Neo Ultra Mike
Creeping Shadow of "15000"+ Posts
I did this briefly in the new Mutants talkback but I figured it deserved it's own thread. After all with New Mutants out, the FOX Marvel Mutants Universe or whatever you want to call it is officially over. There were plans for so many more movies or idea but with Disney having bought out FOX, those projects are scrapped as now Kevin Feige is in charge of the universe and expect most of what previously happened to be totally overhauled and altered in some form or another. Mutants are going to play a much different role I'm sure in the MCU then they did in these films when they were the only Marvel heroes in town. Still though we have had 13 films come out from this studio in the last two decades of varying quality so why not have a space to talk about all of them? Which ones worked? Which ones didn't? Which ones do you feel were underrated or overrated? Put your thoughts down below. And allow me to start as I go well hopefully not ridiculously in depth but flex on my thoughts on all of these 13 films from what I feel is the worst to the best. So with that said, here we go.
13. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - You know it's really rare when a movie series hits the double digits for everyone to agree on which film is truly the best and especially which one is the worst. Friday The 13th, James Bond, heck even with Star Wars people are unsure to go with Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. The MCU has plenty of choices people would say is the worst from Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Captain Marvel, Thor The Dark World etc. However with about anyone who has seen all 13 movies of this series and counts each of them as a part of it, there is no doubt which is the worst and that's clearly the 2009 first attempt at a Wolverine movie. Yeah James Howlett was such a popular an integral part of those movies (more on that later) it made sense to give him a spinoff and see if the idea of giving other characters their own shot would work. And though you could say with other characters it would, that certainly wasn't the case with this totally even killing the idea of doing more "origins" movie on the spot and causing what was X-Men Magneto to shift into First Class. And yeah there's a lot of issues many have gone over with this movie; the terrible CGI of some of the shots; shoehorning in a lot of fan favorite characters like Gambit and totally wasting them yet focusing on such obscurities like John Wrath or Agent 0; the unfitting continuity trying to put in characters like Cyclops or Professor X into these movies which don't match with what has already been established in the timeline at all and feel utterly pointless; obstruvie melodramatic love story with Kayla who has really no chemistry with our lead; casting Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson but giving us a Deadpool with his mouth sewn shut with a random grab bag of powers the character never had etc etc. The core though of what makes this movie so rotten is that this is a Wolverine movie with a pretty toothless, empty and honestly pretty pathetic take on the character. Isn't the point of prequel movies to see how a character became the person they are and what they were like previously and the events that would shape them? Yeah can't really do that when you take any attempt at progression and wipe it away with amensia bullets. Not to mention the stupid idea of trying to utterly pacify someone whose tagline of "I'm the best of what I do and what I do isn't very nice" by not having them do anything that's even especially mean or brutal, scurrying away from it and looking so pathetic you even wonder why he got his name, and then finding out it came from this convulted bed time story that doesn't really make any sense with how they try to tie it into Kayla's backstory later. Plus it's hard to even get a grasp of what Wolverine story they want to do; his child backstory goes on for 5 minutes and then we segway into various differing wars he was apart of which segways into time spent at Weapon X seeing other characters do all the work then wasting time with a doomed chemistry less romance to then get to the whole revenge story which is mostly just clowning around with a lot of poor set pieces bouncing between various locations that amounts to nothing anyway as he teams up with the guy he was going to try killing and then nothing at the end is accomplished so... yeah this one is just bad and terrible in every way possible. The only joy you get from this movie is how amusing it is seeing people mock it, especially other movies in this franchise. This is a pretty obvious terrible super hero movie through and through the kind that thankfully don't pop up as much now as they did in the 2000s. Though yeah this is the easy number one worst one. I think everyone else's list is going to be signifintally different clocking in all of the other movies. Mine certainly is because I think the second worst X-Men movie is...
12. X-Men - The First X-Men movie. Which i know is blasphemous. "This is one of the most important Marvel movies ever that kickstarted it's own universe that lasted longer then any other marvel movie universe and is one of the key reasons super hero movies are so popular today! How could you say it's one of the worst?" Okay I don't measure quality in terms of overall recongnizability or try and factor in their historical significance. Otherwise the first of a film franchise chances are is ALWAYS going to best even when that's usually not the case. Furthermore even if you compare it to it's peers at the time the first X-Men movie isn't very good. It's not terrible either as it is well casted, you can get some humorous barbs between the team every now and then and though it's visuals and presentation aren't anything incredible it is internally consistent with it's look so you know that does put it above Origins. Still that doesn't mean this is anyway near a good movie. See something that Blade and the First Spider Man movie had that even though now those films are pretty dated is not only a cool unique aeshtetic that makes them stand out and leads to a lot of solid enjoyable action scenes, but a focus and emotional core to those movies that tells the story it wants to tell without a lot of pointless fluff getting in the way. The problem this movie has that is shared with soooooooooooooo many of the X-Men movie is that this film has too many characters bouncing around to really have a core identity worth getting invested in. The prequel movies do a much better job at building up the animonisty between Charles Xaiver and Eric Lehnsherr that feels like it's rushed into a few scenes that establishes the two having a relationship but you only really feeling that due to the acting not the writing or how it's presented at all. There's all of this focus put on Rogue as it's her story of first realizing her powers and discovering the mansion and being the key ingredient Magneto wants in his plan... but she gets absolutely side lined too because of all the focus put on Wolverine and his angst and interactions that really fail to build to the kind of relationship this character is supposed to have with others. Yeah this one sets up the idea of him having a thing with Jean Grey or having issues with Scott Summers but you wouldn't really get why those are even important if you aren't already familiar with these characters. Unlike Spider Man where whether or not you knew about related shows or comics you would still get his story just going by what the movie tells you, it's hard to get any sort of connection here with these characters because most of them aren't really given any time to develop or give you a feeling of who they are. And the ones that are given focus aren't really given a lot of interesting things to really do or even say here that makes them especially stand out. A big problem with early Bryan Singer is taking something as epic and dramatic and expansive as X-Men and trying to ground the idea in something much darker looking and "mature" that just sort of takes a lot of energy and charm out of the idea. And sometimes that can work with certain marvel characters like yeah Blade, Punisher, Daredevil heck even Luke Cage work really well grounded but sorry X-Men is NOT one of those franchises and doing so is a determent to the series. And yeah as important as this series is for all it did for Marvel (including the first major blockbuster Marvel stan Lee cameo a tradition that sadly we only got for 19 years that I'm sure we would of loved getting forever) the first film is not the master piece a lot of people try to claim it to be and IMHO is by far one of the weaker X-Men movies. And that's the same for it's direct follow up as well...
11. X-Men 2: X-Men United - Just like how people praise a lot of the first films in these series this has been seen as one of those great incredible comic book sequels that is considered one of the absolute peak of the genre and still very much so holds up today being put on the same pedestal as Blade 2, Spider Man 2, The Dark Knight, Captain America Winter Soldier and other movies who say "man the first one was so good but this one takes that and pushes it so much more to make it really stand out." To me though the first one was pretty bleh and really dry and weak and this one... is an improvement but not really as much of one as so many people claim. Yeah that opening scene for Nightcrawler is awesome... too bad it's for a character who has only a few more scenes of any importance who they pretty much dropped this specific version out of the rest of the continuity so that's really the biggest impression you have of him. Yes this has a more interesting idea of the government trying to use this mutant to get rid of all other mutants.... too bad the way that's presented and gone about is done in such a boring dragged out way it's hard to really get invested into. Yeah there are some better battles with Lady Deathstrike who... is probably on the same level as agency of a character as Sabertooth in the first movie as in just a basic goon fight without really any specific flavor towards it. And yeah they are building up bigger stakes but in the end the world pretty much still stays the same with nothing really having changed or really anything accomplished in the end. There's still so many wastes of character; you don't get ANYTHING between Nightcrawler or Mystique since for some reason trying to build on the child/mother relation these characters have isn't something these movies ever want to do even when the opportunity stares at them right in the face; the supposedly important and beloved Professor X and Cyclops are either knocked out or bunkered away from the others in the movie not doing anything or just being used as pawns; a lot of the big action set pieces don't last that long or when they start getting interesting Like Pyro at the Drake household get cut short. And this movie still has a problem in who is getting all the focus as all of this build up is given at the idea of discovering Wolverine's past and having him do everything but still not really learning anything about it. Oh and as much as people like smack talking The Last Stand for how terrible it did Dark Phoenix (which we'll get to as yeah it is still a problem with that movie) people seem to forget how terrible the build up in THIS MOVIE was in regards to that character. The whole thing with Phoenix is you first have to build up to Jean Grey and her powers and personality and the idea of the Phoenix twisting and corrupting that which in other words means you need to spend a lot of time with Jean Grey and really get into her head.... which this movie doesn't do. It's teased sligthly at the beginning and in a couple of scenes but yeah by the ending sacrifice you still don't really get a sense of the character outside of her just wanting to protect everyone which... I feel you really need if you're going to tackle the Phoenix saga. That's how the animated X-Men series handled it and heck even X-Men Evolution who only HINTED at the power of the Phoenix still tied it in with showing off who Jean was as a character first and made every part feel like her story. Which this movie really doesn't; just feels like her making a sacrifice cause that's what the story said she had to which they can't even properly acknolwedge having to wrap up that whole government plot and yeah still coming off as a feeling of not knowing the character. Add on that pretty cringy lines now like 'have you ever tried NOT being a mutant" (which yeah coming from Bryan Singer makes you feel even more cringe) and still a lot of unteresting set pieces and set ups and it makes for still one of the weaker X-Men movies. Those of you who love this one tell me why in the other comments because I don't get and feel that love especially when the other 10 movies in this franchise are better then this one even if so many still have their own problems.
10. The Wolverine - You know back when the cartoon MAD was a thing they did a spoof of this called the Dullverine which... though not entirely accurate is an apt description for one of the biggest problems of this movie. Since unlike a lot of X-Men films that overly crowded and needlessly padded with characters (I guess this one did have a take on Viper in it that probably didn't really need the amount of screen time she got but eh having one or two more unneeded characters is better then the half dozen most other X-Men films have) this one actually does have a pretty solid focus just on Wolverine. And unlike Origins there actually is much more of a solid arc for him; after the events of Last Stand Logan is more then ever haunted by the ghosts of what he's done thus more willing to jump at the chance of removing his precious healing factor to give to one more worthy having to realize he needs to shoulder that pain of being able to recover and rise over what he did in the past to conquer what he can do now. And Manigold unlike Singer actually brings much more of a unique vibe to the material and unlike Gavin Hood actually manages to really get the spirit of Wolverine giving a good mix of tortured and bad ass to the character that feels appropriate. I'll even argue that though the giant mechanical silver Samurai suit didn't make for the best battle at the end with Ichiro it wasn't a super shark jumping moment of the movie that others claim. Since honestly a fair amount of the tone and style problems are constant throughout this movie which is it's biggest flaw. Yeah see Manigold works best as seen in Logan (which we'll obviously talk about later) getting to work with the more stripped down and gritty elements of the X-Men universe. Which sorry even before the giant mechnical suit you still had the giant ninja army assassin attempts and the bullet train battle and all that stuff with Viper and the fact you do have to cut in with elements constantly reminding you of the Last Stand that make the entire thing have elements of bombast that really go against the general morose feel of the movie. And this is a movie that of all the X-Men movies is the most hampered by the fact it's not allowed to be an R. IMHO not every hero or ever film franchise needs to be R and obviously at the time you really couldn't do it especially with the most cash cow character in the X-Men movie universe but between the very story line of Wolverine being more torn apart then ever due to his healing factor weakening and the very nature of most of the enemies in this movie the fact things have to feel much more clean and steril then they really should be hurt the entire film. Because they still needed this to feel like this gigantic summer epic of some kind even if it is a more intimiate character study which hurts both factors. It doesn't go out enough for the spectacle to really make it stand out but that also means it doesn't have as much time or intensity for the character bits to really carry thus as a result it feels pretty tepid. I mean it's easily better then Origins and does have some stand out factors (I really like Yukio here for instance even if honestly her shorter appearance in Deadpool 2 is more memorable and honestly better but she works well playing off Wolverine here even if they didn't do anything else with their relationship past this) but doesn't have enough of the character drama or fun to be anything special. I mean face it; when the best part of your movie is the tease they do to the next movie with that post credit scenes showing Magneto and Professor X to set up Days Of Future Past (which in retrospect with how that movie started didn't even flow together that well) you're not in for one of the greats. But still a watchable experience.
9. X-Men Apocalypse - Some people are going to say this movie shot itself in the foot the moment it wrote in a scene where Jean Scott Kurt and Jubilee went to see Star Wars Return Of The Jedi and complained about it ending with the joke "let's face it; the third in the trilogy is always the worst" which was suppose to be a knock on The Last Stand more then likely but also came from a film who technically is the worst of it's "trilogy" easily. IMHO though this movie was doomed the moment Singer and co finished Days Of Future Past and went "yeah now that we found a way to revert the time line back to give the fans what they wanted let's continue on with that prequel cast in yet another decade to have them fight one of the X-Men's ultimate enemies. Yeah I'm sure that's what everyone wants" when yeah NO ONE wanted that. The whole point I thought of unpolluting the time line was to go back to those original movies and try to do more with that beloved cast. Who asked for younger recast versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm and others to be put in the 80's and still continue pushing out the prequel cast even if it's clear some of them have totally checked out. A lot of people give flack on Jennifer Lawerence here and yeah it's clear this is a contractual obligation to her but not like James Macavoy and Michael Fassbender are bringing there A-Game. Then again when those character stories amount to "oh we have to also bring back Moria but she has amnesia due to Charles messing with her mind so we'll get to do a will they won't they on their relationship most of the movie" or "I finally got a family and decent simple life but they die so I can have the urge to go bad again and then be talked out of it so I can be good again but still want to leave on my own and keep repeating that cycle" is it really any wonder we got the performances we did? Not to mention though Apocalypse is far from the worst villain ever and works at least a lot better then say the Enchantress of Suicide Squad still is pretty one note and unmemorable and in a series that usually as more complicated or interesting things for their antagonists to do, his is by far the most by the numbers of the entire franchise. Add to that an overly gratuitous Wolverine cameo (though at least him taking over 10 minutes instead of say the entire length of an X-Men movie is kind of a rarity when you think about it) the ridiculousness of how everyone hasn't really aged in 20 years (which yeah is stupider in Dark Phoenix but this is at least still trying to play as an 80's movie while that has no care really about the decade it's in), and an overcrowding of characters and story lines that really kill any of the emotional ties in this movie. Well that and for whatever reason characters can't say who they are related to and I have to say one of the worst moments of this entire franchise is in this movie where even when the WORLD IS ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED Quicksilver still can't tell Magneto "yeah you're my dad" for like the stupidest of all reasons. There is so much wrong with that movie that I could see why a lot would have it probably lower on the list but for me there are some things that do pump it up. I mean this at least embracing itself as a moronic brainless spectacle. Apocalypse is supposed to be this villain that brings massive stakes with him and in that regard we actually do feel that with his powers and honestly how he's taken out actually does feel appropriate. And though the new younger cast aren't that strong there is still a feeling of a bit of character. I mean Jean Grey using the Phoenix and her general attitude gives way more character then she did in the original 3 movies alone so that's saying something. Plus I do like how at this point they are willing to be a bit committal on the character consequences and journeys like yeah not trying to pretend anymore by the end that this take on Mystique isn't the hero they've been building her up as. And getting to have the horsemen does actually allow for some grand scale battles and hey we actually do have color and flavor that hoenstly feels the most X-Men out of all the credited Bryan Singer directed movies. And I admit the Quicksilver speed up "Sweet Dreams" scene even with it's obvious green screening is a lot more fun then Days Of Future Past "Time In A Bottle" even if it's just there to be a crowdpleaser but hey I was pleased so kudos there. And I'm willing to give this a bit more flak then the originals because it does embrace itself as a comic book movie more and isn't trying to be much else. It doesn't do a fair amount of elements that well but it does have a sense of fun I feel is worth rewarding more then some of the other films which yeah is what earns it this spot which still isn't technically good but not bad either more getting to decent I suppose.
8. X-Men: The Last Stand - Like how the Blade trilogy and especially the original Spider Man Trilogy's first two entrees get brought up a lot talking about X-Men's first two, Blade Trinity and ESPECIALLY Spider-Man 3 get brought up a lot when discussing this movie. As they are considered the prime example of terrible follow ups of classic films who totally broke and damaged the franchise they were a part of and are just bad films in general. I never saw Blade Trinity but I have seen Spider Man 3 and Last Stand and for quite awhile felt they were incorrect and honestly those third entrees were better then what came before it. Re exploring the Spider Man trilogy though as much as some parts of 3 are still really strong, there's so many embarrassing and lame cringe moments and a lot of stuff that counters or goes back on the strong narratives that come before it that I can't really see it as the best of the trilogy. However I still feel that of the original 3 X-Men movies, Last Stand is the best. Since yeah like Spider Man 3 the movie is ridiculously crowded, takes ideas presented in the original movies and squanders them hard and does suck a lot of possibilities out of potential projects going forward. However you know what the original two Spider Man movies had that the first two X-Men movies don't: STRONG NARRATIVES AND OVERALL THEMES WHERE ADDING MORE ON TOP IS MUCH MORE A DETERRENT! Yeah as pointed out I'm not as much a fan of the first two that are incredibly slow and don't really have a lot of enjoyable solid character work and don't honestly really come together so quite honestly there's less to ruin IMHO then a lot of other people would say. Again Jean Grey and Dark Phoenix were not well set up in the first two movies especially X Men United and Jean either felt there to flirt with Wolverine or set up she's going to die and be reborn at the end so honestly this actually trying to start on her backstory as this powerful mutant at least showed more promise... though yeah a really big factor against this movie and why the overall project isn't good is most anything else involving Jean Grey. Even ignoring how this isn't how the Phoenix works in the comics and not even seeing the fire bird in full display, the fact is they turn this really interesting idea and character study into a prop with no agency of her own. That to me is why Dark Phoenix is the better movie; say what you want about it but it treats Jean Grey's turn as actual character stuff. Here though she's a prop once she's found to randomly kill off Scott so James Marsden can work with Bryan Singer on Superman Returns (which is the reason why Singer didn't do this movie which people at the time said was a travesty but... really think about not only Superman Returns but the other two X-Men movies and see if you still feel that way) and then Xaiver until he comes back in a way so convoluted I guarantee you 90% of the people who saw Stewart in the role after this film still don't know how he did it, and then just randomly stands in the background until the end where she starts disintergrating everyone till Wolvie has to stab her. Which is just weak on so so so sooooooooo many levels regardless of if you know the Phoenix character because yeah Dark Jean Grey is just an object and then something for Logan to feel bad about later which is just a lame way to use the character. Still that's a subplot of this movie (and yeah one you shouldn't subplot but a subplot all the same) as honestly the stuff with the actual mutant cure is a lot better. It's actually an interesting issue to bring up in these movies and actually gives character more personality and drive then before like Rouge wanting to take it to fit in to Storm feeling it's an abomination to Hank McCoy (BTW though Nicholas holt is good in the prequels Kelsey Grammar is still the best Beast of these movies) going from understanding the cure to standing against it seeing it weaponized to how it allows Magneto to gather a new legion of various mutants to fight it from being made leading to a really solid action scene. And yeah this actually does have a lot better and more well made action scenes that feel like they have a much bigger scope and feel then what we got in the first two movies. The whole line about building bridges is lame but Magneto actually lifting the golden gate bridge to use it to get to Alcatraz is such a cool image and really good use of his powers that is way more then we got in the first two movies and again you get to see more mutant abilities and actual clashes then the last few movies. And unlike Apocalypse this spectacle doesn't just come at the price of totally having to shut your brain off... I guess in some scenes you still have to considering there is still a lot of dumb here but it still evens out to a more enjoyable movie then the first two. Sorry but you can't hate on a third entry that craps on the first two that much if the first two were kind of crappy... granted this one still isn't better enough to be good but better enough to be okay. Since we are now in the pretty decent tier of these movies which continues with...
7. The New Mutants - To me the run of FOX's X-Men movies ended on neither a whimper nor a bang... granted I may be alone in that because box office wise it sure as hell was a whimper (though how fair is that when 3/4th of movie theaters aren't even open yet? Heck I only saw this in theaters visiting my sister in upstate new york and going to one of the many drive ins they have there) and yeah critically this was more scorn then adorned but for me personally this lands in the middle quality wise of these 13 movies. Which averages it to be decent with some things that really work... though a lot that really doesn't. For one this is a movie that attempts horror that isn't scary whatsoever. And as someone who is easily terrified by most horror movies if I'm not scared or freaked or even sort of jump or flinch at all I would call that a fail. And sorry Josh Boone you can't say "well it's a PG-13 low budget movie" because sorry even those have the capacity of being scary. Even Countdown had like a couple of more jump worthy moments and though I appreciate this didn't try going for cheap scares, the fact that it didn't linger long enough on setting up the actual scare as well as highlighting obviously what was the cause of it and where it was coming from kind of leads to the chance of any chance of being chilled or frightened at this moving evaporating. And considering this movie is more horror then action as it still tries for more horror throughout the run time and with the design of the demon bear in the climax it was still trying to go for some sort of scare but sorry was not getting anything from this movie. Another big problem is that half the characters of this are pretty bleh. Sam and Bobby have a couple of moments that stand out but otherwise feel like the most token guys there who I mostly remember for a couple of hints at backstory (and Bobby's story of what happened with his girlfriend was at least a good moment) and powers... and their unfunny schitck and jokes like calling Illyana really hot which yeah is eye rollingly bad. Reyes also falters because even with her working for Essex and obviously trying to tie her under Mr. Sinister, there was still potential for to at least be a complicated villain and maybe if instead of trying to go with a twist of her not working for Charles Xaiver (who gets a reference here and yeah of all X-Men related characters is the ONLY one in these 13 movies to either appear, be mentioned, cameo or star in as not even Wolverine has that luxury) and at least the audience was more upfront of who she was it'd be a chance to delve into more of her backstory and guilt when hit by Dani's powers and add some complexity to her character. But no still have to make her a straight forward villain there just to trap all the kids and then get eaten easily by the demon bear in the third act climax. Pretty weak. However there are a few things that save this movie, mostly the other starring roles. As yeah I felt Dani, Rahne and even Illyana were not only really well cast but you also got a feel of an arc and character going forward that made them stand out. Even Illyana's more prickly and cold attitude got a solid explanation so her fully powering up to magik despite the obnoxious line about that was cool and I appreciate getting to see Lockheed as well. I appreciate also delving into Rahne's drama and she had earnest chemistry with Dani as yeah this is probably the first mainstream super hero movie centering on a queer relationship that I wish others would take not of how well that worked. And Dani herself is a strong character whose weaknesses and failures you get why she would try offing herself at the start but growing as a person and being able to face and control her demon bear at the end. And honestly this having such a bare bones set and cast really makes it stand out and work when the film is able to play to those strength mainly whenever we see the three female new mutants on screen either introducing developing or wrapping up their journeys throughout the story. Those ones alone do make me feel a bit bad we'll never see them conclude but I do feel it leads to a solid enough movie that honestly gets more hate then it really deserves. Though if there was one X-Men movie I really feel is not worth the ravishing everyone gives it, it's....
6. Dark Phoenix - Sans X-Men Origins Wolverine and Last Stand this is considered by many the worst X-Men movie and one of the biggest blemishes on the franchise. And as New Mutants was released in quarantine and doesn't really star or feature any characters movie fans would know about, many see as the actual last X-Men movie. And though I don't think this movie is great I do think it's pretty good and as there are only five great X-Men films IMHO this is the closest to that. And I feel there are a few reasons for that. Primarily because unlike The Last Stand which adapted Dark Phoenix as a subplot where Jean Grey had NO agency of her own this movie is actually all about her. Now a lot of people feel Sophie Turner didn't really do a good job as this version of the character and feel like she was emotionally flat and boring but honestly I think she did a pretty good job bringing the struggle to live. Yeah like in Last Stand there is the whole focus being put on Professor X restricting her powers which eventually she realizes and that makes her tap into her dark nature but unlike that movie there feel like there are more consequences and characters calling out Charles for doing so. And it feels like he has to actually grow and change more and instead of it ending with him dying and then resurrecting through again hard to explain methods it shows him realize his mistakes and actually choose to step back realizing that yeah he isn't really the best for these young mutants moving forward. But back to Jean I again appreciate how much focus they really give on her as the point of the flashback this time around to her childhood flows better into the story showing she was responsbile for her mother's death and how that plays in how her father wants to disown and not have anything to do with her now and that obviously damaging her own psyche. I like too that by having this whole cosmic flash in space in does keep the interstellar elements of the original Phoenix story and yeah doesn't have the expanse or range that movie did (and thanks to massive reshoots had to totally change who was even the enemies to begin with) but you do at least get that nod while keeping it a more personal story and having the climax and focus still about Jean and her deciding how to best use her powers. I guess it is sort of a copt out that it still ends with her being heroic and making the ultimate sacrifice that isn't really much of one as even by the end credits it indicates she's still around but there was enough of that doubt and sway where you could feel she would push over the edge which is really needed in this kind of story and shows it is at least very much a choice for her. I also really like how serious this movie is. Like there are some jokes in the first act but they are pretty sparse as even the stuff with say Quicksilver is turned down which I guess is a bummer for fans of his but he had his moments and I am fine with this having a somber tone. Like Endgame did handle being serious and having a longer run time did allow it more time to dwell on those sort of things but that still had to have acts with goofier antics and a very big epic spectacle that still wrapped up on mostly a happy ending. This though could have more of a dourness and even ending hopefully still not wipe away the more grim tone throughout which honestly for this kind of movie actually does work. And sells the emotional moment like Raven's frustration at the risks Charles takes just to make mutants more heroic at the cost of the danger it could bring to them and Hank breaking down when Raven died and how upset he was at Charles. Like the series has built up these characters enough over four films for these sort of moments to hit and work within the narrative well plus I do like the idea of for once Magneto not joining up again as a villain but rather realizing the threat of Jean and wanting to take her down knowing what she's capable of which gives him a reason to be at odds but again not trying to justify slaughtering the world for the sake of a lost family. And you know I don't think Jessica Chastain's Vulk was that bad a villain though yeah she was better as just a devil on Jean Grey's shoulder but actually having taken some of the phoenix force to use in a final fight work and I have to say the ending action scene with the X-Men against the D'Bari was good and honestly I like using the D'Bari as a deep cut for people who know the source material. And yeah this movie certainly does have problems with some cheap pretty lame lines and it did feel sort of rushed getting Jean back and then everyone teaming up against the D'Bari but to me those are more minor then major problems as I still like this movie and think it has more good then bad. It is the second weakest of the prequel movies though and yeah not great but hey the closest to that as we now get into what I think are the great X-Men movies that everyone should at least try checking out once even if they don't want to watch the other 8 movies in the series.
5. X-Men: First Class - You know of all the X-Men movies this probably had the most against it. After how terrible Origins Wolverine was reviewed (even if the box office of that one was for the time decent) it made Fox Nervous about doing more origins movie and thus the Origins Magneto movie they were midway through conceiving had to be massively altered to try and tie it to something that would connect people back to more general X-Men thus decided "hey if we're going to make a prequel why not a prequel to the concept itself going with a lot of the elements people would generally understand as the start of this franchise?" And thus rushed that intro production incredibly quickly having a June 2011 they needed to hit that would normally spell doom for a film but suprrisingly really worked in this movie. In fact the only really sour element of this one is it's ending. Specifically once Charles is paralyzed and Magneto makes a stand about having to choose sides and then having Mystique join him along with all of other Shaw's enemies and teleport in somewhere. That was really weak and not how this one should of ended as really though Magneto probably should of left it should of still been on a more conflicted note about his relationship with Charles and see Eric more torn about what happen even if he still wants to fight for mutants right. IMHO the studios probably weren't sure at the time if they were going to do another prequel movie and wanted to see how people liked this first thus wanted to wrap things up in case this movie wasn't well received but when it was decided to jump into doing more which yeah eventually soured on them but at the time really only soured on this movie since super rushed ending aside this was great. Okay again a lot of wasted mutant characters since most of the original first team are pretty interchangable and forgettable (some more then others. Havok and Banshee at least have moments but who even remembers Angel Salvadore is in this movie other then a couple shots of her dancing or Darwin besides the fact he died?) but the character and struggles that work really are good. I honestly really liked Mystique in this movie and though Jennifer Lawerence honestly did let her down in Apocalypse (yeah Dark Phoenix had her die early but at least I felt she was trying somewhat in that movie though probably because she knew she would be dead by act 1 so probably an incetivive to give one last performance more) she's really strong in the first two prequels with here you see her actually having this really solid bond with Charles but also get her annoyance in him obviously losing interest in her and her sensestiviity at being seen as different thus why she forms a small bond with Eric and yeah she shoudln't of left with him but if done right this movie should of ended in seeing why she would eventually want to go with Magneto. And honestly a lot of the Eric stuff here really is great; granted they really should of showed off Shaw's power more in his first scene when little Eric fully unleashed his magnetic powers so you'd get why Eric even as a kid would of had to work under him but his quest for revenge and then meeting Charles and forming a bond with him are great. And yeah I feel much more a connection between this Professor X and Magneto then in the original 3 movies because you can just have the two of them together being on the same side and though having really differing views still having this bond of friendship that benefits the other even if they ultimately can't see eye to eye. There was a coolness of Shaw that made him work as a one off villain and how Erik took him out was really well done and cool and yeah one of those "you got what was coming to you scumbag" moments with the coin going through the skull that really works. As does a lot of the scenes here whether it's going around trying to recruit other mutants (though the Deadpool movies would later have better cameos, Wolverine's one "go f*** yourself" moment is still iconic and well done) seeing them party and try to give themselves all nick names, training and using their powers and then yeah colliding with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Really that scene of Magneto catching all those missiles the allied forces threw and preparing to launch them back is so cool that yeah you do wish this movie ended on a better note then it did but again it's overall still really good. After Origins this was the breath of fresh air the franchise needed and to me the first potential of the greatness FOX achieved at points throughout the decade. To some this is still the crowning moment of the X-Men movies but I can think of four more worthy then this even if ending aside it still is great.
4. Logan - To many Logan is considered the best X-Men related movie and the magnum opus of the Fox Marvel run. And though it is a pretty great movie there are a couple of things that do hold it back for me. Number one there's this scene early on where the team have Donald Pierce knocked out and instead of just offing him despite knowing the trouble he'll bring with his Marauders leave him alive and what do you know that leads all of them to their door stop with him later because yeah especially in a movie so visercial that does not care about people getting offed and having our hero kill so many people you can't pull the "let's leave this one alive" without a good reason. Secondly when Logan and Laura get to "Eden" and meet the kid mutants there is a scene of them goofing around and the kids marveling at an unconcious Wolvie that goes on too long and should of been cut down more especially as yeah we're nearing the end of the movie so it's too late to really give any weight to these new characters anyway and we feel enough for their plight just knowing how they were used without needing to see much of them as a collective especially if it's not say bonding with Laura. And... yeah those are the two major flaws of this movie. They aren't as bad as the ending issues with X-Men First Class but are a big reason why to me this is only a 4 as the other three films have less issues. However those aside this movie is honestly so great and there's so much of it to love. First off unlike Singer who took like nearly 15 years to direct a great X-Men movie (more on that later) Manigold was able to hit it out of the park on his second try because this was allowed to be the no holds bare bloody violent emotional spectacle you could tell he wanted to make for the Wolverine but was held back. Because Fox feared for their bottom line but when they knew they could really only get Hugh Jackman back one last time and had to send him out on the right note did relent on the rating for a slightly lowered budget thus getting this movie. You know the one not only critically loved a lot more but did finanically a lot better because under the right circumstances R rated movies do make coin so yeah it retrospect pretty stupid it took Fox a bunch of failures and middling efforts to inadvertingly realize that nearly too late. And not every super hero film or super hero needs an R rating but someone like James Howlett certainly does. Actually getting to see a glimpse of that early with even a drunken mostly out of it Logan tearing through guys and then showing off full Berserker Rage for the first time at the very end against the Ravagers and him clawing his way through guys between then really gives you an idea that despite being a heroic X-Men Logan is the best at what he does by not playing nice. Like Origins Told us that but Logan SHOWED US THAT and in movies showing is wayyyyyyy more important then just telling. But this movie isn't a morose collection of just bloody battle bits or hardcore swearing (even if again it is fitting the character) as this is one of those rare desolate destructive wayward movies whose focus isn't about having to save a dead world but rather having to live on a dead world and giving hope to the next generation that there may be a chance for them to change it. And this movie does so beautifully in it's raw emotional character connections. Again I find Professor X better usually played by MacAvoy because he has chewier bits in his script then Stewart mostly got but this is the exception because the idea of having Xaiver so broken and a powerful destructive mess (I do still argue maybe at least a flashback showing how he took out the others would of helped make that scene more powerful but in this more scaled down movie I get why and the emotion of him realizing that at his end is at least still there) but still trying to help out mutants when he's in his proper state is compelling and unlike Last Stand makes his death here way more powerful. And of course you have the bond that Logan forms with Laura. Again I'm a fan of X-Men Evolution so I knew of X23 because she was introduced in that series but eh even as a kid I kind of saw the character s a self insert mary sue angsty fan fic trope. But she works so well here being this power house but also this poor kid who needs help and you would get why Logan would form a bond with her and BTW sans Deadpool the family and friends connections of these movie are always a thousand times better then the romantic ones so yeah that stuff was aces. So actual grit, compelling characters, great direction and yeah a powerful ending for Jackman's take on Wolverine that feels incredibly fitting (that sadly never led to Dafne Keen getting her own film even though it felt more then deserved) make this easily one of the best of the franchise. With really only two flaws that hold it back and I guess the sheer greatness of the other 3 X-Men films I have yet to talk about.
3. X-Men: Days Of Future Past - In terms of just straight up X-Men in terms of characters, story and grand scale epicness this probably is the best of this particular run. To me this is the movie that if someone wanted to watch who was a pure X-Men fan I'd direct them to and granted to get the most of it you do have to at least know about other X-Men movies even if they aren't the best quality but honestly the same could be said for a lot of the best MCU movies. And really this to me is the only X-Men movie that can fiercely compete directly with the MCU even sharing a problem I noted of Infinity War and Endgame of how the endings kind of rush over a lot of the finer points to get to the main plot. It's probably worse here since sans the slightest tease of The Wolverine nothing here at all really hinted at the whole "future controlled by mutant hating radicals who send Sentienels that can easily evolve to use the powers of mutants to crush the resistance oh and also Kitty Pryde now has time travel related abilities" story we're getting but hey it does actually work well still as a narrative. Since unlike a lot of other X-Men movies with huge swaths of characters this actually uses it's minor cast effectively just as tools to go against the Sentienls for epic action scenes that show just how terrible the future is and how important changing the past really is. Yeah it does mean you see new team mates like Blink or Bishop and old favorites like Ice Man, Storm and Colossus just used as action figures being broken apart in some cases over and over again by faceless mechanical monsters but it still works and really gives a sense of stakes with all that's happening. Of course what really sells this movie is the stuff more with Wolverine and the prequel cast. And though Logan does have some cool moments like first getting in the past and trying to warn some random passerbys not to mess with him or his smaryness towards Fassbender Magneto and fighting and then making friends with younger Beast it's really nice to see an X-Men movie that Wolverine is in that he DOESN'T steal the scene and focus of in most every frame he's in. That makes sense in the Wolverine movies as they are his movies but that was a problem the original trio of X-Men movies had that was pretty obnoxious. Here though he's the one playing more mentor and peacekeeper with the newer cast and even at the end gets taken out of the climax by Magneto because yeah this isn't HIS movie so he can't be the one to solve the problem which I really appreciate. And though I do really like the bits we get with Hank and of course the classic Quicksilver scene (again I think Apocalypse did it better but here it's still a good scene) and actually like them fleshing out Boliver Trask as someone whose fascinated by mutants and actually has some sense of appreciation of them even though he still views them as a threat and wants to take him down but in a way that makes him three dimensional, this is a movie carried by it's three stars; Xavier, Magneto and Mystique all 70's editions. Sadly they couldn't find a way to have Rebecca Romajin cameo back (since yeah they had to go with X3's continuity until time was reversed so she wouldn't of obviously been a mutant with them... then again the cure didn't work fully on Magneto so maybe it wouldn't of on her but eh now I'm just splitting hairs) but I did like what we got out of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart's take on the characters but this one was owned by the younger counter parts. And honestly this being so character focused and grounded was really nice especially for me at the time with the latest movie I saw being Godzilla 2014 a movie that once it gets rid of Bryan Cranston's character (oh also Godzilla 2014 spoilers for uh... anyone that cares) really had NONE while this was always choke full of it. At first I was a bit annoyed an thought it was conveinant what had happened to Xaiver to make him unable to read Logan's mind but not only did it work after what happened in first Class but as you see MacAvoy lost in the role you really get a sense of his unique take and really get a feel of his arc having to grow into this leader and careful guide who doesn't abuse his powers and doesn't feed into his worst impulses to better others. I liked showing more of the dislike yet friendship of Magneto who you totally get why he's still waging war and yet still has a commrodery with his old associates and has really just cause to go attacking the government using their old sentienels. And of course having this penned on Raven as needing to be the one to realize that revenge and taking out this threat aren't the best way yet not being forced to do and it still being her choice really was a great focus point for the movie and again despite Apocalypse having Lawerence not caring you really see the struggle and focus and care she puts in the role here that are really great and is easily the best use of Mystique in any of these movies. Making her this cool yet bad ass infilitrator but also giving her heart and reason to make her more then just a henchman or villain. Plus yeah that ending undoing Last Stand felt like we had wrapped up the prequel cast (especially with most of them dead) and were ready to tell new adventures with the main cast now free of the baggage previously and with a Singer who could do epic properly that yeah didn't happen but that was the feel I got at the time and the feel I still get from this one still makes it work. Still despite how great this one is it's still not top best of the year or of super hero movies for me because quite honestly only one FOX X-Men character ever really did that for me with his movies and if you hadn't been paying attention you should know by now that's....
2. Deadpool - Yup DP. Because as great as Patrick Stewart or James MacAvoy are as Professor X, as cool as Hugh Jackman is as Wolverine and even the range Fassbender of McKellen can give as Magneto, there is only one actor who so seemlessly fits the role of his character within this universe with the best of super hero actors. You know the Robert Downy Jr to Iron Man; the Chris Evans to Captain America; the Gal Gadot to Wonder Woman and that's Ryan Reynolds to Deadpool. And yeah notice how i haven't listed any of the actors for Batman or Superman because as classic as Christopher Reeves or Michael Keaton are or the intensisty of Ben Affleck or even Henry Cavill can be in the action scene to me the best super hero actors need to portray best both the person inside and get a feel of what their day to day live would be and how they became who they are and that escapism fun of being that character and so uniquely portraying that identity. Which is an especially hard thing to do if you think about it for someone like Deadpool who not only needs to be shown being more brtual then you'd usually get but needs a snarky 4th wall breaking somewhat aware charm where he needs to appear pretty obnoxious to his enemies and even his allies but hilarious but still engaging to the audience. This is a much trickier balance then you'd think but man does Reynolds pull it off famously here. Probably because this is the role he had wanted to play for the longest time even just taking the role despite how terrible the script was for Origins just to get the chance and he so delivers on it here. This just oozes Deadpool down to it's very pores. Be it the opening credits mocking typical conventions to the ending stinger mocking the very idea of them but still getting you pumped for the idea of having Cable in the sequel. And the million of jokes inbetween. Like in my reviews of both movies I spent a huge amount just listing all the moments that made me laugh and I could easily do so again here but honestly that defeats a bit of the purpose out of you seeing the movie; these jokes are a lot funnier because of how Reynolds delievers them in the cadence and tone that makes perfect sense for the character. Be it the light hearted quipiness mocking Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead to pitching terrible advice to cabbie Dopinder to his giddy sadistic glee shooting down all of Ajax's goons to offing Francis in the middle of Colossus trying to give a hero speech since yeah DP ain't the traditional sort of good guy and any chance to really showcase that works spectacularly. But I think the movie wisely knows that as many yuks we get from the character it wouldn't mean much if it didn't have an emotional core which this movie does very well and I have to give bonus points for that being a love story. As I said even in Days of Future Past typically the best stuff in the X-Men movies heck most super hero movies in general are the character's friends and familiar connections. There are very VERY few where you takeaway the relationship as the core of the movie and actually believe it. Heck even something like the Dark Knight no one's going to go "yeah you know what the best part of that movie was? The Love triangle between Bruce, Harvey and Rachel. That's the reason I kept coming back to that movie. Screw the Joker or the highway chase or Harvey's descent into insanity or the themes of morality that totes is what makes the movie work." Here though you actually DO get a good love story. Probably helped by how great the chemistry Ryan Reynolds and Morenna Baccarrin have but honestly what works about it is they really do spend time and actually give you a full on relationship. You see how they meet, how they banter, how they sort of push and support one another and yeah it's done through a lot of comedy (how many super hero movies have a sex montage and how many of them have a joke about pegging for international women's day? Give you a hint; this movie... and this movie) but you feel an earnest connection between them. One where the idea of losing the one he has connected to actually torments Wade and the very idea that he could still be with her even after what happened to his body is frightening but one that makes their connection at the end work and feel like such a victory. Granted it does sort of make Vanessa come across as a damsel in distress at the end and honestly I do wish these movies found a way to have her use her copy cat form to make her more an equal partner to Wade (seriously that better happen in movie 3) but films especially now succeed in execution and delivery then just plain orginality and the delivery and how this one was executed is why it is so incredible. One of the best origin story movies that really succeeds and makes for also one of the best super hero movies ever that makes for a very hard act to top. And though many feel that didn't happen I feel it did. And why is that? Well...
(Post too long will have to give my thoughts on Deadpool 2 after Freddy's post).
So yeah give me your list of worst to best or best to worst Fox X-Men movies and discuss these films and what you like or don't like about them here since hey now that they're over might as well celebrate/scorn them right?
13. X-Men Origins: Wolverine - You know it's really rare when a movie series hits the double digits for everyone to agree on which film is truly the best and especially which one is the worst. Friday The 13th, James Bond, heck even with Star Wars people are unsure to go with Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. The MCU has plenty of choices people would say is the worst from Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Captain Marvel, Thor The Dark World etc. However with about anyone who has seen all 13 movies of this series and counts each of them as a part of it, there is no doubt which is the worst and that's clearly the 2009 first attempt at a Wolverine movie. Yeah James Howlett was such a popular an integral part of those movies (more on that later) it made sense to give him a spinoff and see if the idea of giving other characters their own shot would work. And though you could say with other characters it would, that certainly wasn't the case with this totally even killing the idea of doing more "origins" movie on the spot and causing what was X-Men Magneto to shift into First Class. And yeah there's a lot of issues many have gone over with this movie; the terrible CGI of some of the shots; shoehorning in a lot of fan favorite characters like Gambit and totally wasting them yet focusing on such obscurities like John Wrath or Agent 0; the unfitting continuity trying to put in characters like Cyclops or Professor X into these movies which don't match with what has already been established in the timeline at all and feel utterly pointless; obstruvie melodramatic love story with Kayla who has really no chemistry with our lead; casting Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson but giving us a Deadpool with his mouth sewn shut with a random grab bag of powers the character never had etc etc. The core though of what makes this movie so rotten is that this is a Wolverine movie with a pretty toothless, empty and honestly pretty pathetic take on the character. Isn't the point of prequel movies to see how a character became the person they are and what they were like previously and the events that would shape them? Yeah can't really do that when you take any attempt at progression and wipe it away with amensia bullets. Not to mention the stupid idea of trying to utterly pacify someone whose tagline of "I'm the best of what I do and what I do isn't very nice" by not having them do anything that's even especially mean or brutal, scurrying away from it and looking so pathetic you even wonder why he got his name, and then finding out it came from this convulted bed time story that doesn't really make any sense with how they try to tie it into Kayla's backstory later. Plus it's hard to even get a grasp of what Wolverine story they want to do; his child backstory goes on for 5 minutes and then we segway into various differing wars he was apart of which segways into time spent at Weapon X seeing other characters do all the work then wasting time with a doomed chemistry less romance to then get to the whole revenge story which is mostly just clowning around with a lot of poor set pieces bouncing between various locations that amounts to nothing anyway as he teams up with the guy he was going to try killing and then nothing at the end is accomplished so... yeah this one is just bad and terrible in every way possible. The only joy you get from this movie is how amusing it is seeing people mock it, especially other movies in this franchise. This is a pretty obvious terrible super hero movie through and through the kind that thankfully don't pop up as much now as they did in the 2000s. Though yeah this is the easy number one worst one. I think everyone else's list is going to be signifintally different clocking in all of the other movies. Mine certainly is because I think the second worst X-Men movie is...
12. X-Men - The First X-Men movie. Which i know is blasphemous. "This is one of the most important Marvel movies ever that kickstarted it's own universe that lasted longer then any other marvel movie universe and is one of the key reasons super hero movies are so popular today! How could you say it's one of the worst?" Okay I don't measure quality in terms of overall recongnizability or try and factor in their historical significance. Otherwise the first of a film franchise chances are is ALWAYS going to best even when that's usually not the case. Furthermore even if you compare it to it's peers at the time the first X-Men movie isn't very good. It's not terrible either as it is well casted, you can get some humorous barbs between the team every now and then and though it's visuals and presentation aren't anything incredible it is internally consistent with it's look so you know that does put it above Origins. Still that doesn't mean this is anyway near a good movie. See something that Blade and the First Spider Man movie had that even though now those films are pretty dated is not only a cool unique aeshtetic that makes them stand out and leads to a lot of solid enjoyable action scenes, but a focus and emotional core to those movies that tells the story it wants to tell without a lot of pointless fluff getting in the way. The problem this movie has that is shared with soooooooooooooo many of the X-Men movie is that this film has too many characters bouncing around to really have a core identity worth getting invested in. The prequel movies do a much better job at building up the animonisty between Charles Xaiver and Eric Lehnsherr that feels like it's rushed into a few scenes that establishes the two having a relationship but you only really feeling that due to the acting not the writing or how it's presented at all. There's all of this focus put on Rogue as it's her story of first realizing her powers and discovering the mansion and being the key ingredient Magneto wants in his plan... but she gets absolutely side lined too because of all the focus put on Wolverine and his angst and interactions that really fail to build to the kind of relationship this character is supposed to have with others. Yeah this one sets up the idea of him having a thing with Jean Grey or having issues with Scott Summers but you wouldn't really get why those are even important if you aren't already familiar with these characters. Unlike Spider Man where whether or not you knew about related shows or comics you would still get his story just going by what the movie tells you, it's hard to get any sort of connection here with these characters because most of them aren't really given any time to develop or give you a feeling of who they are. And the ones that are given focus aren't really given a lot of interesting things to really do or even say here that makes them especially stand out. A big problem with early Bryan Singer is taking something as epic and dramatic and expansive as X-Men and trying to ground the idea in something much darker looking and "mature" that just sort of takes a lot of energy and charm out of the idea. And sometimes that can work with certain marvel characters like yeah Blade, Punisher, Daredevil heck even Luke Cage work really well grounded but sorry X-Men is NOT one of those franchises and doing so is a determent to the series. And yeah as important as this series is for all it did for Marvel (including the first major blockbuster Marvel stan Lee cameo a tradition that sadly we only got for 19 years that I'm sure we would of loved getting forever) the first film is not the master piece a lot of people try to claim it to be and IMHO is by far one of the weaker X-Men movies. And that's the same for it's direct follow up as well...
11. X-Men 2: X-Men United - Just like how people praise a lot of the first films in these series this has been seen as one of those great incredible comic book sequels that is considered one of the absolute peak of the genre and still very much so holds up today being put on the same pedestal as Blade 2, Spider Man 2, The Dark Knight, Captain America Winter Soldier and other movies who say "man the first one was so good but this one takes that and pushes it so much more to make it really stand out." To me though the first one was pretty bleh and really dry and weak and this one... is an improvement but not really as much of one as so many people claim. Yeah that opening scene for Nightcrawler is awesome... too bad it's for a character who has only a few more scenes of any importance who they pretty much dropped this specific version out of the rest of the continuity so that's really the biggest impression you have of him. Yes this has a more interesting idea of the government trying to use this mutant to get rid of all other mutants.... too bad the way that's presented and gone about is done in such a boring dragged out way it's hard to really get invested into. Yeah there are some better battles with Lady Deathstrike who... is probably on the same level as agency of a character as Sabertooth in the first movie as in just a basic goon fight without really any specific flavor towards it. And yeah they are building up bigger stakes but in the end the world pretty much still stays the same with nothing really having changed or really anything accomplished in the end. There's still so many wastes of character; you don't get ANYTHING between Nightcrawler or Mystique since for some reason trying to build on the child/mother relation these characters have isn't something these movies ever want to do even when the opportunity stares at them right in the face; the supposedly important and beloved Professor X and Cyclops are either knocked out or bunkered away from the others in the movie not doing anything or just being used as pawns; a lot of the big action set pieces don't last that long or when they start getting interesting Like Pyro at the Drake household get cut short. And this movie still has a problem in who is getting all the focus as all of this build up is given at the idea of discovering Wolverine's past and having him do everything but still not really learning anything about it. Oh and as much as people like smack talking The Last Stand for how terrible it did Dark Phoenix (which we'll get to as yeah it is still a problem with that movie) people seem to forget how terrible the build up in THIS MOVIE was in regards to that character. The whole thing with Phoenix is you first have to build up to Jean Grey and her powers and personality and the idea of the Phoenix twisting and corrupting that which in other words means you need to spend a lot of time with Jean Grey and really get into her head.... which this movie doesn't do. It's teased sligthly at the beginning and in a couple of scenes but yeah by the ending sacrifice you still don't really get a sense of the character outside of her just wanting to protect everyone which... I feel you really need if you're going to tackle the Phoenix saga. That's how the animated X-Men series handled it and heck even X-Men Evolution who only HINTED at the power of the Phoenix still tied it in with showing off who Jean was as a character first and made every part feel like her story. Which this movie really doesn't; just feels like her making a sacrifice cause that's what the story said she had to which they can't even properly acknolwedge having to wrap up that whole government plot and yeah still coming off as a feeling of not knowing the character. Add on that pretty cringy lines now like 'have you ever tried NOT being a mutant" (which yeah coming from Bryan Singer makes you feel even more cringe) and still a lot of unteresting set pieces and set ups and it makes for still one of the weaker X-Men movies. Those of you who love this one tell me why in the other comments because I don't get and feel that love especially when the other 10 movies in this franchise are better then this one even if so many still have their own problems.
10. The Wolverine - You know back when the cartoon MAD was a thing they did a spoof of this called the Dullverine which... though not entirely accurate is an apt description for one of the biggest problems of this movie. Since unlike a lot of X-Men films that overly crowded and needlessly padded with characters (I guess this one did have a take on Viper in it that probably didn't really need the amount of screen time she got but eh having one or two more unneeded characters is better then the half dozen most other X-Men films have) this one actually does have a pretty solid focus just on Wolverine. And unlike Origins there actually is much more of a solid arc for him; after the events of Last Stand Logan is more then ever haunted by the ghosts of what he's done thus more willing to jump at the chance of removing his precious healing factor to give to one more worthy having to realize he needs to shoulder that pain of being able to recover and rise over what he did in the past to conquer what he can do now. And Manigold unlike Singer actually brings much more of a unique vibe to the material and unlike Gavin Hood actually manages to really get the spirit of Wolverine giving a good mix of tortured and bad ass to the character that feels appropriate. I'll even argue that though the giant mechanical silver Samurai suit didn't make for the best battle at the end with Ichiro it wasn't a super shark jumping moment of the movie that others claim. Since honestly a fair amount of the tone and style problems are constant throughout this movie which is it's biggest flaw. Yeah see Manigold works best as seen in Logan (which we'll obviously talk about later) getting to work with the more stripped down and gritty elements of the X-Men universe. Which sorry even before the giant mechnical suit you still had the giant ninja army assassin attempts and the bullet train battle and all that stuff with Viper and the fact you do have to cut in with elements constantly reminding you of the Last Stand that make the entire thing have elements of bombast that really go against the general morose feel of the movie. And this is a movie that of all the X-Men movies is the most hampered by the fact it's not allowed to be an R. IMHO not every hero or ever film franchise needs to be R and obviously at the time you really couldn't do it especially with the most cash cow character in the X-Men movie universe but between the very story line of Wolverine being more torn apart then ever due to his healing factor weakening and the very nature of most of the enemies in this movie the fact things have to feel much more clean and steril then they really should be hurt the entire film. Because they still needed this to feel like this gigantic summer epic of some kind even if it is a more intimiate character study which hurts both factors. It doesn't go out enough for the spectacle to really make it stand out but that also means it doesn't have as much time or intensity for the character bits to really carry thus as a result it feels pretty tepid. I mean it's easily better then Origins and does have some stand out factors (I really like Yukio here for instance even if honestly her shorter appearance in Deadpool 2 is more memorable and honestly better but she works well playing off Wolverine here even if they didn't do anything else with their relationship past this) but doesn't have enough of the character drama or fun to be anything special. I mean face it; when the best part of your movie is the tease they do to the next movie with that post credit scenes showing Magneto and Professor X to set up Days Of Future Past (which in retrospect with how that movie started didn't even flow together that well) you're not in for one of the greats. But still a watchable experience.
9. X-Men Apocalypse - Some people are going to say this movie shot itself in the foot the moment it wrote in a scene where Jean Scott Kurt and Jubilee went to see Star Wars Return Of The Jedi and complained about it ending with the joke "let's face it; the third in the trilogy is always the worst" which was suppose to be a knock on The Last Stand more then likely but also came from a film who technically is the worst of it's "trilogy" easily. IMHO though this movie was doomed the moment Singer and co finished Days Of Future Past and went "yeah now that we found a way to revert the time line back to give the fans what they wanted let's continue on with that prequel cast in yet another decade to have them fight one of the X-Men's ultimate enemies. Yeah I'm sure that's what everyone wants" when yeah NO ONE wanted that. The whole point I thought of unpolluting the time line was to go back to those original movies and try to do more with that beloved cast. Who asked for younger recast versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm and others to be put in the 80's and still continue pushing out the prequel cast even if it's clear some of them have totally checked out. A lot of people give flack on Jennifer Lawerence here and yeah it's clear this is a contractual obligation to her but not like James Macavoy and Michael Fassbender are bringing there A-Game. Then again when those character stories amount to "oh we have to also bring back Moria but she has amnesia due to Charles messing with her mind so we'll get to do a will they won't they on their relationship most of the movie" or "I finally got a family and decent simple life but they die so I can have the urge to go bad again and then be talked out of it so I can be good again but still want to leave on my own and keep repeating that cycle" is it really any wonder we got the performances we did? Not to mention though Apocalypse is far from the worst villain ever and works at least a lot better then say the Enchantress of Suicide Squad still is pretty one note and unmemorable and in a series that usually as more complicated or interesting things for their antagonists to do, his is by far the most by the numbers of the entire franchise. Add to that an overly gratuitous Wolverine cameo (though at least him taking over 10 minutes instead of say the entire length of an X-Men movie is kind of a rarity when you think about it) the ridiculousness of how everyone hasn't really aged in 20 years (which yeah is stupider in Dark Phoenix but this is at least still trying to play as an 80's movie while that has no care really about the decade it's in), and an overcrowding of characters and story lines that really kill any of the emotional ties in this movie. Well that and for whatever reason characters can't say who they are related to and I have to say one of the worst moments of this entire franchise is in this movie where even when the WORLD IS ABOUT TO BE DESTROYED Quicksilver still can't tell Magneto "yeah you're my dad" for like the stupidest of all reasons. There is so much wrong with that movie that I could see why a lot would have it probably lower on the list but for me there are some things that do pump it up. I mean this at least embracing itself as a moronic brainless spectacle. Apocalypse is supposed to be this villain that brings massive stakes with him and in that regard we actually do feel that with his powers and honestly how he's taken out actually does feel appropriate. And though the new younger cast aren't that strong there is still a feeling of a bit of character. I mean Jean Grey using the Phoenix and her general attitude gives way more character then she did in the original 3 movies alone so that's saying something. Plus I do like how at this point they are willing to be a bit committal on the character consequences and journeys like yeah not trying to pretend anymore by the end that this take on Mystique isn't the hero they've been building her up as. And getting to have the horsemen does actually allow for some grand scale battles and hey we actually do have color and flavor that hoenstly feels the most X-Men out of all the credited Bryan Singer directed movies. And I admit the Quicksilver speed up "Sweet Dreams" scene even with it's obvious green screening is a lot more fun then Days Of Future Past "Time In A Bottle" even if it's just there to be a crowdpleaser but hey I was pleased so kudos there. And I'm willing to give this a bit more flak then the originals because it does embrace itself as a comic book movie more and isn't trying to be much else. It doesn't do a fair amount of elements that well but it does have a sense of fun I feel is worth rewarding more then some of the other films which yeah is what earns it this spot which still isn't technically good but not bad either more getting to decent I suppose.
8. X-Men: The Last Stand - Like how the Blade trilogy and especially the original Spider Man Trilogy's first two entrees get brought up a lot talking about X-Men's first two, Blade Trinity and ESPECIALLY Spider-Man 3 get brought up a lot when discussing this movie. As they are considered the prime example of terrible follow ups of classic films who totally broke and damaged the franchise they were a part of and are just bad films in general. I never saw Blade Trinity but I have seen Spider Man 3 and Last Stand and for quite awhile felt they were incorrect and honestly those third entrees were better then what came before it. Re exploring the Spider Man trilogy though as much as some parts of 3 are still really strong, there's so many embarrassing and lame cringe moments and a lot of stuff that counters or goes back on the strong narratives that come before it that I can't really see it as the best of the trilogy. However I still feel that of the original 3 X-Men movies, Last Stand is the best. Since yeah like Spider Man 3 the movie is ridiculously crowded, takes ideas presented in the original movies and squanders them hard and does suck a lot of possibilities out of potential projects going forward. However you know what the original two Spider Man movies had that the first two X-Men movies don't: STRONG NARRATIVES AND OVERALL THEMES WHERE ADDING MORE ON TOP IS MUCH MORE A DETERRENT! Yeah as pointed out I'm not as much a fan of the first two that are incredibly slow and don't really have a lot of enjoyable solid character work and don't honestly really come together so quite honestly there's less to ruin IMHO then a lot of other people would say. Again Jean Grey and Dark Phoenix were not well set up in the first two movies especially X Men United and Jean either felt there to flirt with Wolverine or set up she's going to die and be reborn at the end so honestly this actually trying to start on her backstory as this powerful mutant at least showed more promise... though yeah a really big factor against this movie and why the overall project isn't good is most anything else involving Jean Grey. Even ignoring how this isn't how the Phoenix works in the comics and not even seeing the fire bird in full display, the fact is they turn this really interesting idea and character study into a prop with no agency of her own. That to me is why Dark Phoenix is the better movie; say what you want about it but it treats Jean Grey's turn as actual character stuff. Here though she's a prop once she's found to randomly kill off Scott so James Marsden can work with Bryan Singer on Superman Returns (which is the reason why Singer didn't do this movie which people at the time said was a travesty but... really think about not only Superman Returns but the other two X-Men movies and see if you still feel that way) and then Xaiver until he comes back in a way so convoluted I guarantee you 90% of the people who saw Stewart in the role after this film still don't know how he did it, and then just randomly stands in the background until the end where she starts disintergrating everyone till Wolvie has to stab her. Which is just weak on so so so sooooooooo many levels regardless of if you know the Phoenix character because yeah Dark Jean Grey is just an object and then something for Logan to feel bad about later which is just a lame way to use the character. Still that's a subplot of this movie (and yeah one you shouldn't subplot but a subplot all the same) as honestly the stuff with the actual mutant cure is a lot better. It's actually an interesting issue to bring up in these movies and actually gives character more personality and drive then before like Rouge wanting to take it to fit in to Storm feeling it's an abomination to Hank McCoy (BTW though Nicholas holt is good in the prequels Kelsey Grammar is still the best Beast of these movies) going from understanding the cure to standing against it seeing it weaponized to how it allows Magneto to gather a new legion of various mutants to fight it from being made leading to a really solid action scene. And yeah this actually does have a lot better and more well made action scenes that feel like they have a much bigger scope and feel then what we got in the first two movies. The whole line about building bridges is lame but Magneto actually lifting the golden gate bridge to use it to get to Alcatraz is such a cool image and really good use of his powers that is way more then we got in the first two movies and again you get to see more mutant abilities and actual clashes then the last few movies. And unlike Apocalypse this spectacle doesn't just come at the price of totally having to shut your brain off... I guess in some scenes you still have to considering there is still a lot of dumb here but it still evens out to a more enjoyable movie then the first two. Sorry but you can't hate on a third entry that craps on the first two that much if the first two were kind of crappy... granted this one still isn't better enough to be good but better enough to be okay. Since we are now in the pretty decent tier of these movies which continues with...
7. The New Mutants - To me the run of FOX's X-Men movies ended on neither a whimper nor a bang... granted I may be alone in that because box office wise it sure as hell was a whimper (though how fair is that when 3/4th of movie theaters aren't even open yet? Heck I only saw this in theaters visiting my sister in upstate new york and going to one of the many drive ins they have there) and yeah critically this was more scorn then adorned but for me personally this lands in the middle quality wise of these 13 movies. Which averages it to be decent with some things that really work... though a lot that really doesn't. For one this is a movie that attempts horror that isn't scary whatsoever. And as someone who is easily terrified by most horror movies if I'm not scared or freaked or even sort of jump or flinch at all I would call that a fail. And sorry Josh Boone you can't say "well it's a PG-13 low budget movie" because sorry even those have the capacity of being scary. Even Countdown had like a couple of more jump worthy moments and though I appreciate this didn't try going for cheap scares, the fact that it didn't linger long enough on setting up the actual scare as well as highlighting obviously what was the cause of it and where it was coming from kind of leads to the chance of any chance of being chilled or frightened at this moving evaporating. And considering this movie is more horror then action as it still tries for more horror throughout the run time and with the design of the demon bear in the climax it was still trying to go for some sort of scare but sorry was not getting anything from this movie. Another big problem is that half the characters of this are pretty bleh. Sam and Bobby have a couple of moments that stand out but otherwise feel like the most token guys there who I mostly remember for a couple of hints at backstory (and Bobby's story of what happened with his girlfriend was at least a good moment) and powers... and their unfunny schitck and jokes like calling Illyana really hot which yeah is eye rollingly bad. Reyes also falters because even with her working for Essex and obviously trying to tie her under Mr. Sinister, there was still potential for to at least be a complicated villain and maybe if instead of trying to go with a twist of her not working for Charles Xaiver (who gets a reference here and yeah of all X-Men related characters is the ONLY one in these 13 movies to either appear, be mentioned, cameo or star in as not even Wolverine has that luxury) and at least the audience was more upfront of who she was it'd be a chance to delve into more of her backstory and guilt when hit by Dani's powers and add some complexity to her character. But no still have to make her a straight forward villain there just to trap all the kids and then get eaten easily by the demon bear in the third act climax. Pretty weak. However there are a few things that save this movie, mostly the other starring roles. As yeah I felt Dani, Rahne and even Illyana were not only really well cast but you also got a feel of an arc and character going forward that made them stand out. Even Illyana's more prickly and cold attitude got a solid explanation so her fully powering up to magik despite the obnoxious line about that was cool and I appreciate getting to see Lockheed as well. I appreciate also delving into Rahne's drama and she had earnest chemistry with Dani as yeah this is probably the first mainstream super hero movie centering on a queer relationship that I wish others would take not of how well that worked. And Dani herself is a strong character whose weaknesses and failures you get why she would try offing herself at the start but growing as a person and being able to face and control her demon bear at the end. And honestly this having such a bare bones set and cast really makes it stand out and work when the film is able to play to those strength mainly whenever we see the three female new mutants on screen either introducing developing or wrapping up their journeys throughout the story. Those ones alone do make me feel a bit bad we'll never see them conclude but I do feel it leads to a solid enough movie that honestly gets more hate then it really deserves. Though if there was one X-Men movie I really feel is not worth the ravishing everyone gives it, it's....
6. Dark Phoenix - Sans X-Men Origins Wolverine and Last Stand this is considered by many the worst X-Men movie and one of the biggest blemishes on the franchise. And as New Mutants was released in quarantine and doesn't really star or feature any characters movie fans would know about, many see as the actual last X-Men movie. And though I don't think this movie is great I do think it's pretty good and as there are only five great X-Men films IMHO this is the closest to that. And I feel there are a few reasons for that. Primarily because unlike The Last Stand which adapted Dark Phoenix as a subplot where Jean Grey had NO agency of her own this movie is actually all about her. Now a lot of people feel Sophie Turner didn't really do a good job as this version of the character and feel like she was emotionally flat and boring but honestly I think she did a pretty good job bringing the struggle to live. Yeah like in Last Stand there is the whole focus being put on Professor X restricting her powers which eventually she realizes and that makes her tap into her dark nature but unlike that movie there feel like there are more consequences and characters calling out Charles for doing so. And it feels like he has to actually grow and change more and instead of it ending with him dying and then resurrecting through again hard to explain methods it shows him realize his mistakes and actually choose to step back realizing that yeah he isn't really the best for these young mutants moving forward. But back to Jean I again appreciate how much focus they really give on her as the point of the flashback this time around to her childhood flows better into the story showing she was responsbile for her mother's death and how that plays in how her father wants to disown and not have anything to do with her now and that obviously damaging her own psyche. I like too that by having this whole cosmic flash in space in does keep the interstellar elements of the original Phoenix story and yeah doesn't have the expanse or range that movie did (and thanks to massive reshoots had to totally change who was even the enemies to begin with) but you do at least get that nod while keeping it a more personal story and having the climax and focus still about Jean and her deciding how to best use her powers. I guess it is sort of a copt out that it still ends with her being heroic and making the ultimate sacrifice that isn't really much of one as even by the end credits it indicates she's still around but there was enough of that doubt and sway where you could feel she would push over the edge which is really needed in this kind of story and shows it is at least very much a choice for her. I also really like how serious this movie is. Like there are some jokes in the first act but they are pretty sparse as even the stuff with say Quicksilver is turned down which I guess is a bummer for fans of his but he had his moments and I am fine with this having a somber tone. Like Endgame did handle being serious and having a longer run time did allow it more time to dwell on those sort of things but that still had to have acts with goofier antics and a very big epic spectacle that still wrapped up on mostly a happy ending. This though could have more of a dourness and even ending hopefully still not wipe away the more grim tone throughout which honestly for this kind of movie actually does work. And sells the emotional moment like Raven's frustration at the risks Charles takes just to make mutants more heroic at the cost of the danger it could bring to them and Hank breaking down when Raven died and how upset he was at Charles. Like the series has built up these characters enough over four films for these sort of moments to hit and work within the narrative well plus I do like the idea of for once Magneto not joining up again as a villain but rather realizing the threat of Jean and wanting to take her down knowing what she's capable of which gives him a reason to be at odds but again not trying to justify slaughtering the world for the sake of a lost family. And you know I don't think Jessica Chastain's Vulk was that bad a villain though yeah she was better as just a devil on Jean Grey's shoulder but actually having taken some of the phoenix force to use in a final fight work and I have to say the ending action scene with the X-Men against the D'Bari was good and honestly I like using the D'Bari as a deep cut for people who know the source material. And yeah this movie certainly does have problems with some cheap pretty lame lines and it did feel sort of rushed getting Jean back and then everyone teaming up against the D'Bari but to me those are more minor then major problems as I still like this movie and think it has more good then bad. It is the second weakest of the prequel movies though and yeah not great but hey the closest to that as we now get into what I think are the great X-Men movies that everyone should at least try checking out once even if they don't want to watch the other 8 movies in the series.
5. X-Men: First Class - You know of all the X-Men movies this probably had the most against it. After how terrible Origins Wolverine was reviewed (even if the box office of that one was for the time decent) it made Fox Nervous about doing more origins movie and thus the Origins Magneto movie they were midway through conceiving had to be massively altered to try and tie it to something that would connect people back to more general X-Men thus decided "hey if we're going to make a prequel why not a prequel to the concept itself going with a lot of the elements people would generally understand as the start of this franchise?" And thus rushed that intro production incredibly quickly having a June 2011 they needed to hit that would normally spell doom for a film but suprrisingly really worked in this movie. In fact the only really sour element of this one is it's ending. Specifically once Charles is paralyzed and Magneto makes a stand about having to choose sides and then having Mystique join him along with all of other Shaw's enemies and teleport in somewhere. That was really weak and not how this one should of ended as really though Magneto probably should of left it should of still been on a more conflicted note about his relationship with Charles and see Eric more torn about what happen even if he still wants to fight for mutants right. IMHO the studios probably weren't sure at the time if they were going to do another prequel movie and wanted to see how people liked this first thus wanted to wrap things up in case this movie wasn't well received but when it was decided to jump into doing more which yeah eventually soured on them but at the time really only soured on this movie since super rushed ending aside this was great. Okay again a lot of wasted mutant characters since most of the original first team are pretty interchangable and forgettable (some more then others. Havok and Banshee at least have moments but who even remembers Angel Salvadore is in this movie other then a couple shots of her dancing or Darwin besides the fact he died?) but the character and struggles that work really are good. I honestly really liked Mystique in this movie and though Jennifer Lawerence honestly did let her down in Apocalypse (yeah Dark Phoenix had her die early but at least I felt she was trying somewhat in that movie though probably because she knew she would be dead by act 1 so probably an incetivive to give one last performance more) she's really strong in the first two prequels with here you see her actually having this really solid bond with Charles but also get her annoyance in him obviously losing interest in her and her sensestiviity at being seen as different thus why she forms a small bond with Eric and yeah she shoudln't of left with him but if done right this movie should of ended in seeing why she would eventually want to go with Magneto. And honestly a lot of the Eric stuff here really is great; granted they really should of showed off Shaw's power more in his first scene when little Eric fully unleashed his magnetic powers so you'd get why Eric even as a kid would of had to work under him but his quest for revenge and then meeting Charles and forming a bond with him are great. And yeah I feel much more a connection between this Professor X and Magneto then in the original 3 movies because you can just have the two of them together being on the same side and though having really differing views still having this bond of friendship that benefits the other even if they ultimately can't see eye to eye. There was a coolness of Shaw that made him work as a one off villain and how Erik took him out was really well done and cool and yeah one of those "you got what was coming to you scumbag" moments with the coin going through the skull that really works. As does a lot of the scenes here whether it's going around trying to recruit other mutants (though the Deadpool movies would later have better cameos, Wolverine's one "go f*** yourself" moment is still iconic and well done) seeing them party and try to give themselves all nick names, training and using their powers and then yeah colliding with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Really that scene of Magneto catching all those missiles the allied forces threw and preparing to launch them back is so cool that yeah you do wish this movie ended on a better note then it did but again it's overall still really good. After Origins this was the breath of fresh air the franchise needed and to me the first potential of the greatness FOX achieved at points throughout the decade. To some this is still the crowning moment of the X-Men movies but I can think of four more worthy then this even if ending aside it still is great.
4. Logan - To many Logan is considered the best X-Men related movie and the magnum opus of the Fox Marvel run. And though it is a pretty great movie there are a couple of things that do hold it back for me. Number one there's this scene early on where the team have Donald Pierce knocked out and instead of just offing him despite knowing the trouble he'll bring with his Marauders leave him alive and what do you know that leads all of them to their door stop with him later because yeah especially in a movie so visercial that does not care about people getting offed and having our hero kill so many people you can't pull the "let's leave this one alive" without a good reason. Secondly when Logan and Laura get to "Eden" and meet the kid mutants there is a scene of them goofing around and the kids marveling at an unconcious Wolvie that goes on too long and should of been cut down more especially as yeah we're nearing the end of the movie so it's too late to really give any weight to these new characters anyway and we feel enough for their plight just knowing how they were used without needing to see much of them as a collective especially if it's not say bonding with Laura. And... yeah those are the two major flaws of this movie. They aren't as bad as the ending issues with X-Men First Class but are a big reason why to me this is only a 4 as the other three films have less issues. However those aside this movie is honestly so great and there's so much of it to love. First off unlike Singer who took like nearly 15 years to direct a great X-Men movie (more on that later) Manigold was able to hit it out of the park on his second try because this was allowed to be the no holds bare bloody violent emotional spectacle you could tell he wanted to make for the Wolverine but was held back. Because Fox feared for their bottom line but when they knew they could really only get Hugh Jackman back one last time and had to send him out on the right note did relent on the rating for a slightly lowered budget thus getting this movie. You know the one not only critically loved a lot more but did finanically a lot better because under the right circumstances R rated movies do make coin so yeah it retrospect pretty stupid it took Fox a bunch of failures and middling efforts to inadvertingly realize that nearly too late. And not every super hero film or super hero needs an R rating but someone like James Howlett certainly does. Actually getting to see a glimpse of that early with even a drunken mostly out of it Logan tearing through guys and then showing off full Berserker Rage for the first time at the very end against the Ravagers and him clawing his way through guys between then really gives you an idea that despite being a heroic X-Men Logan is the best at what he does by not playing nice. Like Origins Told us that but Logan SHOWED US THAT and in movies showing is wayyyyyyy more important then just telling. But this movie isn't a morose collection of just bloody battle bits or hardcore swearing (even if again it is fitting the character) as this is one of those rare desolate destructive wayward movies whose focus isn't about having to save a dead world but rather having to live on a dead world and giving hope to the next generation that there may be a chance for them to change it. And this movie does so beautifully in it's raw emotional character connections. Again I find Professor X better usually played by MacAvoy because he has chewier bits in his script then Stewart mostly got but this is the exception because the idea of having Xaiver so broken and a powerful destructive mess (I do still argue maybe at least a flashback showing how he took out the others would of helped make that scene more powerful but in this more scaled down movie I get why and the emotion of him realizing that at his end is at least still there) but still trying to help out mutants when he's in his proper state is compelling and unlike Last Stand makes his death here way more powerful. And of course you have the bond that Logan forms with Laura. Again I'm a fan of X-Men Evolution so I knew of X23 because she was introduced in that series but eh even as a kid I kind of saw the character s a self insert mary sue angsty fan fic trope. But she works so well here being this power house but also this poor kid who needs help and you would get why Logan would form a bond with her and BTW sans Deadpool the family and friends connections of these movie are always a thousand times better then the romantic ones so yeah that stuff was aces. So actual grit, compelling characters, great direction and yeah a powerful ending for Jackman's take on Wolverine that feels incredibly fitting (that sadly never led to Dafne Keen getting her own film even though it felt more then deserved) make this easily one of the best of the franchise. With really only two flaws that hold it back and I guess the sheer greatness of the other 3 X-Men films I have yet to talk about.
3. X-Men: Days Of Future Past - In terms of just straight up X-Men in terms of characters, story and grand scale epicness this probably is the best of this particular run. To me this is the movie that if someone wanted to watch who was a pure X-Men fan I'd direct them to and granted to get the most of it you do have to at least know about other X-Men movies even if they aren't the best quality but honestly the same could be said for a lot of the best MCU movies. And really this to me is the only X-Men movie that can fiercely compete directly with the MCU even sharing a problem I noted of Infinity War and Endgame of how the endings kind of rush over a lot of the finer points to get to the main plot. It's probably worse here since sans the slightest tease of The Wolverine nothing here at all really hinted at the whole "future controlled by mutant hating radicals who send Sentienels that can easily evolve to use the powers of mutants to crush the resistance oh and also Kitty Pryde now has time travel related abilities" story we're getting but hey it does actually work well still as a narrative. Since unlike a lot of other X-Men movies with huge swaths of characters this actually uses it's minor cast effectively just as tools to go against the Sentienls for epic action scenes that show just how terrible the future is and how important changing the past really is. Yeah it does mean you see new team mates like Blink or Bishop and old favorites like Ice Man, Storm and Colossus just used as action figures being broken apart in some cases over and over again by faceless mechanical monsters but it still works and really gives a sense of stakes with all that's happening. Of course what really sells this movie is the stuff more with Wolverine and the prequel cast. And though Logan does have some cool moments like first getting in the past and trying to warn some random passerbys not to mess with him or his smaryness towards Fassbender Magneto and fighting and then making friends with younger Beast it's really nice to see an X-Men movie that Wolverine is in that he DOESN'T steal the scene and focus of in most every frame he's in. That makes sense in the Wolverine movies as they are his movies but that was a problem the original trio of X-Men movies had that was pretty obnoxious. Here though he's the one playing more mentor and peacekeeper with the newer cast and even at the end gets taken out of the climax by Magneto because yeah this isn't HIS movie so he can't be the one to solve the problem which I really appreciate. And though I do really like the bits we get with Hank and of course the classic Quicksilver scene (again I think Apocalypse did it better but here it's still a good scene) and actually like them fleshing out Boliver Trask as someone whose fascinated by mutants and actually has some sense of appreciation of them even though he still views them as a threat and wants to take him down but in a way that makes him three dimensional, this is a movie carried by it's three stars; Xavier, Magneto and Mystique all 70's editions. Sadly they couldn't find a way to have Rebecca Romajin cameo back (since yeah they had to go with X3's continuity until time was reversed so she wouldn't of obviously been a mutant with them... then again the cure didn't work fully on Magneto so maybe it wouldn't of on her but eh now I'm just splitting hairs) but I did like what we got out of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart's take on the characters but this one was owned by the younger counter parts. And honestly this being so character focused and grounded was really nice especially for me at the time with the latest movie I saw being Godzilla 2014 a movie that once it gets rid of Bryan Cranston's character (oh also Godzilla 2014 spoilers for uh... anyone that cares) really had NONE while this was always choke full of it. At first I was a bit annoyed an thought it was conveinant what had happened to Xaiver to make him unable to read Logan's mind but not only did it work after what happened in first Class but as you see MacAvoy lost in the role you really get a sense of his unique take and really get a feel of his arc having to grow into this leader and careful guide who doesn't abuse his powers and doesn't feed into his worst impulses to better others. I liked showing more of the dislike yet friendship of Magneto who you totally get why he's still waging war and yet still has a commrodery with his old associates and has really just cause to go attacking the government using their old sentienels. And of course having this penned on Raven as needing to be the one to realize that revenge and taking out this threat aren't the best way yet not being forced to do and it still being her choice really was a great focus point for the movie and again despite Apocalypse having Lawerence not caring you really see the struggle and focus and care she puts in the role here that are really great and is easily the best use of Mystique in any of these movies. Making her this cool yet bad ass infilitrator but also giving her heart and reason to make her more then just a henchman or villain. Plus yeah that ending undoing Last Stand felt like we had wrapped up the prequel cast (especially with most of them dead) and were ready to tell new adventures with the main cast now free of the baggage previously and with a Singer who could do epic properly that yeah didn't happen but that was the feel I got at the time and the feel I still get from this one still makes it work. Still despite how great this one is it's still not top best of the year or of super hero movies for me because quite honestly only one FOX X-Men character ever really did that for me with his movies and if you hadn't been paying attention you should know by now that's....
2. Deadpool - Yup DP. Because as great as Patrick Stewart or James MacAvoy are as Professor X, as cool as Hugh Jackman is as Wolverine and even the range Fassbender of McKellen can give as Magneto, there is only one actor who so seemlessly fits the role of his character within this universe with the best of super hero actors. You know the Robert Downy Jr to Iron Man; the Chris Evans to Captain America; the Gal Gadot to Wonder Woman and that's Ryan Reynolds to Deadpool. And yeah notice how i haven't listed any of the actors for Batman or Superman because as classic as Christopher Reeves or Michael Keaton are or the intensisty of Ben Affleck or even Henry Cavill can be in the action scene to me the best super hero actors need to portray best both the person inside and get a feel of what their day to day live would be and how they became who they are and that escapism fun of being that character and so uniquely portraying that identity. Which is an especially hard thing to do if you think about it for someone like Deadpool who not only needs to be shown being more brtual then you'd usually get but needs a snarky 4th wall breaking somewhat aware charm where he needs to appear pretty obnoxious to his enemies and even his allies but hilarious but still engaging to the audience. This is a much trickier balance then you'd think but man does Reynolds pull it off famously here. Probably because this is the role he had wanted to play for the longest time even just taking the role despite how terrible the script was for Origins just to get the chance and he so delivers on it here. This just oozes Deadpool down to it's very pores. Be it the opening credits mocking typical conventions to the ending stinger mocking the very idea of them but still getting you pumped for the idea of having Cable in the sequel. And the million of jokes inbetween. Like in my reviews of both movies I spent a huge amount just listing all the moments that made me laugh and I could easily do so again here but honestly that defeats a bit of the purpose out of you seeing the movie; these jokes are a lot funnier because of how Reynolds delievers them in the cadence and tone that makes perfect sense for the character. Be it the light hearted quipiness mocking Colossus and Negasonic Teenage Warhead to pitching terrible advice to cabbie Dopinder to his giddy sadistic glee shooting down all of Ajax's goons to offing Francis in the middle of Colossus trying to give a hero speech since yeah DP ain't the traditional sort of good guy and any chance to really showcase that works spectacularly. But I think the movie wisely knows that as many yuks we get from the character it wouldn't mean much if it didn't have an emotional core which this movie does very well and I have to give bonus points for that being a love story. As I said even in Days of Future Past typically the best stuff in the X-Men movies heck most super hero movies in general are the character's friends and familiar connections. There are very VERY few where you takeaway the relationship as the core of the movie and actually believe it. Heck even something like the Dark Knight no one's going to go "yeah you know what the best part of that movie was? The Love triangle between Bruce, Harvey and Rachel. That's the reason I kept coming back to that movie. Screw the Joker or the highway chase or Harvey's descent into insanity or the themes of morality that totes is what makes the movie work." Here though you actually DO get a good love story. Probably helped by how great the chemistry Ryan Reynolds and Morenna Baccarrin have but honestly what works about it is they really do spend time and actually give you a full on relationship. You see how they meet, how they banter, how they sort of push and support one another and yeah it's done through a lot of comedy (how many super hero movies have a sex montage and how many of them have a joke about pegging for international women's day? Give you a hint; this movie... and this movie) but you feel an earnest connection between them. One where the idea of losing the one he has connected to actually torments Wade and the very idea that he could still be with her even after what happened to his body is frightening but one that makes their connection at the end work and feel like such a victory. Granted it does sort of make Vanessa come across as a damsel in distress at the end and honestly I do wish these movies found a way to have her use her copy cat form to make her more an equal partner to Wade (seriously that better happen in movie 3) but films especially now succeed in execution and delivery then just plain orginality and the delivery and how this one was executed is why it is so incredible. One of the best origin story movies that really succeeds and makes for also one of the best super hero movies ever that makes for a very hard act to top. And though many feel that didn't happen I feel it did. And why is that? Well...
(Post too long will have to give my thoughts on Deadpool 2 after Freddy's post).
So yeah give me your list of worst to best or best to worst Fox X-Men movies and discuss these films and what you like or don't like about them here since hey now that they're over might as well celebrate/scorn them right?
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