The X-Men movies, ranked

After twenty-four years of films based on the mutants of Marvel Comics, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men series has received its strange, slightly unsanctimonious send-off with Deadpool & Wolverine, which tried its best to tie together a scattered, ill-manged cinematic universe and fold it into the wider MCU. Beginning in the long-ago yesteryear of 2000, Bryan Singer’s (who is unfortunately deeply tied to this series) original X-Men helped launch the 21st-century superhero film craze. In a world where evolution has produced a species of superpowered humans (mutants, or Homo superior), the series broadly follows Professor Charles Xavier and his merry band of superpowered heroes, the X-Men, as they battle against supervillains and human prejudice.

Over the years since 2000, the series has moved through great highs and terrible lows as it moved in and out of critical and box office favour. The series has championed great triumphs like Logan but also fallen into the depths of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, creating a universe more disparate and canonically questionable than even the messy DCEU.

With Disney now in control of the renamed 20th Century Studios (and subsequently the X-Men film rights), it is only a matter of time before the mutants receive a fresh coat of paint in the form of a reboot. While it’s unclear X-actly what awaits the X-Men in their new home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — although it’s certainly off to a good start with X-Men ‘97 — let’s take a look into the past and take a brief skim through the sordid affair of the X-Men series. Here are all 14 X-Men (and spin-off) movies, from X-Men to Deadpool & Wolverine, ranked from best to worst.

To me, my X-Men!

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14. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

“I’m Canadian.”

Even if you have never seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I’m sure you’re at least aware of its putrid reputation. Mocked even within its own franchise thanks to Deadpool 2, the first Wolverine spin-off is often considered one of the worst films to ever do it. The whole film reeks of poor decisions. The visual effects are garish and unpleasant. The art direction and production design are generic and boring. The performances are pretty atrocious as well. Will.i.am is, for some insane reason, given a leading role here. Ryan Reynolds makes his debut as Wade Wilson and he manages to be more annoying than he ever gets in the Deadpool movies. The film wants to X-plore the mythology and psychology of Wolverine but misses every opportunity to interrogate the character in any meaningful way, which the later Wolverine movies will do well. The narrative is, further, a mess. Constantly shifting pace, purpose, and direction, the film speedruns a very long story in less than two hours, making the film feel scattered and unfocused. Despite this being the first X-Men prequel, the greatest problem with almost all the others is still present here: the film makes no sense within the context of the others in the series. Wolverine and Sabretooth are brothers? Why didn’t Sabretooth bring that up during the first movie? Why’s Emma Frost here? Isn’t she supposed to be way older? There’s no real continuity at all.

But perhaps the worst thing that Origins: Wolverine does is move the Weapon X program from under the control of the Canadian government (as it is in the comics) to the control of the U.S. government. In a world where Canadians are so underrepresented in the world of shady government dealings, I was particularly offended that this film alters that detail. Give me Department K! Give me an Alpha Flight movie!

Directed by Gavin Hood.

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13. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

“Charles always wanted to build bridges.”

The Last Stand, the conclusion to the first original trilogy, is a truly baffling film. As in keeping its its predecessors, the film discards the aesthetics of the X-Men comic book stories for its love of black-leather. But then it further discards the things that made the first two films their own, distinct takes on the source material. Despite the overtones, the political drama, genuine moral intrigue, or dark tone are abandoned. Ratner wants so badly to make a Serious Big Boy movie here, but the X-ecution is so goofy, that it’s impossible to take the film seriously. The film awkwardly crams Claremont’s “Dark Phoenix” saga and elements of Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run into a film that completely collapses onto itself. The disparate plot elements never coalesce into a unified story, the action scenes are chaotic and messy, there are no real characters, and the final fight between the X-Men and the Brotherhood lacks any emotional pay-off. The writing here lacks the thematic depth that made the first two films interesting and the character writing across the board is painful at best. It’s laughably bad.

Please read Claremont’s X-Men.

Directed by Brett Ratner.

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12. Dark Phoenix (2019)

“The mind is a fragile thing. Takes only the slightest tap to tip it in the wrong direction.”

The final proper X-Men adventure, while not quite the worst, is certainly the dreariest of the bunch. First-time director Simon Kinberg, who had previously written and produced a number of the X-Men films, grinds an already tired franchise into the ground with yet another bad take on Claremont’s “Dark Phoenix.” Moody and bored, Dark Phoenix (which dropped the “X-Men” from its title) offers pitifully little to like, let alone engage with. The story, despite its cosmic ambition, feels truncated and awkward. Jessica Chastain gives a career-worst performance as the film’s “antagonist.” The lighting, writing, directed, editing, and costuming lacks any semblance of thought or care. I’m bored writing this paragraph!

Directed by Simon Kinberg.

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11. The New Mutants (2020)

“I’ll see you in hell.”

The New Mutants is a bit of an outsider when compared to the myriad of other bad X-Men movies (if you can even call this an X-Men movie). While most of the bad films in this series have an element of goofiness to them that can often push them into so-bad-its-good territory, The New Mutants is just dreadfully boring. It’s a miracle that this film ever saw the light of day. Plagued by reshoots and an X-Men universe in an uncertain creative future thanks to diminishing box office returns and the then-upcoming Fox buyout from Disney, the film was a victim of both circumstance and its own inadequacies. Adapting Chris Claremont’s acclaimed “Demon Bear” saga from the 1980s comics (one of many fantastic Claremont stories massacred in this franchise), the film follows a group of young mutants trapped in a rural mental hospital plagued by their own fears. Oddly infusing horror elements into a personality-less, drab teen drama, while it’s far from the worst, New Mutants is easily the most forgettable in this saga. It’s especially disappointing knowing how X-cellent the original Claremont comics are.

Directed by Josh Boone.

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10. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

“Everything they’ve built will fall! And from the ashes of their world, we’ll build a better one.”

Just two years after Days of Future Past brought together the old and the new incarnations of the X-Men for an X-plosive finale (more on that later), the series pivots into a light reboot with Apocalypse, featuring returning faces from the prequel timeline and some recast original X-Men. This semi-reboot, semi-“prequel” is truly atrocious. Desperately trying to cram in far too many new characters and pay off X-isting plot threads, all while setting up an apocalyptic new threat, the film is a slog to sit through. Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse is so dreadfully boring. At least I kind of like this version of Scott and Jean more than the original duo. And while I try not to pick apart the continuity of movies based on comic books too much, the timeline inconsistencies become so egregious here that it pulls me completely out of the movie. Fox wanted to have their cake and eat it too: reboot the series so that it appeals more to the more cartoonish sensibilities of current comic book movies but still pretend like it might share continuity with the original series so they don’t have to get rid of their high-value talent. It’s a mess!

The saddest part is that the film teases a mall hang-out scene for our teen heroes, an essential element of teen movies, and then it cuts to after the hang-out! Ridiculous.

Directed by Bryan Singer.

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9. X-Men (2000)

“What would you prefer? Yellow spandex?”

Bryan Singer’s X-Men is a deeply reactionary film. Released right at the turn of the century when the idea of the superhero movie was stained by the likes of Batman & Robin (1997), X-Men replaces comic book colour with black leather, moody visuals, and snarky, tongue-in-cheek humour. Most superhero movies released today do a decent job of encapsulating the basics of a given character — their identity, main shtick, normative status quo, etc. — into a convenient, two-hour package, giving the audience a general idea of who the character is. But X-Men and its sequels stand in striking opposition to this generality by being radical departures from their source material in style, tone, colour, status quo, and characterization. It’s a questionable adaptational choice, but X-Men mostly makes it work by transforming the mutants into a product of its own design

With twenty-four years of hindsight, X-Men hasn’t aged all that well. Some lacklustre action, overly dark visuals, and iffy character writing keep the film bogged down. While elements like Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen’s rapport as friends-turned-rivals Professor X and Magneto are X-cellent, the film isn’t always firing on all cylinders. Most of the X-Men are nothing more than cardboard characters, lacking any sort of personality or definition. Halle Berry’s Storm is perhaps the most egregious case. The film’s strongest component is its pretty X-plicit commentary on prejudice and discrimination, a throughline through most X-Men stories. It’s the sort of grounded storytelling that is sadly absent from most contemporary superhero stories, which makes it feel more than the sum of its parts. The film is impossible to write off completely, thanks in part to how influential it has become, but X-Men is certainly no highlight.

Directed by Bryan Singer.

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8. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

“F— you, Fox! I'm going to Disneyland!”

Despite being produced under the Marvel Studios banner, the third Deadpool adventure does its best to work as a send-off to the entire Fox Marvel pantheon of characters, however scattered the end result is. It’s wonderful to see these fully realized interpretations of the two title characters, and the great chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, on screen together after the disaster that was Origins. The film works well as a bridge between the Fox universe and the wider MCU, thanks to some borrowed plot elements from the Loki series and the return of some deep-cut Fox characters. The film suffers from a lack of definable visual language, instead taking place primarily in a flatly lit, grey wasteland, and a plot that feels incredibly thin. Beyond Deadpool and Wolverine, the film struggles to develop its supporting cast, leaving returning characters by the wayside and not defining its new players. With the fourth-wall-breaking Deadpool in the lead, the transition between the different eras of these characters goes a bit smoother than it might otherwise, even if the self-referential humour gets a little stale and uninventive by the film’s end.

You can read my full review here.

Directed by Shawn Levy

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7. Deadpool (2016)

“It’s funny that I only ever see two of you. It’s almost like the studio couldn’t afford another X-Man.”

I admire Ryan Reynolds’ ceaseless dedication to bringing Deadpool to life on the big screen. Stuck in some form of development since 2004 after Reynolds and producer David S. Goyer met while working on Blade: Trinity. After a less-than-stellar turn as the character in Origins: Wolverine and then a disappointing reception to his Green Lantern project for DC, Reynolds’ time with Wade Wilson was almost dead in the water before some 2012 shot test footage made it onto the internet, setting the Deadpool craze alight. In 2016, on a shoestring budget and a quick production process, Deadpool made it to the screen becoming the highest-grossing MPAA R-rated film of all time. The film is mostly pretty good, albeit feels like a one-trick pony at times. The film lives and dies on its humour, which can be a little hit-and-miss. The fourth wall breaking is often fun and clever and Reynolds’ charisma keeps the film moving. But when the film becomes incessantly crass, it comes across as feeling juvenile and annoying, especially whenever T.J. Miller’s Weasel is on screen. The violence and action sequences are strong, but the pedestrian plot keeps the film from becoming anything X-ceptional. The film’s most surprising feature is its X-cellent on-screen relationship between Deadpool and his fiance, Vanessa (played by Morena Baccarin), which adds some much-needed pathos.

Directed by Tim Miller.

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6. The Wolverine (2013)

“He said I was destined to live forever, with no reason to live.”

The second Wolverine solo movie — I’d be hard-pressed to call it a “sequel” by any metric — takes Logan out of the confines of the black leather and into a brighter, more violent direction in contemporary Japan. Set after the events of The Last Stand, carrying over Logan’s weird hang-ups around Jean Grey, Logan’s now following up on an acquaintance from his World War II days who has a tantalizing prospect for him: the ability to die. Suffice it to say, this film is a much better go-around than Origins. While one of the less memorable X-Men adventures, The Wolverine still manages to be a really strong blockbuster. The sword-heavy combat provides a nice compliment to Wolverine’s power set, making the action feel much more kinetic and intimate, and the loss of Wolverine’s powers finally puts him in actual danger. The setting is used to perfection, with some well-choreographed fights that make the most of the Japanese urban sprawl. Jackman gets some nice character beats and the supporting cast is written more compellingly than most X-Men characters. The stumbling point is the third act, where the film takes a turn into the CGI-heavy world of normative superhero nonsense. It almost kills the whole momentum of the film, but the first two-thirds are strong enough to not make it a disaster.

Directed by James Mangold.

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5. Deadpool 2 (2018)

“You’re so dark. Are you sure you’re not from the DC universe?”

Made in rapid succession after the runaway success of the first film, Deadpool 2 lets its much larger budget shine in this incredibly ambitious, time-travelling follow-up. Many of the first film’s problems are solved here, but the film also presents new ones to keep it from being a complete knock-out. The characters are all quite strong here. The introduction of Josh Brolin’s self-serious Cable makes a wonderful balance to Deadpool’s incessant chaos. Negasonic Teenage Warhead and her girlfriend Yukio are a welcome addition. The humour, again, is one of the more questionable elements. Deadpool’s fourth-wall-breaking shtick wears a little thin by film’s end as the implementation of these jokes distractions from the action at hand. The film’s strongest aspect is its action. Creatively choreographed and energetic, Deadpool 2 puts so much effort into keeping its energy roaring at all times. This film also feels considerably more like an X-Men movie than its predecessor did, which is a nice touch.

Directed by David Leitch.

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4. X2 (2003)

“You picked the wrong house, bub.”

X2 is a massive step up from its predecessor. Opening with an incredible action scene involving a teleporting mutant, Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, trying to kill the President of the United States, X2 keeps a much faster pace than X-Men did, never letting the plot slow down much. The action scenes are much more impressive, the thematic material is more nuanced, and the filmmaking cranks the technical components to the next level. This is also the film where Hugh Jackman truly cements himself as Wolverine, who takes a more integral role in the plot rather than just acting as the awkward audience surrogate. Brian Cox’s General Stryker is such an imposing antagonist. While not as immediately powerful as McKellen’s Magneto, Stryker oozes malice and evil in a way that dominates every scene he’s in. Despite its clear improvements, the film’s fundamental stumbling block is its poorly handled-ensemble cast. Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey are still wont for defining characteristics and are often left feeling like surrogates for their cool powers, rather than fully-fleshed out characters. Singer’s desperation to keep the film dark and moody zaps any potential of unique characterization or personality out of the X-Men, the very things that made them so interesting in the comics and the 90s cartoon. Still, it’s hard to deny that when X2 is on, it rocks.

Directed by Bryan Singer. 

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3. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

“Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean they’re lost forever.”

The cast of the original X-Men trilogy and First Class meet face-to-face in this sequel/prequel. Adapting another iconic Claremont saga —  if you haven’t gathered it by now, Claremont is the most important X-Men writer — Wolverine, hailing from the far future, is sent back in time to prevent the assassination of a U.S. political figure that would lead to the end of the world and the destruction of mutant kind. While it was based on a pretty meagre two-issue storyline, the film feels like a finale to the 14 years of X-Men films up until this point. It’s a big, ambitious, and often weighty conclusion that makes one wonder if they should have just stopped here.

And the movie itself is pretty great as well. James McAvoy, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence are the stand-out performances. The Quicksilver “Time in a Bottle” sequence is easily the most famous part of this film and it lives up to its immense reputation. The brief meeting of McAvoy and Stewart as Professor X is a real treat. The time travel hijinks are a lot of fun, especially when a grizzled Wolverine, who’s been our de facto main character of the series thus far, is the victim of them. One common problem throughout this series is that the fight choreography often struggles to properly utilize the unique powers of the X-Men in creative, unique ways. But the action sequences, especially the ones set in the far future against this universe’s incarnation of the sentinels, are all X-cellent, especially in how they use mutant abilities. The 1970s-set sequences lean into the political paranoia surrounding the merging public awareness of mutants, keeping one foot in some form of reality. The film loses a bit too much of its energy in the second half as the plotting devolves into a pretty chaotic affair, but the finale still delivers a rewarding conclusion.

Directed by Bryan Singer.

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2. X-Men: First Class (2011)

“Are you sure we can’t shave your head?”

We did it! We finally got the yellow and blue costumes! It might have taken a few tries, but with the advent of the MCU and a general embrace of the more outlandish elements of comic book movies by mainstream audiences, X-Men: First Class turns to the earlier days of the mutants for inspiration. Set in the 1960s, the film follows Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr and their first attempt at training a group of mutants. It’s a top-notch prequel that totally outshines everything that had come before. James McAvoy’s and Michael Fassbender’s performances are wonderful, aided by a great Kevin Bacon turn as the film’s main villain. The unique visual and editing choices keep the film roaring with energy. It makes me wish that director Matthew Vaughn spearheaded all of the X-Men movies and I’m incredibly disappointed they never brought him back. The best part of this film? Its ensemble is finally handled really well. With some strong character writing and engaging performances, most of the film’s principal characters are mostly memorable and well done. While the writing is not perfect — a few faces are left to the wayside — it is a marked improvement, a rare spot of hope in the X-Men series. It’s shocking to me that a film series about an ensemble cast couldn’t figure out that core part of its identity until the fourth go-around, but I’m happy it finally happened.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn.

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1. Logan (2017)

“Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long.”

Mangold’s follow-up to The Wolverine takes us to an alternate universe where the X-Men all perished in a tragic accident, mutants are slowly fading into obscurity, and an aging Logan cares for Professor X in a burnt-out Texas home. Logan isn’t the man he once was: his body is riddled with a cancer of scar tissue, he doesn’t heal as quickly as he used to, and he wears reading glasses. He’s not a hero, not anymore. Maybe he never was. But when his life becomes uprooted by intrusion from the government and the sudden appearance of a young mutant girl who harbours a connection to Wolverine, Logan takes off on one last ride to get his friends to safety. Logan has no right to be as good as it is, but I am so glad that it X-ists. Bringing weighty, hefty catharsis to the X-Men’s most wild and unruly member, the film is a beautiful capstone to the character’s odyssey. A considerably more adult affair than anything else in the series, Logan is emotionally heavy and stylistically wonderful. It’s one of the few superhero movies that seems to truly transcend its genre. It’s more than just one of the greatest superhero films: it’s just an X-cellent film for both fans and newcomers.

Directed by James Mangold.