“Logan” (2017) destroyed the opening box office with a massive $85.3 million debut. Many people are calling “Logan” one of the greatest superhero films of all time and best “X-Men” movie ever, but is this true? Which “X-Men” movie was the worst? Was “Days of Future Past” or “First Class” better? All of these questions will be answered in my ranking of the nine “X-Men” films from worst to best. Please note that the following list is my personal ranking of the “X-Men” films and it may or may not resonate with you. With that being said, let us open the doors to Cerebro and sheath our Adamantium claws as we look at the best and worst “X-Men” films.

#9. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)

This movie is a complete mess. It had so much potential and it completely squandered it. As far as I am concerned, the only redeemable qualities of this movie are Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth/Victor Creed, the opening credits sequence in which Logan’s and Victor’s history throughout war is shown, and, of course, Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine. The editing of this movie is so incredibly choppy and incohesive, there are so many “WTF” scenes, Deadpool’s character is butchered and Will.i.am’s and Kevin Durand’s performances are ridiculously awful. This is considered to be one of the worst superhero movies ever made and I have no remorse whatsoever calling it the worst “X-Men” movie ever.

#8. “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)

“The Last Stand” just tried too hard. It thought it needed to end the original “X-Men” trilogy big and loud, but it ended up ending it clustered and disappointing. The two good things about this movie are that it recognizes the awesome power of Storm/Ororo Monroe and delivers a fairly decent performance from Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Hank McCoy/Beast. Everything else about this movie is incredibly muddled because it is not sure if it wants to focus the story on Jean Grey/Phoenix, the Mutant Cure, or the love triangle between Iceman/Bobby Drake, Kitty Pride/Shadowcat and Rogue/Marie.

#7. “The Wolverine” (2013)

I enjoyed this movie until the silly and absurd third act. I loved the setting of Japan in this film and the Nagasaki bombing scene at the beginning, but the movie did flat-out stupid things like forcing a romance between Logan and a Japanese woman, carelessly shoving numerous plot holes into the story and making a motivationless and weird Viperwoman one of the main antagonists. Just like it’s predecessor (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine), this film blew so much potential.

#6. “X-Men: Apocalypse” (2016)

Oscar Isaac goes a little over-the-top as Apocalypse/En Sabah Nur, but this film served as an excellent follow-up to “Days of Future Past”. Almost all of the cast members do a phenomenal job, there is a fantastic scene involving Magneto/Erik Lensherr in a forest, another hilarious sequence from Quicksilver and great emotional development for Mystique’s and Professor X’s characters. Sophie Turner is also crazy good as Jean Grey and there is a surprise cameo that blew fans away. “Apocalypse” may not be the best, but it is far from the worst.

#5. “X-Men” (2000)

Here is the one that started at all; the film that introduced us to the beloved cast and contained massive character development for Rogue/Marie. We learn about the struggles of mutant/human interaction right off the bat in this movie and This film is a pure and utter classic.

#4. “X-Men: First Class” (2011)

The origins of the X-Men and foundation of Professor X’s and Magneto’s rivalry are expanded in “First Class”. The backdrop of the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis adds extreme tension to the story and characters’ lives. Matthew Vaughn resurrected the broken “X-Men” franchise with this superb movie.

#3. “X2: X-Men United” (2003)

The X-Men come under brutal attack in this movie. The hatred and discrimination towards mutants is displayed and it is one of those few sequels that outshines the original one. It does have a few problems, but the bigger budget and cast and deeper story outweigh these minor problems. Mutation moves on in this incredible movie. Put simply, “X2” is “Xcellent”!!

#2. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014)

This is one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. The conflict between the past and future in this film, the amazing visual effects and fantastic character development all contribute to making this film a masterpiece. Everyone in this movie does an amazing job at making the characters real and powerful, the visual effects are groundbreaking and the story is mesmerizing. Everything about “Days of Future Past” is perfect.

#1. “Logan” (2017)

“Logan” is being called Marvel’s “Dark Knight”. This is an accurate comparison since “Logan” contained just as much inner conflict, emotional turmoil, darkness, and grit as “The Dark Knight” (2008). It is hard to even call this film a superhero movie or “X-Men” film because it stands by itself as a somber, western-like drama that perfectly concludes Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine.
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