The Fox X-Men: The Great, the okay, and the Ugly.

by Hans A. Carpenter

This summer is the 20th anniversary of Fox dropping X-Men, a serious summer blockbuster based on superheroes. While that may be the norm now, in 2000, superheroes were considered box office poison. X-Men changed that. For better or worse, the franchise rode ups and downs straight into being bought by Disney last year. This week, we’ll take a look at the highs.
The Great
Logan
Logan is not just an all-time great superhero flick, it’s one of the best movies to come out in recent years full stop. Featuring Hugh Jackman’s swan song as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart’s as Professor X, Logan is a somber western with incredible acting and moments that will make you feel, unless your heart is made of adimantium.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Bringing together the original X-Men lineup and pairing them with the prequel “First Class” lineup, Days of Future Past is a sprawling sci-fi epic that sees Wolverine travel back in time to prevent a future where mutants are hunted down by robot sentinels.
This is X-Men at its best, making the most of not one but two ensemble casts.
Both Deadpool Movies
Deadpool may not be a mainline X-Men series, but it’s in the family (if the X-Men like it or not). These movies were game changers for “R” rated cinema, making record amounts of money with self aware humor and ultra violence.
X2
I wrestled with putting X-Men on here, but in truth everything great in the original is on display two fold in the sequel. The first two Brian Singer X-Men movies really got what makes the comics great, the battle for mutant rights and acceptance. That combined with great actors and the Nightcrawler White House sequence, one of the best in action cinema, make for a classic.