Why did anyone ever doubt Bryan Singer?

After seeing "X2" it's obvious that no one from Fox, Marvel Studios or the cast ever had any doubts that the director would top 2000's original "X-Men" film. And while "X-Men" was a film that re-ignited the comic book genre ("Spider-Man" was greenlit by Sony just a day after the studio saw X-Men's huge opening box office) "X2" takes the genre in a very different direction. From the visual effects, to the new cast members to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine, this is a virtually flawless science fiction epic.

The script, by numerous writers, including David Hayter, Singer, Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris starts off just a few weeks after the events of "X-Men" and transitions seamlessly into a tale of mutant-phobia and war. For a film that was begun well before 9-11 or the war in Iraq it touches on almost every issue in the headlines today. Coming in at two hours and 15 minutes, the film begins with an attack on the President by a mutant and then leaps into an attack on the Xavier school before long.

In all honesty, it's hard to not give too much away and still really get across how amazing this film is as both social commentary and action film. Brian Cox is flawless as General William Stryker, a man with connections to Wolverine's past and ties to the White House. Halle Berry gets a more developed roll in the film as Storm and really shines as the filmmakers decided to use more of her powers in the sequel. Shawn Ashmore's Iceman gets a ton more screen time this go around in the film and really fleshes out his character into someone fans will immediately enjoy. Ian McKellen's Magneto is just as militant as he was in the first but more sympathetic after fans see just how he's been treated in his plastic prison. And of course, there's Jackman's Wolverine. After the claws are popped for the first time, it's a fanboy's wet dream-most of the film's most violent scenes are between Jackman and the bad guys of the film and who would want it any other way. But the real breakout character from "X2" will almost certainly be Alan Cumming's Nightcrawler. The blue, furry elf comes very close to stealing the show from Wolverine. The visual effects of Nightcrawler's trademark teleporting (BAMF!) is stunning. Nightcrawler himself is also stunning, a perfect mix of sad, funny and even scary. Cumming delivers a performance that's sure to break him out of the indy films circuit and put him in line as a top Hollywood prospect.