You many have noticed product placements in moives have become more frequent in recent years. From the product laden James Bond films, to subtile cans of soda on the counter in your favorite sitcom, product placement is a way for producers to help with rising costs of entertainment. How well the product is integrated into the story makes a difference between an obvious commercial attempt, vs a simulation of real life.

Xmen 2: Xmen United had its share of product placement, from the Dr. Pepper bottle, to the MGD. However, the star of the product placement in X2 was: the RX-8.

Fox has been hyping Xmen2 for quite a while, and with good reason, it marks the first of many summer blockbusters for 2003. Joining in the hype this time, for the first time, is Mazda. Their commercials of the RX-8 Xcar were shown starting a week before the release of the movie, and their press releases started October 2002, and production leaks date to August 2002. But could this hype stand up a paying audience? Yes.

Without going into a full review of the moive, X2 was a better movie than the first Xmen movie. The character development was better, there was more action, and a darker feel to the whole flick. But what we at this site are interested in is the RX-8, and more importantly the rotary engine. First off, the RX-8 sounded like a rotary. The audio people did a great job capturing the essence of a rotary's sound, and making it roar in the theater. Next, the RX-8 looked great. The audience reacted with oohs and aahs (really, no joke) when they showed the RX-8. More than a few comments like "damn, that's a sweet car," and "ooh, that's cool" could be heard from the younger members of the audience (say from 17-22 year old range). Lastly, the car did the job it was meant to do, without overstating its presence. Something that the product placement editors should be proud of.

All of this leads up to one question, has the rotary revolution started? Again, the answer is yes. It is under way, and with good sales of the RX-8 propped up by its appearance in X2, we could very well see more rotary power on the road than ever before.