X2. It doesn't have anything nearly as bad as "What happens to a toad when it gets struck by lightning?" I almost didn't buy the original X-Men DVD because of that line.

Another vote for X2. At least it had some decent action in it.

X-Men. I prefer the characterizations better in that one. The action was better in X-2 but there were some pretty dumb parts.

By dumb parts do you mean Halle berry as storm the worst actress ever.
As for pick X-men or X-2 that like Superman the movie or Superman 2,i can do that.
I love them both.

Another minority opinion here----X-Men by far for me. I didn't have any major gripes with X2 in regards to quality, but I just vastly preferred the story and the villains in the first one.

I just liked the idea that Magneto wasn't totally a bad guy.

I know that was shown in the FOX cartoon in the 90's as well...but i always liked the idea that it wasn't always the "you're my sworn enemy, prepare to die!". And even thought he hauled ass when he was done doing what he needed to do, everyone still worked together to help beat a bigger threat.

I loved both, but by the same factor that X-Men suffers (all the cut footage), it also gains a tight and fast action flick. I'm not big X-fan, but I knew enough of the backstories to get the movie (and spot the differences :) ), but like it was said, FX seems to play it every other hour, and if I find while surfing, I have to watch it.

I'm still kinda disappointed that the X-Men 1.5 DVD didn't have the extended cut. What was the reason given for that?

Both are good, but X-Men is better in my book. Sue it had flaws--a low budget, no truly great action scene, and a certain amount of cheese. But it had big virtues too, namely a great villain in Ian McKellan's Magneto and a strong storyline focused on two primary characters, Rogue and Wolverine.

X2 had a lot of moments that induce geekgasms in the hard-core X-audience--er, you know what I mean--but they just didn't mean much to the average moviegoer. Things like Colossus's cameo, Jean's death and Lady Deathstrike just seemed awkward and meaningless if you weren't already one of the converted.

(Lady Deathstrike especially. Pretty much all we ever heard about her was Brian Cox giving her a don't-ask-questions intro: "This is Lady Deathstrike. You'll be fighting her later. She's only here for the fight scene so don't worry about any pesky questions of motivation or character. Oh, and it would cost more money to pay for a speaking role, so don't expect her to talk either.")

The new characters like Pyro and Nightcrawler were fun but didn't have much to do, while many of the old characters--especially Magneto and Rogue--didn't have much to do either. Characters with no dramatic function (e.g. Storm) were already a problem in the first movie so I don't know why they felt compelled to cram in a bunch of new faces in the second. And while the action was better overall in X2, it still lacked a truly great super-hero team action scene.

Another vote for the minority.

X-Men>X2

I really like X-Men, but I love X2. They are my two favorite superhero/comic book movies.

X2-

Hated X-Men. LOVED X2.

That Statue of Liberty showdown was ridiculous. And as much as the "toad/lightning" line gets (rightfully) trashed, it cringe more at the "you're a dick" crack. Shit, I could have written that line... and I liked ISHTAR. What were we talking about?

I find that my love for X2 has dwindled since it's release. It's still a great film IMHO, but there have been better comic films since.

I still think it's better than the first though. In fact, I've had no desire whatsoever to revisit the first movie after seeing the second. It just feels so amateurish in comparison.

I disagree and think origins stories are one of the best parts of superhero/comic movies.

(But I voted for X2 in this poll because I think it's better than the first film, which really wasn't an origins type of movie.)

x2 more action and stronger story.

loved both
X-Men was like watching Lee/Kirby
however it was made even better with X2 (my favorite big screen comic book movie to date) which was like watching Claremont/Byrne

sadly X3 will likely read like one of the modern day hacks working on the X-Men series

Like them both. Had to go with X2.