(Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved./courtesy Everett Collection)
All X-Men Movies Ranked
In the world of superhero movies post–Batman & Robin implosion, Spider-Man showed they could still be fun, Batman Begins demonstrated gravitas, and Blade got its cut with R-rated gruesomeness. Meanwhile, the X-Men proved the ensemble superhero movie could work: Just take off the yellow spandex, add some millennium-era leather, and retain the franchise’s outsider allegories. Oh, and capture some lightning-in-a-bottle casting with Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. A bit tall to play Wolvy, but he had the chops (and literally, the muttonchops).
The relentless X2: X-Men United brought true action to the series, before hitting the skids with The Last Stand and the writer’s strike-afflicted X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Since then, the X-Men franchise has spread out in myriad ways, with highlights including adapting the time-splitting classic Days of Future Past, the Western-inflected Logan (nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar!), and introducing the meta Merc With A Mouth Deadpool into the mix.
With New Mutants finally out, we’re taking a look at all the X-Men movies ranked by Tomatometer. —Alex Vo
#14
Adjusted Score: 42540%
Critics Consensus: Dark Phoenix ends an era of the X-Men franchise by taking a second stab at adapting a classic comics arc -- with deeply disappointing results.
Synopsis: The X-Men face their most formidable and powerful foe when one of their own, Jean Grey, starts to spiral out...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 43472%
Critics Consensus: Rendering a list of potentially explosive ingredients mostly inert, The New Mutants is a franchise spinoff that's less than the sum of its super-powered parts.
Synopsis: Five teenage mutants -- Mirage, Wolfsbane, Cannonball, Sunspot and Magik -- undergo treatments at a secret institution that will cure...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 47594%
Critics Consensus: Though Hugh Jackman gives his all, he can't help X-Men Origins: Wolverine overcome a cliche-ridden script and familiar narrative.
Synopsis: Seeking solace from his dark past, Logan (Hugh Jackman), better known as Wolverine, seems to have found love and contentment...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 63770%
Critics Consensus: Overloaded action and a cliched villain take the focus away from otherwise strong performers and resonant themes, making X-Men: Apocalypse a middling chapter of the venerable superhero franchise.
Synopsis: Worshiped as a god since the dawn of civilization, the immortal Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) becomes the first and most powerful...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 59531%
Critics Consensus: Once Upon a Deadpool retains enough of the franchise's anarchic spirit to entertain, but doesn't add enough to Deadpool 2 to justify its own existence.
Synopsis: Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool meets Russell, an angry teenage mutant who lives at an orphanage. When Russell becomes the target of...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 65942%
Critics Consensus: X-Men: The Last Stand provides plenty of mutant action for fans of the franchise, even if it does so at the expense of its predecessors' deeper character moments.
Synopsis: The discovery of a cure for mutations leads to a turning point for Mutants (Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen,...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 83114%
Critics Consensus: Although its final act succumbs to the usual cartoonish antics, The Wolverine is one superhero movie that manages to stay true to the comics while keeping casual viewers entertained.
Synopsis: Lured to a Japan he hasn't seen since World War II, century-old mutant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) finds himself in a...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 89099%
Critics Consensus: Faithful to the comics and filled with action, X-Men brings a crowded slate of classic Marvel characters to the screen with a talented ensemble cast and surprisingly sharp narrative focus.
Synopsis: They are children of the atom, homo superior, the next link in the chain of evolution. Each was born with...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 107424%
Critics Consensus: Though it threatens to buckle under the weight of its meta gags, Deadpool 2 is a gory, gleeful lampoon of the superhero genre buoyed by Ryan Reynolds' undeniable charm.
Synopsis: Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool meets Russell, an angry teenage mutant who lives at an orphanage. When Russell becomes the target of...
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#5
X2 (2003)
85%
Adjusted Score: 93968%
Critics Consensus: Tightly scripted, solidly acted, and impressively ambitious, X2: X-Men United is bigger and better than its predecessor -- and a benchmark for comic sequels in general.
Synopsis: Stryker (Brian Cox), a villianous former Army commander, holds the key to Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) past and the future of...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 101924%
Critics Consensus: Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting Deadpool subverts superhero film formula with wildly entertaining -- and decidedly non-family-friendly -- results.
Synopsis: Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) is a former Special Forces operative who now works as a mercenary. His world comes crashing...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 98180%
Critics Consensus: With a strong script, stylish direction, and powerful performances from its well-rounded cast, X-Men: First Class is a welcome return to form for the franchise.
Synopsis: In the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War, a mutant named Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) meets a...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 106165%
Critics Consensus: X-Men: Days of Future Past combines the best elements of the series to produce a satisfyingly fast-paced outing that ranks among the franchise's finest installments.
Synopsis: Convinced that mutants pose a threat to humanity, Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) develops the Sentinels, enormous robotic weapons that...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 117161%
Critics Consensus: Hugh Jackman makes the most of his final outing as Wolverine with a gritty, nuanced performance in a violent but surprisingly thoughtful superhero action film that defies genre conventions.
Synopsis: In the near future, a weary Logan (Hugh Jackman) cares for an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart) at a remote...
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22%
71%
