X-MEN FILMS RANKED

With the Dark Phoenix closing off the 20th Century Fox X-men franchise, I decided to take a look at every other X-Men film that has been released over the past 19 years, and rank them, from the worst to the best. Let's just say that the films have varied, a lot in terms of their quality. But what better time to reminisce over the good and the bad of Fox's X-men run.

11. X-men Origins: Wolverine

The first ‘solo’ film in the X-men franchise was such a disappointment in what it displayed on screen. Although High Jackman’s Wolverine is always fun to see on screen, and it was okay to see his origin, there were so many other flawed aspects of this film which just broke this film.

One of my biggest complaints with this film is what happened to Deadpool, the merk with a mouth with no mouth. What this solidified for me was that Fox just does not care in adapting characters from comics to film. But at least we now have the best live action Deadpool, who will survive the Disney buy-out.

Rating: 4/10

10. X-Men: The Last Stand

The Last Stand tried to throw everything at the wall, and not much stuck. There was just a whole lot in the film that was covered, the Phoenix saga, a mutant cure, Charles Xavier’s death, Cyclop’s death, Angel’s origin. With all of these stories in one film, none of them got the opportunity to shine, and the film felt clumsy.

One of the things that I did like in this film was the idea of the mutant cure and Angle’s origin. It felt like a dire situation that the mutant population was confronted with, and it was a great premise to finish off a trilogy, however, I felt like it got overshadowed by a lot of other things.

The Phoenix saga is one of the most beloved X-men stories from the comics, the X-men have to fight their team member, Jean Grey, who has been taken over by a space entity. The story in this film felt rushed, and it was disappointing to see. I was also disappointed that Cyclops died in the middle of the film… and off screen.

Rating: 5/10

9. X-Men Apocalypse

X-men Apocalypse did have a few enjoyable scenes, from the Quicksilver saving everyone from the mansion, to the shoehorned in Wolverine scene, however, there were some glaring flaws with the film, and in hindsight, it is a bore to watch. One of the most disheartening things coming out of the film was the introduction of Apocalypse, the first mutant who went out in an unsatisfactory way, one where it felt like no one working on the film had a clear idea on how to end the character.

I guess that this will still technically be the first time and last time we will see the classic 90s cartoon costumes… at least in a Fox film.

Rating: 6/10

8. Wolverine

When seeing that the Wolverine was going to center around Logan’s life in Japan, I was hyped. It was an interesting way to make Wolverine some type of Samurai in a sense, all the while fighting some insane mechs. I can not remember too much about the Wolverine, but I did remember that it was an enjoyable film. That may say something about me not having of seen the film in a while, or that may be on the film, I don’t know?

I feel like the Wolverine is a little underrated compared to some of the other X-men films, but I remember that it was an enjoyable watch at the time.

Rating: 7/10

7. X-Men

The first X-Men film is always something that I have enjoyed to a degree. The film is no masterpiece, however, it is a really fun film, from seeing Wolverine, Storm, Jean Grey, and Cyclops in screen for the first time was a special moment for comic book films and has laid the groundwork for a lot of the MCU today. Ian McKellen as Magneto and Patrick Stewart as Professor-X were phenomenal and portrayed the characters in their own definable manner.

I do wish that the film did not shy away from their comic book origins. I feel like they were embarrassed in a sense and decided to go with the leather on leather angsty vibe of 2000. There were no original comic book suits which could have translated well, but they were afraid to take that chance. I am not going to blame the first film for the lack of comic book costumes in these films, it is nearly every other film after this which has teased a lot of comic accurate suits, however, has never adapted them.

Rating: 8/10

6. Deadpool

Deadpool is a phenomenal film in this franchise and has been the best title in the franchise. The first Deadpool film was something really significant in Fox’s line up of X-men films as it was the first film which really embraced the comic book origins of these characters. Deadpool felt so fresh and unique as it was like the character was ripped straight out of the comics, and Ryan Reynolds did such a spectacular job in adapting the character. It is really weird looking back on the history of Deadpool. From the character being messed up in X-men Origins Wolverine, and then the leaked test footage in 2014 leading to this film, it has been a wild ride.

Rating: 8.5/10

5. X-Men 2: United

The second X-Men film has so many spectacular things going on all of which make this a memorable and fun film. X-2 is a film that takes a step up from the first film, we see a lot more classic comic book characters appear in this film such as Iceman, and Nightcrawler. When looking at X-2, the mutant registration was an awesome plot which pitted our heroes at the end of the law, and Striker.

Magneto teaming up with the X-Men in this film was a great twist and progression of character. Also, I the character of Nightcrawler in the film was so great, the mind control plot, to seeing his powers on screen for the first time was all so awesome.

Rating: 8.5/10

4. Deadpool 2

Deadpool’s second outing was outstanding and I felt a slight improvement in the first film. I absolutely love the first film, however, I did feel like that the second film did step it up a little by getting straight into the story and presenting Cable, Dominio, and proper Juggernaugt on screen for the first time. I absolutely loved Deadpool 2 and was a great way to remember Deadpool in the Fox universe. Also, I am willing to bet that the time traveling at the end of the film will be a retcon to join Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool into the MCU.

Rating: 9/10

3. X-Men: First Class

When I heard about X-Men first class, I was not that excited to see what this film would entail, but boy was I wrong. I loved First Class and the almost new world of mutants that it bought to screen. The setting of the 60s was a brilliant placement for the film, allowing this to be a prequel to the original trilogy, all the while being something different and diverse in this film series. 

The new adaptations of the Charles Xavier played by James MacAvoy, Magneto played by Michael Fassbender, Beast played by Nicholas Hoult, and Mystique played by Jenifer Lawrence was really neat to see. And this felt like the first step into true greatness for this series.

Rating: 9/10

2. X-Men: Days of Future Past

The Days of Future Past story is one of my favorite stories from the comics with the X-Men. This was the story where everything went wrong for the mutant population on Earth, and everything was riding on one man, Bishop Wolverine. Days of Future Past was a beautiful film connecting the new and old X-Men series, bridging the gap between two generations in a spectacular way. Having Wolverine at the center of this film was a neat way to bridge together the original films and these new prequels. 

Days of Future past had so much to love in the X-Men series, the introduction of Quicksilver, Sentenials, Peter Dinklage as Trask, the new future mutants such as Sunspot, Blink, and Bishop, the return of Kitty Pride, and the retcon of X-3 and Wolverine Origins.

Rating: 9.5/10

1. Logan

Of course, Logan was going to be at the top of this list. Logan is a brilliant film in general. There is so much to admire, from the way that the film looks, and the story it presents. Logan is a deconstruction of Wolverine, and that is something that we had not seen before up until this point. It was a great way to look into the psychosis of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, and also Patrick Stewart’s Professor-X. I loved the send-offs that were given to those two characters who had played these characters for 17 years. It has been impressive to see these characters come back again time and time again, and this was a beautiful send off for them. 

The introduction of X-23 was great as well. I loved the character and her relationship with Logan, and I really hope, that in some form, that we do see Dafne Keen return as X-23 in the MCU like Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool. But Logan is a great bookend for the Fox X-Men films, and what they should be remembered as.

Rating: 10/10

In conclusion, this is my ranking list of the Fox X-Men films, all 11 of them so far. Where will Dark Phoenix sit? Probably near the bottom. But nevertheless, comment below your ranked list of X-Men films down in the comments below. You can click on the left for more X-Men, or on the right for more Marvel, and also subscribe. As always, thanks for reading, take care.