With the new film, X-Men: Apocalypse, making its way onto the big screen, there has been a total of 9 X-Men films over the past 16 years. Seeing the same characters over and over again may seem like overkill, but the X-Men franchise seems to make it work, especially with the enormity of the fandom. While there have been some hits, there have also been many misses in the cinematic franchise. So, here is a ranking of the X-Men movies from worst to best.
Disclaimer: I am not basing my reviews solely on how much they followed their comic book counterparts (because, otherwise, there would not be many good reviews). Although it can be a factor, I am reviewing them mostly on the film itself.
9. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
To be blunt, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is just sad. While it did seem like a brilliant idea to do a movie starring one of the best big screen X-Men, Wolverine, this film did not work. While the film attempted to make the audience feel sympathy for characters, there was not enough character development in order to have emotion towards newer characters. The only character worth rooting for was Wolverine, but the audience still knows what happens to him, so any “reveal” was not a surprise at all. The mystery and wonderment of Wolverine’s past disappeared with this movie, and, instead of introducing an interesting and tragic backstory of such an original character, X-Men Origins: Wolverine made Wolverine seem more like a cliché than a unique person. Overall, the plot was completely predictable, the characters were annoying and nothing like their comic counterparts (See: Deadpool), it messed with the previous films’ continuity, and, altogether, the film was just unsatisfying. For such a great character that Wolverine is, this film turns down the want for another Wolverine movie.
8. X-Men: The Last Stand
The Last Stand is definitely the worst film in the original X-Men trilogy. With its choppy editing and its crowded plot, the film suffered from its attempt to try to include a storyline that should have been spread out over multiple movies. The dialogue didn’t help either, as it was choppy, filled with clichés, and repetitive with the last two films. It feels like work trying to watch this film, as it drags on, and the action never feels suspenseful or thrilling. There is also no character development at all in this film, as it seems as if each character is in the same place as they were at the beginning, or they are just more depressed than they were at the start. The Last Stand concluded the original X-Men trilogy in such a lack-luster way that it is better to try to forget the film than to remember it. It threw away characters that could have made the plot more interesting, and, although its commendable to take risks when making movies, The Last Stand did not do execute those risks in an acceptable or pleasing way.
7. X-Men: Apocalypse
After First Class and Days of Future Past proved to be such successes, it’s disappointing to see X-Men: Apocalypse be such a flop. The plot is an overall mess, as it tries to combine too many plotlines, and it threw in scenes that were completely unnecessary to the plot, making the film much longer than it should have been. While there are some good scenes in the film, including one with Magneto (Michael Fassbender), it doesn’t outweigh the fact that there is just not a cohesive story in this film. It can even be said that some characters went back on their development in the previous films because of their senseless actions in Apocalypse. Additionally, something that was especially bothersome is that some of the CGI in the film was just terrible. Although it has some merits, with a few laughs and a few cool action sequences, overall, Apocalypse is not a film that succeeded in introducing a villain, creating an atmosphere of thrill, or improving characters, making it almost a pain to watch instead of being enjoyable.
6. The Wolverine
Overall, The Wolverine is just an average movie. Nothing really spectacular or significant happened, and, honestly, it’s really forgettable. While it’s definitely better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, it isn’t the fantastic movie that Wolverine deserves. What is enjoyable is being able to see a brand new setting in the X-Men cinematic universe, and being able to see Wolverine progress as a character. However, the love interest isn’t convincing, the plot is a little predictable, and the action sequences just weren’t the best that they should have been, especially considering the fact that they had Wolverine as the main character, who seems like a character that can defeat ninjas in a heartbeat, which is something that didn’t happen in the film. The Wolverine might be an okay movie, but, sadly, it still doesn’t do the character justice.
5. X-Men
X-Men: the film that introduced the modern age to the superhero genre. It’s understandable why this movie was so successful. It has action, cool visual effects, and intriguing characters. And yet, X-Men still lacks a sense of fun and adventure that other superhero movies have. It’s dark and gritty, but not in the way that The Dark Knight trilogy was able to achieve. It was, altogether, depressing. Also, there was, honestly, not enough action, and, whenever there was action, the mutants, frankly, were not good at throwing a punch. While X-Men was a fair start for the trilogy, there was still a sense of unity that was missing in the film, which really made this film fall flat.
4. X2: X-Men United
X2 is definitely my favorite of the original trilogy. It has a better sense of who the characters are, and how each can effectively contribute to the story. As it went more in-depth into Wolverine’s character, there is a sense of sympathy for the mutant, which is something that drives the film. Also, seeing the good and the bad work together for once was actually an interesting thing to see, as they attempt to help each other and the world of mutants. Also, the action in X2 is much better than its predecessor, as some of the action scenes made it easy to question whether the characters were actually going to survive the fight. X2 was able to use the characters in a great and unique way that made the film more captivating to watch.
3. X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class brought together a whole new cast and a whole new decade, which might be frightening to have to see new people in some of the roles that were done so well in the original trilogy, but the casting in First Class was actually very good. Both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender were both great in this film as Professor X and Magneto, especially with their chemistry throughout the film. Additionally, First Class did a great job at character development. Although it is obvious as to what was going to happen to the characters, as First Class occurred before any other X-Men film, First Class still brought a level of maturity to the characters as the film went on. Also, merging real-life crises with the film’s plot was enjoyable, since it made the X-Men world seem more of this world. First Class was an extremely enjoyable film, as it brought both humor and tragedy at the same time, without being too clichéd.
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past
After such a great start with First Class, Days of Future Past had a lot of anticipation, and expectations were definitely exceeded. With such a complex and new idea of time-travel in the X-Men universe, Days of Future Past could have easily gone wrong by being confusing, clichéd, or boring; however, the film was able to introduce the plot in an easy way without being too over the top and without completely taking over the story. Surprisingly, Days of Future Past was able to further develop each of the characters, making the audience love them even more. This film was especially exciting to watch because of how much it impacted the X-Men movie franchise as a whole. Seeing such an innovative idea in a superhero movie made Days of Future Past a fascinating and fun watch.
1. Deadpool
After the disaster that was the X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s version of Deadpool, I was both excited and hesitant to see what was in store for one of the most risqué comic book heroes. Luckily, I was pleasantly and completely surprised. Deadpool is a film that is definitely not meant for children, but, because of that, Deadpool stands out against all other superhero movies. Instead of holding back on the violence and the intensity of battle and sensitive subjects, Deadpool went all out in showing the audience how a superhero film would actually look like in real life. Deadpool as a character is such a complex and interesting person, and seeing him be put to the big screen in his true form is something that is intriguing to see. Having such a faithful adaptation to the comics is something that is not seen in most comic book films, so seeing that in Deadpool, with all of its fourth-wall-breaks and laugh out loud humor, is extremely satisfying. Deadpool is able to make the audience laugh one second and feel intense emotion in the next, and it does in a way that is still enjoyable instead of being a confusion of emotion. The combination of its smart script, the amazing action scenes, and the fantastic casting makes Deadpool a film that can be seen over and over again.
