I mentioned weeks ago that Jordan asked me to see if X2: X-Men United is a chiasmus, and I agreed. Unfortunately, I got very sick shortly after that, so it took me quite a while to make good on that promise. But I’ve mostly recovered my health, and I have finally figured out that yes, indeed, X2 is an extraordinarily symmetrical film.

Jordan is the same incredibly gifted reader who has an unblemished record of recommending films that turn out to be chiasma. He’s already recommended Tron, Escape from New York, Dreamscape, Akira, Conan the Barbarian, Scream, Goldfinger, and Revenge of the Sith. And all of them turned into amazing articles.

Let’s cut to the chase and see how X2’s chiasmus looks!

The Chiasmus

Each beat in the first half of X2 gets repeated in reverse order in the second half of the film. Here’s what that looks like.

A. Professor Charles Xavier’s voiceover warns of the potential for war between mutants and humans
 B. A group of people get a tour of the White House, not knowing that a mutant is hiding among them
  C. The President of the United States is nearly killed in the Oval Office during a mutant attack, and there’s a threatening message attached to Nightcrawler’s knife
   D. Logan arrives at the Weapon X base, and he discovers that there’s nothing left of it in the snow
    E. During a peaceful history lesson at a mall, a mutant boy sticks out his blue lizard-like tongue at a rude girl
     F. Jean Grey’s powers start to get out of control, and Scott Summers promises not to let her get hurt
      G. John and Bobby engage in a small fight with a human, and it ends when Xavier freezes every human in the mall
       H. Xavier talks with his mutants about the attack on the president, which turns out to be orchestrated by William Stryker
        I. Stryker proposes a military strike on Xavier’s school to capture children
         J. Mystique (disguised as Senator Kelly) tries to see Eric in prison, but Stryker emphatically says no
          K. Logan returns to the mansion and is given an assignment by Storm and Jean
           L. Stryker interrogates Magneto about Cerebro to build a copy of it
            M. Xavier allows Logan to come into Cerebro and avoids his questions that would lead to Stryker
             N. Storm and Jean leave the mansion in the X-Jet to catch a rogue mutant
              O. Mystique impersonates Lady Deathstrike to sneak into Stryker’s office but is unable to find where Stryker’s hidden base is while probing his computer. Mystique leaves shortly after without being discovered as a mutant
               P. Storm knocks a beam out from under Nightcrawler, causing him to fall. Jean grabs Nightcrawler out of the air and patches his wounds
                Q. Magneto gets visited by Xavier in prison, telling him of the attacks he’s suffered
                 R. Scott and Xavier get captured by Stryker’s men
                  S. Xavier’s mansion is attacked by soldiers, and Logan meets Stryker but is stopped by Bobby’s ice wall at Rogue’s insistence
                   T. Logan finds a communication device in Scott’s car as they drive to Boston to find Storm and Jean
                    U. Stryker gets Cerebro to open up, making the computer think that he’s Xavier
                     V. Mystique injects iron into Magneto’s guard while Stryker talks to Xavier about the pain of being the father of a mutant
                      W. Bobby arrives at his parents’ home and finds no one inside
                       X. Bobby and Rogue kiss in a move that could kill him
                       X. A cat licks Wolverine’s claws without realizing it could have been killed
                      W. Bobby’s parents arrive home and find Logan and others inside
                     V. Magneto extracts the iron from his guard’s blood as Bobby tells his parents he’s a mutant despite the pain it causes them
                    U. Nightcrawler opens up to Storm, expressing lofty thoughts that sound like they could come from Xavier
                   T. Jean calls Logan on his communication device and says she and Storm are coming to pick him up in the X-Jet
                  S. Bobby’s house is surrounded by police officers, and John attacks them with fire until Rogue takes his power and stops him
                 R. Xavier gets imprisoned in his mind by Stryker’s son Jason
                Q. The X-Jet gets visited by fighter planes trying to get it to surrender, and they attack
               P. Nightcrawler saves Rogue after she falls out of the X-Jet. Magneto grabs the X-Jet out of the air and patches the hole in it
              O. Mystique impersonates Jean to get into Logan’s tent after Jean learns where Stryker’s hidden base is by probing Nightcrawler’s mind. Mystique leaves shortly after her true identity is discovered by Logan
             N. Storm and Jean fly the X-Jet to Alkali Lake to save their mutant friends
            M. Mystique sneaks into the control room of a hidden base by impersonating Logan and Stryker
           L. Stryker tells a guard to meet him outside his own copy of Cerebro
          K. Logan walks away from Storm and Jean to settle an old score
         J. Jason (disguised as a little girl) tells Xavier to find every mutant, and Stryker tells his men to kill anyone who approaches, even if they look like him
        I. Jean fights Scott while kids from Xavier’s school get rescued
       H. Xavier looks for all the mutants in the world in an attack that is orchestrated by Stryker
      G. Wolverine engages in a big fight with Lady Deathstrike, and it ends when he freezes her with adamantium
     F. Xavier’s powers get misused and out of control, and he begins to hurt every mutant and then every human he’s sworn to protect
    E. During a hasty escape from the Alkali Lake facility, a mutant boy sticks out his blue lizard-like tongue at Stryker
   D. The X-Jet leaves the Weapon X base, and Jean stays behind and disappears without a trace in the rushing water
  C. The President of the United States is visited by friendly mutants in the Oval Office during a speech, and he receives a file containing evidence about the earlier attack
 B. Xavier discusses Jean’s past with his mutants in the mansion, and Logan lets Scott know that Jean revealed her true feelings for Scott
A. Jean’s voiceover repeats Xavier’s words from the first film introducing mutants

Just the Start?

When I looked at Back to the Future Part II and Aliens as examples of Cinematic Chiasmus years ago, I had no idea that I’d eventually learn that the first and third films in their respective trilogies also mirror each other. I’m not sure if X-Men and X-Men: The Last Stand will fall into that same category. They do begin and end with Magneto using his powers. Or maybe they could be like the Sam Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy and each film could be its own self-contained chiasmus. There are quite a few films in the X-Men series, especially when you include the Wolverine and Deadpool trilogies.

Whatever the case, let’s focus on X2: X-Men United for now, shall we? There are a lot of obvious similarities, like the voiceovers at the beginning and end (A.), the U.S. president surrounded by mutants in the Oval Office (C), and the mutant boy’s blue tongue (E).

As we keep going, though, the similarities get even more interesting. I especially like the midair rescue involving Nightcrawler and the patching up of wounds at P, Mystique impersonating another woman to gain access to a place she doesn’t belong at O, Charles Xavier’s physical and mental imprisonment at R, and Magneto’s escape being set up and paid off at the same point (V).

And how about that chiasmus at X of all places? How poetic. There are two X’s at the center of X2’s chiasmus. I was actually a little surprised at how this film’s turning point turned out. It contrasts the serious with the humorous. I could have done it differently where the two similar moments begin when Rogue and Bobby kiss the first time briefly. But then Rogue gets greedy and kisses him too long. He has to break it off before she really hurts him or knocks him out. That would be a much more serious turning point.

I feel like that doesn’t quite express this film’s tone, though. It deals with heavy topics and potential planet-wide genocide, but it also throws in a lot of moments of levity. I think the turning point I described captures the heaviness and fun that this film balances so deftly. Plus, Wolverine is at the center of this big ensemble movie, so it would be unfortunate to leave him out of the most crucial part of the chiasmus: the middle.

Those are my thoughts on X2’s chiasmus. I hope this extraordinary example of Cinematic Chiasmus lived up to your expectations. I’d like to thank Jordan for recommending this film. It was a pleasure to revisit it and remember why X2 was considered the best film in the X-Men series for quite a long time.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

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