With the release of X-Men: Apocalypse imminent, the ninth instalment of the X-Men film series, I have been looking back at the series to prepare for the newest film. The development of this series has always been an interesting one that has seen studio interference, director and cast changes, and even the continuity has never made a hundred percent sense within the movies. But in the end the most important thing is are the movies good or not. Like the history of the series the films themselves have seen its ups and downs with some that are great, some that are good, and some that are disappointing. Here is my ranking of the films starting with my least favorite.
8. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
It really pains me that this is in my opinion the worst X-Men film. Wolverine is my favorite character in X-Men so a movie centered around him should be high on my list. Alas this movie has many problems that bring this movie crashing down. The visual effects look shoddy, there are scenes where the claws are noticeably cgi and are not in the same scene as Hugh Jackman and backgrounds are noticeably green screen, and it makes you wonder where the reported 150 million dollar budget went. Stryker’s plan also makes no sense and you wonder how Wolverine fell for it and of course there is the horrific abomination they make of Deadpool, which they luckily fixed later in his own film.
There are some good things though. The cast is mostly good, especially Liev Schrieber as Sabertooth, and it makes you wish that they had better material to work with. Plus Ryan Reynolds is amazing at the beginning of the movie as Wade Wilson and you see the first glimpse of how great a Deadpool movie would be. In the end the movie reeks of being noted to death by the studio and it makes you wish the filmmakers had more freedom to do what they wanted to do with the story which could have been interesting.
7. X-Men: The Last Stand
After the release of X2 fans of the X-Men were on a high and the cliffhanger ending left everyone frothing with excitement for the next film. But then Bryan Singer left and eventually Brett Ratner was brought in as the new director and the production was rushed to make sure it was released before Singer’s Superman Returns. In the end the result is a movie that is at best mixed and does not reach the heights of the best films in the series. The biggest issue was the decision to have both the “Dark Phoenix” and “Cure” storylines in one film. Each of these storylines have enough material for a movie by themselves so by adding them together neither is given enough time to fully be developed, although “Phoenix” comes off worse than the “Cure” storyline.
Also characters such as Cyclops and Rogue are wasted and commit actions that seem out of character. Like Origins it is not all bad, the action scenes are well done and some of the character moments do shine, I especially love Bobby and Kitty skating on the frozen fountain although it is almost ruined by jealous Rogue. The returning cast know these characters inside out and give some great performances and Kelsey Grammer and Ellen Page as Beast and Kitty Pryde respectively is some of the best casting ever in a superhero movie. In the end there are enough good ideas and beats that I ended up liking the movie but I wish to one day see the two storylines each get their own movie so they can be mined fully and be truly great films.
6. X-Men
The one that started it all. Back in 2000 when this was released nobody though it would do any good, not even the studio. Yet the movie against all odds, including being moved up several months giving the crew less time to finish the movie and a budget of $75 million which was low for such a movie, turned into a hit and launched the series we know today. The film itself is good but there are some issues that keep it from being great. Again some of the effects are not convincing, although it can be somewhat forgiveable with the low-budget they had, and the story has some logic issues, for example if Magneto wants Rogue alive why does Sabertooth’s plan involve pushing a big tree in front of the car she is in which could have seriously injured her or even kill her.
Again it is the cast that is the stand out here as Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart or perfectly cast in their roles and the only real negative is Halle Berry‘s weird accent she gives Storm, which she luckily drops in the subsequent films. The character moments are also what make this movie, from every scene that McKellen and Stewart share together or are in, to the growing relationship between Wolverine and Rogue, to the opening of the movie where you see the moments where Magneto and Rogue’s powers activated. You can see the restrictions the filmmakers dealt with while making the movie but you can also see the potential, that with more money and time they can make something really special, and luckily this first film was a big enough hit that they were given that with the next film.
5. The Wolverine
Now this is how you do a Wolverine solo film. A loose adaptation of one of the most beloved Wolverine stories this film sees Logan getting caught up in a conspiracy in Japan and also dealing with his near immortality and the fact that everyone he loves will die long before he does and he will have to live with the pain for a long while. While most superhero movies deal with saving the world, this is a much smaller and personal film and it ends up being a nice change of pace from the usual film we get in the superhero genre.
The sequence where Wolverine fights some assassins on a bullet train is jawdropping and one of the best action scenes in the whole series and the character development of Wolverine as he confronts his immortality and his relationships with the other characters grow is the strongest he has had in the series. Unfortunately the third act does fall into some cliché superhero territory and the twist at the end of who is behind everything is weird and raises more questions than answers. Still this is a vast improvement over the first Wolverine film and it makes me excited for the next one.
4. Deadpool
Deadpool lagged in development hell for years as Fox was uncertain about making the movie in the first place. From the R rating to the irreverent tone it seemed that the movie would never see the light of day as it was seen as too weird and too much of a risk. But luckily thanks to a leak of some test footage the movie did get made and it ended up being as amazing as everyone hoped it would be.
Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool and the movie is genuinely funny with some great action scenes. The supporting cast is also great with Negasonic Teenage Warhead being the standout. The villain of the movie is underdeveloped and it does fall on some of the usual superhero tropes at the end but the film is entertaining and pokes fun at the genre without being overly mean about it. Bring on the sequel with Cable.
3. X-Men: First Class
This prequel/reboot is an outstanding film that not only pays tribute to the silver age of Marvel Comics but to the original Sean Connery James Bond movies. It starts by recreating the opening of the first film with Magneto in the concentration camp and expands on it showing us more of the tragedy of his life and sets up the rest of the film which is not only a film about the formation of the first X-Men team but also the origin of Magneto and how he became the villain we love. The rest of the cast is also terrific with James McAvoy being a perfect young Xavier, Kevin Bacon having a lot of fun and hamming it up in a good way as Sebastian Shaw giving him some of a James Bond villain feel complete with a crazy base, and a pre-Hunger Games Jennifer Lawrence showing signs of the star she will become.
The standout though is Michael Fassbender who gives an mesmerizing performance as we see the evolution of Magneto and see what turns him into the man we see in the original film. The 60s aesthetic fits the movie well and creates one of the most beautiful superhero films in terms of the look. If I have any complaints is that like almost every X-Men movie some characters are underdeveloped and it could lose a few characters, but the ensemble is strong and there is enough well-developed characters to make this not just one of the best X-Men movies but one of the best superhero movies period.
2. X2
If X-Men showed the potential for what could be a great film series, X2 is the one that reached those heights for the first time and showed the best of what X-Men could be as a film. From the amazing opening action scene where Nightcrawler attacks the White House to the ending which made everyone ecstatic for X3 this was the perfect X-Men movie we wanted. There are so many amazing scenes in this film: the attack on the school with Wolverine going berserk, Pryo’s attack of the cops, Magneto’s escape from prison, Wolverine vs. Deathstrike and also emotional moments the highlight being Iceman telling his parents he is a mutant.
Brian Cox makes an interesting villain as Stryker and is given a devastating back story that makes you sympathize with him even as he tries to commit genocide. While the goodwill this film gained was squandered immediately after, this was the one people kept going back to when Last Stand and Origins came out to remind people X-Men could be great. Luckily things soon got back on track with First Class and now X2 in no longer the one great X-Men film.
1. X-Men: Days of Future Past
After X2 Bryan Singer left the series to direct Superman Returns. He then came back to produce and cowrite First Class but it was Days of Future Past where he came back to the director’s chair. Adapting one of the most beloved storylines from the comic book, it allowed the cast of the original three movies and First Class to be in the same film but also use the time travel element of the story to change things and fix errors made in the past.
For me this is the best film in the series because I love the story they are telling of having future Wolverine going back in time to help mentor Xavier. James McAvoy’s performance in this film is one of the best performances I have seen in a film lately, as we see for the first time a broken Xavier who is selfish and just wants to wade in his misery. The scenes where Magneto confronts Xavier about abandoning the mutants and where the two Xaviers meet gives me chills and of course Quicksilver’s big scene is perhaps the best action scene in not just this film but all of the films.
I also love all the stuff between Xavier and Magneto in the future as you see the two old friends confronting their relationship and regret everything they lost since they spent so much time in conflict. All these moments and storylines mean more since we have spent so much time with these characters and the ending is especially moving as we see characters we thought lost. If someone told me I could only watch one X-Men movie ever again for the rest of my life for all these reasons and more it would be this one.
So what do you think of the list? Do you agree or do you have a different order you would put the films in Sound off in the comments or send us your thoughts on Twitter!