There has been a lull before a cinematic storm in recent weeks.

The lack of high profile, high quality movies looks set to make way for what will hopefully be a blistering summer of blockbusters.

Anticipation is cranked all the way up to 10 for the release of The Matrix Reloaded in a few weeks.

But it is X-Men 2 which has set the ball rolling, and while not as wonderful as many people are hoping and expecting, it still packs in plenty of thrills, spills and entertainment in its special effects laden 133 minutes.

The comic book heroes were a big hit last time out, but the feeling was always that something was being held back for the sequel. That proves to be very much the case, with a lot more bang for our buck in this densely plotted saga.

Mankind's mistrust of the Mutants continues. Professor Charles Xavier (Stewart) is still running his school for Mutant students with his X-Men, while the Prof's nemesis, Magneto (McKellen), is locked up in a plastic cell after his previous evil antics.

But dark deeds are afoot. Shapeshifting mutant Nightcrawler (Cumming) attempts to murder the US President, while renegade General William Stryker (Cox) hatches an elaborate plan which involves the kidnap of Xavier and an attempt to use Professor X's Cerebros contraption as a means of wiping out the world's Mutant population.

And so the X-Men - Wolverine (Jackman), Storm (Berry), Jean Grey (Janssen), Rogue (Anna Paquin), Cyclops (James Marsden) - spring into action, but first bring in Magneto and his sidekick Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) to help save Mutantkind.

You will need to concentrate to keep up with the story, but there is still plenty to admire and appreciate. The longer running time at least gives us more of the X-Men, and the chance for them to display their powers at full throttle. Wolverine remains the most charismatic and enigmatic (flashbacks hint at how he came to possess those fearsome knuckle-knives) and Jackman gives it his all physically, without going over the top in the thespian department.

But then all the actors manage to flesh out what were originally two-dimensional sketches. Both Janssen and Romijn-Stamos (her of the blue body paint) have more to do this time round, although the acting honours go to McKellen, who effortlessly glides from weirdy-beardy hero Gandalf in Lord Of The Rings to bad guy/good guy Magneto, a role he plays with a twinkle in his eye, but always with a hint of evil beneath those bushy eyebrows.

And let's not forget the special effects. There's nothing too showy - Storm's storms and Nightcrawlers disappearing/ reappearing act are the stand outs - but they are slick and seamless and help move the story along.

It's not all perfect. There is a lot of detail to pack into even 133 minutes, and the film begins to outstay its welcome about 15 minutes short of the closing credits. And there are too many characters for comfort to get to know and understand.

A good rather than a great film, X-Men 2 still delivers by the bucketload.

There is even an unexpected emotional wallop at the end which reminds us that, hey, Mutants may be human after all.