Superhero movies are all the rage these days, with endless sequels, spinoffs and team-ups hitting the screen seemingly every month. An argument can be made that the comic-book movie craze can be traced back to 2000 when director Bryan Singer’s X-Men became a box-office smash, raking in just under $300 million worldwide.
There were huge, blockbuster comic book movies before that, but it became apparent with the success of X-Men that superheroes could be profitable for studios. Since then, there have been six more entries in the X-Men universe, all being met with varying box office and critical reception.
With Deadpool now in theaters, we thought it would be the perfect time to look back at the X-Men universe. Here are all seven films based on Marvel’s mutants ranked:
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Some might (luckily) forget, but this is actually the first time the movie going audience was introduced to the character of Deadpool. Ryan Reynolds’ “merc with a mouth” made a brief appearance at the beginning of the film that most fans agree was solid, but the filmmakers decided to sew his mouth shut in the final act, and that did not go over well. Neither did the rest of the film. Ultimately, a seemingly pointless origin story featuring weird casting choices (will.i.am?) and even weirder CGI (can never get a young CGI’d Patrick Stewart out of my head) make this a low point in the franchise that everyone wants to forget.
6. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
After two successful entries, Bryan Singer decided not to return to close out the X-Men trilogy. Instead, the reigns were handed off to Rush Hour director, Brett Ratner. The results were mixed as audiences were treated to a less than stellar Dark Phoenix storyline and bland action. It was not terrible, and a $459 million worldwide gross is nothing to be ashamed of, but it was a huge step down from X2 and a weak way to end the trilogy.
5. X-Men (2000)
The one that started it all was a revolutionary blockbuster film when it came out in 2000, but Bryan Singer’s first attempt at bringing the X-Men to life has not aged well. It’s not just the special effects that seem out of date, but the dialogue and action seem a little choppy. The director seemed to be a little out of his element coming off the heels of his masterpiece, The Usual Suspects. The story is still effective, and it does introduce the audience to an enormous amount of characters pretty well. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either, just a middle of the road superhero movie that does a good job establishing the universe.
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Time travel in movies either works really well or very poorly, luckily for Days of Future Past it was the former. Serving as both a sequel to First Class and a soft reboot, this entry could have been a hot mess, and although there are a couple of quibbles to be had, it was almost anything but. Fun action sequences, a time travel plot that (mostly) makes sense and terrific cast marks for one of the better superhero films of 2014. If the Quicksilver scene (played perfectly by Evan Peters) did not put a huge smile on your face, then I’m not sure what will.
3. The Wolverine (2013)
The world was already shown how bad a Wolverine spinoff could be, so why did we need another one? Well James Mangold showed that if done right, Wolverine can actually hold his own pretty well. The Wolverine is the least action packed in the franchise, yet features one of the best scenes from any of the seven films. The bullet train sequence is simultaneously breath-taking and a load of fun to watch. The film does a nice job of telling a self-contained story that is interesting enough on its own and not needing sequels to explain everything. The third act goes off the rails a little bit, but The Wolverine shows how a spinoff should be done.
2. X-Men: First Class (2011)
The movie that no one really wanted was lucky enough to land in the hands of a kick-ass director (I hope you understand that reference). What could have been a cash grab turned out to be arguably the most fun X flick, as it featured a terrific young cast highlighted by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. Matthew Vaughn, serving as the director and one of the writers, had fun interweaving the X-Men universe into real-life events using the Cuban Missile Crisis as a perfect plot point. The action was fast paced and featured new mutants with cool powers. The film is immensely re-watchable as there are countless fun moments and connections to the original trilogy.
1. X2 (2003)
The most complete, action-packed and overall satisfying X-Men movie is, with no questions asked, X2 (or, X2: X-Men United). Not only is it the best X flick, it might be the best sequel of all time. Sequels are supposed to build on the original and expand the universe to different places, and X2 did just that. Featuring a plot that delved deeper into the history of one of its main characters (Wolverine) while balancing a story about the world that had grown anti-mutant, Singer showed that he knew how to direct big blockbuster films. The film had a huge stakes for its characters, which is what most comic movie movies seem to lack. They seem to think that bigger is always better and that world-ending catastrophes are high enough stakes, but it is arguably more interesting to show personal character struggles while balancing huge action set pieces. Singer and company did just that in their second outing, and while no other X-Men film has been able to reach those heights, hopefully either Deadpool or X-Men: Apocalypse can change that in 2016.
Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.
