What is the best X-Men movie? Right now, there are 13 films in the franchise before any future reboots come out. It began with X-Men in 2000 and “ended” briefly with The New Mutants in 2020. In between those two, the quality certainly waffled back and forth. There are a few incredible X-Men movies out there, but there are also duds like X-Men: Dark Phoenix or X-3: The Last Stand. Here are the seven best X-Men movies to date.
7. Deadpool 2 (2018)
Deadpool 2 is not as good as its predecessor, but it still makes for a pretty good X-Men movie. Ryan Reynolds continues to show why he was literally born to play Wade Wilson. His jokes land effortlessly and the fourth-wall-breaking bit never gets old. It’s not as revolutionary as the first one for the genre, but it does help to show that it’s not so much a flash in the pan as a reliable storytelling medium.
6. Deadpool (2016)
Ryan Reynolds often plays himself, but it works to absolute perfection with Deadpool. Before rated R comic book movies were so prominent, Deadpool took a big swing. They decided to take what was previously a family-friendly genre and turn it into an F-word-filled, raunchy take. That certainly alienated some of the audience, but the movie was a smash hit. Without it, others like Joker or Logan might not have been made.
5. X-Men (2000)
A lot of credit is given to the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy for helping pave the way for comic book movies to be relevant. However, some of that credit is misplaced. The original X-Men movies, starting with the first in 2000, helped show audiences that these movies could be good. Even today, X-Men stands up. It’s an excellent first look into Marvel’s most iconic team. When the Marvel Cinematic Universe embarks on bringing their version of the team to life, they will have a hard bar to clear. From the casting to the direction and plot lines explored, 2000’s X-Men is one of the best movies to date.
4. X-Men: First Class (2011)
The timeline for the X-Men movie franchise is a bit muddied, and the 2011 film X-Men: First Class is somewhat responsible for that. It resulted in a different timeline than the one the original trilogy had laid out. It’s why First Class‘ sequel had to attempt to clean up the confusing timeline. Nevertheless, it’s an excellent origin story. There are some creative decisions that don’t make a lot of sense, but seeing how Charles, Erik, and the other main characters came together is incredible. Watching Erik turn into Magneto is harrowing and sets up their relationship perfectly.
3. X-2 (2003)
Sequels to early 2000s comic book movies were really good. Spider-Man 2 is still heralded as an all-time comic book movie, and X-2 improved on X-Men’s impressive start to the franchise. Exploring Wolverine’s origin story was an excellent choice. Some scenes in X-2 are still some of the best in any comic movie over two decades later. The combination of the first two X-Men films made for an impressive duo. It’s a shame the third was so bad, or else this could have been one of the best comic book trilogies out there.
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
X-Men: Days of Future Past had the daunting task of uniting the timelines and providing some semblance of continuity for the Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart-led originals and Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy’s “reboot.” Fortunately, it did that perfectly. The plot is as convoluted as it gets, and yet everything fits perfectly. Despite most of this taking place in the past, the stakes have never been higher. It gets the added bonus of including both iterations of the popular characters, which helps fans of both love this movie. Patrick Stewart’s Charles giving James McAvoy’s character advice is still a beloved scene to this day. If not for number one, this would be the best X-Men movie.
1. Logan (2017)
Not only is Logan the best X-Men movie, it is easily one of the best comic book movies of all time. Even with hundreds of films out there, there are very few that even come close to the final send-off for Wolverine. It also helped pave the way for rated R comic book movies in the future by showing that a brutal character can be brutal on-screen and still work.
Logan did what The Dark Knight accomplished all the way back in 2008. It brought prestige to what was previously considered a nerdy theme park genre. There are valid complaints about comic book movies, but they really do not apply here. Hugh Jackman’s send-off (as well as one for Patrick Stewart’s Professor X) is as perfect as can be. It’s the best X-Men movie by far as a result.