All 14 X-Men Movies, Ranked

To me, my X-Men.

Deadpool & Wolverine is officially in theaters! I was a bit late to seeing it because I was out of town, but I finally got around to it on Monday night and was able to publish my review. In anticipation of the film, I rewatched some of the X-Men films and watched the ones that I hadn't previously seen. I have pretty mixed feelings on these movies; I didn't grow up watching them, so I don't have nostalgia towards them, which means my ranking may seem a bit controversial. That said, here is my ranking of all of Fox's X-Men movies (plus Deadpool & Wolverine).

14. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I'm surprised that the X-Men franchise continued on beyond Origins. This movie is a colossal failure. Is it superficially entertaining? Yeah. I enjoy watching Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, so this movie is not unwatchable. I actually think that Liev Schreiber's Sabretooth has potential as a villain. But this movie fails as an origin story. The story and writing are just atrocious. The film is just a bad adaptation of the comics (no need to even mention the horrible Deadpool from this one) and a bad superhero movie. I mean, Wolverine's claws are, for some reason, CGI, and they look like they are straight out of Looney Tunes. It's just a bad film.

13. X-Men: The Last Stand

The Last Stand is the perfect example of how not to do a finale. This film takes on way too much: it is adapting both the Gifted storyline and the Dark Phoenix Saga from the comics, which are two of the biggest, most famous X-Men stories...and both are introduced in this film. You know it's bad when the Dark Phoenix stuff is just shoved into the last fifteen minutes of the film. Cyclops dies in this movie and his death is basically just brushed off. Professor X's death is horribly done and has no lasting impact because they retcon it later. It's unsatisfying, overstuffed, and a bad finale to an overrated trilogy.

12. Dark Phoenix

Speaking of bad finales...this is how we ended the classic X-Men series? The second crack at the Dark Phoenix Saga is more faithful to the comics, but it still doesn't work. The entire film relies on all of our X-Men acting completely out of character. Professor X is incredibly arrogant and seems to not care about the X-Men. Beast tries to kill Jean. These are just not the characters we know and love. There's some awesome action here, but this is just such a messy and disappointing finale to the original run of X-Men films.

11. X2: X-Men United

Alright, alright. Here's where the hot takes begin. Everyone thinks X2 is great. I just don't get it. I think that early superhero films, such as the original X-Men films and the Raimi Spider-Man films, just don't hold up. It's just chock-full of bad CGI and awkward dialogue. I think there's some awesome character work here and I really enjoy the X-Men teaming up with Magneto. However, I just think that this film is too long and I really don't get invested in the X-Men besides Magneto and Wolverine. I have never liked X2. I understand I'm in the minority, but, to me, it's just not good.

10. The New Mutants

I found the first two-thirds of The New Mutants to be borderline unwatchable. And then the third act really redeemed it. Although messy, it felt like the finale pulled together a bunch of things that had been setup throughout the film and brought in some interesting ideas. However, I think that this movie has some terrible dialogue and stilted characterizations for most of the film. Each of our mutants is given one defining trait and backstory element that feels so wooden until we reach the finale and they are given a bit more depth. Not a good movie, but one that pulls it together a bit in the last half hour.

9. X-Men: Apocalypse

I know, I know. How do I have Apocalypse over X2? I find Apocalypse to be a very mediocre film, but I don't necessarily hate it. The most disappointing part is Apocalypse himself. Wasting both Oscar Isaac and one of the best X-Men villains of all time is so sad. However, I think that this film arguably has the most compelling Magneto stuff of the entire franchise. Michael Fassbender gives it his all despite this generic plot, and that just raises this film a bunch for me. I also find this movie mindlessly entertaining. I like watching the X-Men punch bad guys in the face. It's fun.

8. X-Men

I think I respect this movie more than I like it. Without X-Men, we don't have the MCU. This is, along with Spider-Man, popularized the modern superhero movie, and so I am forever grateful to it for that. However, this film is not very good. The story is incredibly generic. The characters, besides Wolverine, are not really that good. Cyclops and Storm, especially, are just not interesting and feel like wastes of great comic characters. As I've made clear throughout this ranking, I just don't love the original X-Men trilogy. I think X-Men is the best of them, but I don't think it's that good.

7. The Wolverine

The Wolverine is the first movie on this list that I would consider to be good. I actually had a pretty good time with this film. This movie feels like an MCU Phase Two movie, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's a solo adventure with a hero that we have been following for forever, but it also has these small, meaningful connections to the bigger universe. I love the Japan setting and the action is really cool. The story is a bit iffy and the third act becomes pretty cartoonish, but I think this is probably the most underrated film in this franchise.

6. Deadpool 2

Let me be clear: I think there is a huge gap in quality between X-Men and Deadpool 2. Deadpool 2 is tons of fun. It doubles down on all of the Deadpool-isms that we saw in the original film, which just makes it bigger and crazier. While that can make it more entertaining, it can also work against the movie at parts. The film can be so overwhelming and so over-Deadpooled that sometimes it just feels like too much. Still, a very fun, solid sequel to Deadpool.

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

I think Days of Future Past is freakin' awesome. This is one of the coolest concepts for a superhero movie: use an iconic comic book storyline to merge an original trilogy and a prequel trilogy. The stakes here are sky high. This film probably has the best action of the franchise. I think the mutant-human relations are explored best in this movie as Bolivar Trask and the Sentinels are introduced here. This movie is honestly the best adaptation of X-Men comics, and I really appreciate it for that. I think it's a bit too long and I don't love that it just retcons some of the other movies without any explanation or thought, but those are just nitpicks. This movie is great.

4. Deadpool

Deadpool is like the Scream of superhero movies. It's a satire and love letter to the comic book genre. Of course, you have to talk about the once-in-a-lifetime perfect casting of Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. In a genre where RDJ, Christopher Reeve, Hugh Jackman and more all have iconic, generational portrayals of famous characters, it's impressive that Reynolds can put his name on that list. The movie is incredibly funny and clever while also having a genuine emotional story at the core. It sometimes has trouble balancing its tone, but that does not knock the movie that much for me. Great, iconic film.

3. Deadpool & Wolverine

So this is where I stand right now on Deadpool & Wolverine. It's a close race between this, Deadpool, and Days of Future Past, but because of recency bias, I'm sticking this on top of those three. This movie was so much fun. Was the story great? No. Did they stretch logic and have plot conveniences to make cool things happen? Yeah. Was I grinning the whole time? Of course. This movie delivers on the promise of the premise with super fun multiverse shenanigans as well as a great dynamic between Deadpool and Wolverine. I had a complete blast with this and I think it works as a fun goodbye to the Fox Marvel movies.

2. Logan

Okay, okay. Let me acknowledge that Logan is the best X-Men movie. It's not my favorite, but it is easily the best. If this had come after Dark Phoenix, it would be the perfect finale to the franchise. This is an incredible send-off for one of the most iconic superheroes in cinematic history. I love James Mangold's gritty, R-rated take on Wolverine. The film is a perfect emotional journey for Logan as he navigates this post-apocalyptic landscape to give hope to the next generation of mutants. It's really a beautiful film. My number one cannot match Logan in quality. As I said, it's the best X-Men film. And it's so very close to my favorite.

1. X-Men: First Class

But I just love First Class. At the core of the X-Men movies is the relationship between Professor X and Magneto, and First Class executes their dynamic perfectly. McAvoy and Fassbender are fantastic picks for younger versions of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen. Their friendship is so compelling, and, as it falls apart, you understand both sides of the coin. Magneto is just always a compelling character, and First Class builds him out perfectly. I also love seeing Professor X start his school. It feels like the only time we actually see him training the X-Men. I just love this film. I think it is the best on-screen adaptation of the X-Men