X-Men Movies Tier List: All 14 Ranked
Twenty-plus years, two timelines, one Deadpool making fun of all of it. The X-Men franchise has given us some of the best superhero movies ever made and some genuinely baffling misfires, sometimes with the same cast.
Here's every mainline X-Men movie ranked from essential to skippable, based on where fan forums, critics and general pop culture consensus land, with our own opinions where the arguments get heated (and they do, especially around the sequels).
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SS Tier: The essentials
Logan
A superhero movie that barely feels like one. Stripped of spandex and one-liners, it's a western about a dying man and a kid he never asked for, and it earned every bit of its R rating. Most fans and critics call it the best film the franchise ever produced, full stop.
About Logan
A 2017 R-rated film seen as Hugh Jackman's final turn as Wolverine, praised for its somber tone and dramatic weight.
- Released
- 2017
- Director
- James Mangold
X2
Still the template for how to do a superhero sequel right. Nightcrawler's opening assault on the White House alone justifies its reputation, and Stryker gives the series a villain with actual menace. This is the movie that convinced people mutant movies could be serious.
About X2
The 2003 sequel widely regarded as one of the best superhero films of its era, expanding the cast and raising the stakes.
- Released
- 2003
- Director
- Bryan Singer
Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds spent a decade fighting to get this made and it shows in every gleefully profane frame. It reset expectations for what a comic book movie could get away with, and the chimichanga jokes still land years later.
About Deadpool
A 2016 R-rated hit starring Ryan Reynolds that broke box office records for the character and reshaped studio attitudes toward adult-oriented superhero films.
- Released
- 2016
- Director
- Tim Miller
AA Tier: Genuinely great
X-Men: Days of Future Past
The movie that had to fix the timeline mess and somehow pulled it off. Quicksilver's kitchen scene is the single best action beat the franchise has produced, set to Jim Croce of all things. Bringing the original and First Class casts together shouldn't have worked this well.
About X-Men: Days of Future Past
A 2014 time-travel film merging the original and First Class casts, based on a famous comic storyline.
- Released
- 2014
- Director
- Bryan Singer
X-Men: First Class
A soft reboot that actually earned its existence. McAvoy and Fassbender's Xavier and Magneto chemistry carries the whole thing, and setting it against the Cuban Missile Crisis gave the series real stakes for once.
About X-Men: First Class
A 2011 prequel/reboot set during the Cold War, starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as young Xavier and Magneto.
- Released
- 2011
- Director
- Matthew Vaughn
Deadpool 2
Bigger, louder, and somehow still funny, with Cable and Domino adding new energy to the formula. The time-travel gag reel in the credits might be the most self-aware thing Fox ever put on screen. Losing a little of the first film's scrappiness is the only real knock.
About Deadpool 2
The 2018 sequel introducing Cable and Domino, expanding the first film's irreverent tone.
- Released
- 2018
- Director
- David Leitch
Deadpool & Wolverine
A victory lap dressed up as a multiverse romp, stuffed with cameos that reward decades of franchise baggage. Hugh Jackman finally gets to swear and bleed as Wolverine, and the Fox-era nostalgia hits harder than it has any right to. Fans mostly loved it, even if some found the cameo-chasing exhausting.
About Deadpool & Wolverine
A 2024 film bringing Hugh Jackman's Wolverine into the Deadpool series, tying together Fox-era legacy with multiverse storytelling.
- Released
- 2024
- Director
- Shawn Levy
BB Tier: Solid and worth your time
X-Men
The one that started it all back in 2000, and it still holds up as a solid origin story even if the costumes and effects show their age. Credit where due: this movie proved superhero films could be taken seriously again after the Batman sequels tanked the genre's reputation.
About X-Men
The 2000 film that launched the franchise, directed by Bryan Singer and starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. It helped kick off the modern superhero movie era.
- Released
- 2000
- Director
- Bryan Singer
The Wolverine
A quieter, more grounded Wolverine story set in Japan that mostly works, right up until the third act brings in a giant robot samurai suit. Jackman's performance and the Yashida family drama are genuinely good. It's just a shame the ending couldn't match the rest.
About The Wolverine
A 2013 standalone Wolverine film set largely in Japan, based loosely on a classic comic arc.
- Released
- 2013
- Director
- James Mangold
CC Tier: Flawed but defensible
X-Men: Apocalypse
A movie with a genuinely underwhelming villain problem, Oscar Isaac buried under makeup and a flat character. Fans are split between calling this a disappointing comedown from Days of Future Past and defending the younger cast's chemistry. We lean toward disappointing.
About X-Men: Apocalypse
A 2016 sequel continuing the First Class timeline, introducing the ancient mutant villain Apocalypse.
- Released
- 2016
- Director
- Bryan Singer
X-Men: The Last Stand
Brett Ratner took over after Bryan Singer left and it shows, rushing through the Dark Phoenix storyline and the mutant cure plot like it's checking boxes. Killing off major characters for shock value rather than story reasons still annoys longtime fans.
About X-Men: The Last Stand
The 2006 third film, directed by Brett Ratner after Singer departed, adapting the Dark Phoenix storyline.
- Released
- 2006
- Director
- Brett Ratner
DD Tier: Hard to recommend
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Remembered mostly for giving Deadpool a mouth with no mouth, which became an inside joke the franchise never let go of. The action is generic and the plot is a mess of half-explained backstory. Even Jackman has publicly joked about how bad this one is.
About X-Men Origins: Wolverine
A 2009 prequel focused on Wolverine's backstory, notable for introducing a controversial version of Deadpool.
- Released
- 2009
Dark Phoenix
A second attempt at the Phoenix storyline that somehow fumbled it worse than The Last Stand did. Sophie Turner deserved better material, and the film's muted, joyless tone capped off the original timeline on a genuine low note. Fox shelved and reshot this one for a reason.
About Dark Phoenix
A 2019 film revisiting the Phoenix storyline with the First Class-era cast, marking the end of that timeline.
- Released
- 2019
- Director
- Simon Kinberg
FF Tier: Skip it
The New Mutants
Delayed for years, reshot, and dumped into theaters with barely any marketing, and you can feel all of that trouble in the final product. The horror-movie angle had promise but gets buried under studio interference. Most people have simply forgotten this one exists, which might be for the best.
About The New Mutants
A 2020 horror-tinged spinoff following young mutants in an isolated facility, delayed multiple years before release.
- Released
- 2020
- Director
- Josh Boone
How we ranked them
We weighed critical reception, how each film holds up on rewatch, and what fans actually argue about online. Craft matters (action, character work, tone) but so does legacy: did this movie move the genre forward or just cash a check? Where consensus splits, like with Apocalypse or Origins, we say so and explain which side we land on.
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Rank these yourselfFAQ
What is the best X-Men movie?
Logan is widely considered the best, with X2 and Deadpool close behind depending on who you ask.
What is the worst X-Men movie?
The New Mutants is generally seen as the weakest entry, hurt badly by years of delays and reshoots.
Are the Deadpool movies part of the X-Men timeline?
Loosely yes, with jokes and cameos tying them to the Fox X-Men universe, though they stand on their own tonally.
What order should I watch the X-Men movies in?
Release order works best for most newcomers: X-Men, X2, The Last Stand, Origins: Wolverine, First Class, The Wolverine, Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, Logan, Deadpool, Deadpool 2, Dark Phoenix, The New Mutants, Deadpool & Wolverine.
Is Logan connected to the other X-Men movies?
Loosely. It's set in a near future and treats its continuity fairly independently from the main timeline.
More rankings
Image credits
- LoganCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- DeadpoolCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X-Men: Days of Future PastCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X-Men: First ClassCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Deadpool 2Cover: Wikipedia · Source
- Deadpool & WolverineCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X-MenCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The WolverineCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X-Men: ApocalypseCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X-Men: The Last StandCover: Wikipedia · Source
- X-Men Origins: WolverineCover: Wikipedia · Source
- Dark PhoenixCover: Wikipedia · Source
- The New MutantsCover: Wikipedia · Source