for Ian Mckellan as Magneto. Then there's plenty of thoughtful, intelligent, and even touching character beats for Iceman, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Rogue. The character development for all of them is brief, but effective. Mystique is a joy to watch too. She doesn't have a lot of scenes or dialog, but everything she does and says is enthralling. Lady Deathstrike was terrific too, it's just a shame she had only one line and was pretty much just a thug put in the movie for the purpose of one action sequence. I don't really care since that scene ruled so hard. The only real drag was how frustratingly underused Professor X and Cyclops were (especially Xavier...kind of a waste of a great actor). That movie is criminally underrated.
Back on topic, I watched "Danger: Diabolik" based partially on the recommendations in this thread and I liked it a hell of a lot more than some of the more 'sophisticated' comic books movies we've had in the last few years. Beats the hell out of the first Batman, X-Men, and Spider-Man movies. It's weird how it looks so campy like the Batman '60s TV series, but is pretty much played straight without wisecracks. I loved every minute of it, from the gaudy, imaginative production design to the icy, but engaging lead performance, and the Bond-ish villain (the trap door on his plane is one of the greatest things I've ever seen in a live action movie). I think it's a good time to start re-doing these lists, what with all the comic book movies coming out this summer. I plan to re-think mine after seeing a few. I would definitely have a place for "Danger: Diabolik" now.
