MovieMuse
The X-Men Collection (2000-2019)
GENRE: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
DIRECTORS: Bryan Singer (4 films), James Mangold (2 films), Brett Ratner, Gavin Hood, Matthew Vaughn, Simon Kinberg (1 film each)
WRITERS: David Hayter, Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Zak Penn, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn and more. Based on the comic books by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
STARS: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Halle Berry
COUNTRY: US
X-Men is an American film franchise based on the Marvel comics superhero team. 20th Century Fox obtained the film rights to the characters in 1994 and after numerous drafts, Bryan Singer was hired to direct the first film, released in 2000. After each film outgrossed its predecessor several spin-off films were released, including three Wolverine films.
X-Men is the seventh highest-grossing film series, having grossed over $6 billion worldwide. In March 2019, Marvel Studios obtained the film rights to X-Men after Disney acquired 21st Century Fox. In October 2020 the X-Men films were rebranded as Marvel Legacy Movies on Disney+
This boxset review discounts the Deadpool films and The New Mutants as while they exist in the same cinematic universe as the X-Men films, they are only loosely related to the main series and its characters.
FILMS
- X-Men (2000)
- X-Men 2 (2003)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
- X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
- X-Men: First Class (2011)
- The Wolverine (2013)
- X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
- X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
- Logan (2017)
- X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men | Assembles a very well-cast and generally well-acted group of characters, but then does very little with them. In retrospect this film feels like it was just a set up for the superior sequel. | 6 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men 2 | Lighter on action than I remembered, and definitely a bit too long, but this remains one of the best movies of its type thanks to some scintillating dialogue, classy acting and plenty of drama. One of the more cerebral Superhero films! | 8 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men: The Last Stand | It may be packed with action, but most of the subtlety and social commentary of the first two films is lost. It was also short-sighted to kill off so many major characters given how many more films were ultimately made in this franchise. | 6 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Taking a rather thin origin story and stretching it out into a full-length film was always going to be tricky, but adding a bunch of weird interpretations of Marvel characters definitely didn’t help. Jackman is decent, but overall this is a bit of a mes | 5 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men: First Class | The backdrop of a real-world crisis works well to introduce the mutants, who are generally portrayed well. The final act is perhaps a bit undewhelming but overall it's a decent reboot of the franchise. | 7 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
The Wolverine | The Japanese setting and gritty tone set this apart from most Marvel movies, and at its best it's a decent no-frills action thriller. Unfortunately the showdown with the giant Samurai-bot is more akin to typical superhero films and lets it down a bit. | 7 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men: Days of Future Past | A clever story brings together the old and new actors from the franchise, with Hugh Jackman the linchpin holding it together and the 70s a great setting for the core story. High on action and emotion, this is the pinnacle of the X-Men saga. | 8 | Mat |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men: Apocalypse | Shoddy effects and a pretty pathetic story, but a great start and some nice set pieces stop it being a complete failure. | 6 | Gordon |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Logan | To call this a superhero film does it a massive disservice. An emotional and violent road movie that is a fitting end to the Wolverine story and is exactly the mature film that many have been hoping for from this genre. | 9 | Mat |
 |
Logan | A superhero film that gives no sense of hope. The acting is great and the story brave, but it all feels a little bleak. | 6 | Gordon |
| Poster | Movie | Comments | Rating | Reviewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
X-Men: Dark Phoenix | A film almost completely devoid of value, it is a pointless entry into the X-Men franchise and showcases the worst effects, acting and script that Marvel has produced in 20 years. | 4 | Gordon |
The Verdict
-
X-Men
-
X-Men 2
-
X-Men: The Last Stand
-
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
-
X-Men: First Class
-
The Wolverine
-
X-Men: Days of Future Past
-
X-Men: Apocalypse
-
Logan
-
X-Men: Dark Phoenix
Summary
It’s amazing to think that over 20 years have passed since the first X-Men film began the era of big budget Marvel adaptations and launched Hugh Jackman’s Hollywood career. Looking back, it’s fair to say that the series has probably had more lows than highs, but there have been a few great instalments over the years and the casting has always been good. Recent offerings have generally been below-par though so it seems timely that this vision of the franchise has been brought to an end by Disney’s acquisition of Fox. It’s inevitable that a new X-Men saga will be introduced into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but while it may offer more consistent quality of films, it is unlikely it will be quite as influential as this series was.
User Review
( votes)Boxset review by Mat Corne & Gordon Sinclair.