Brian Singer’s “X-Men” tried to pack bits and pieces of nearly 40 years of Marvel lore into a 90-minute movie on a shoestring budget. His follow-up, “X2: X-Men United,” refined the characters and storyline into a more manageable and, ultimately, more entertaining chunk of fanboy cinema.

The success of “X-Men” was blamed for a rash of poorly produced and written pieces of comic book pulp that never fully represented the books or their characters (“League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and “Daredevil” – I am looking in your direction). “X2” went a long way to ditch the schlock tag of its genre by presenting compelling characters and an interesting storyline that could be enjoyed by someone who didn’t know Stan Lee from Walt Disney.

With the “X2” DVD release, Fox wisely chose to offer a two-disc package from the get-go, without waiting for fan approval to release a special edition. Though loaded with features, the discs still leave a bit to be desired. Fox obviously went for quantity over quality.

The DVD contains commentary from Singer, cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel and the film’s writing/producing team, but it never sheds enough light on the film or its production. The viewer is instead treated to boring anecdotes about Singer’s previous directorial work and production staff members with cameos in the film.

“X2’s” second disc contains bonus material, but again the additional footage and extras don’t cut it. A brief history of “X-Men” is basic at best. Creator Lee retells stories about the books that are old news to fans. A Nightcrawler featurette glosses over the character and spends more time on the special effects that bring Kurt’s patented “BAMF” to life.

The deleted scenes are lackluster even if the viewer does see unseen characters like Jubilee or an extended cut of the fight between Wolverine and Deathstrike. Behind-the-scenes footage and making-of vignettes are dry and only informative as cast and crew walk the viewer through various aspects of production.

This isn’t to say “X2” isn’t an entertaining film. Singer took great strides in his depictions of Lee’s characters and the book’s underlying allegory of tolerance, racism and humanity. No film devoted to more than a single character is complete, and Fox should be commended for his ability to bring Marvel’s vision to life. But something with more depth than a puddle would have been nice for fans of the series rather than the majority of people who saw the film in theaters.