All 4 X-Men Prequels, Ranked (original) (raw)
The official banner for X-Men: Days of Future Past, featuring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, with James McAvoy & Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier.
Image via 20th Century Studios
Published Oct 5, 2024, 9:27 AM EDT
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There is arguably no film saga as uneven or rewarding as the X-Men saga. Starting in the 2000s as the first of the new boom of superhero movies in the new millennium, the film series spawned an original trilogy, a spin-off trilogy, and four prequels, all with varying degrees of commercial and critical success. The movies center on mutants, human beings with unique abilities ostracized by a society that hates and misunderstands them.
Although the original trilogy is quite good, the prequel tetralogy is more mixed. It's split down the middle, with two incredible movies widely considered among the all-time best entries in the superhero genre and two notorious trainwrecks, so bad they outright buried the Fox universe at a time when it was already struggling to stay afloat. What follows is a ranking of the four X-Men prequels based on their overall quality and how impactful they have become in the genre. They might not be the most consistent of superhero properties, but no one can deny the X-Men prequels are one-of-a-kind, for better and worse.
4 'Dark Phoenix' (2019)
Directed by Simon Kinberg
Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, wearing a burgundy jacket and looking sadly at something offscreen in Dark Phoenix
Image via 20th Century Studios
Ah, Dark Phoenix, a movie so bad it makes a previously bad movie look better in comparison. The plot sees the X-Men deal with the rising powers of one of their own. As Jean Grey's (Sophie Turner) mighty abilities grow out of control, further encouraged by a mysterious alien in the form of Jessica Chastain, the X-Men are split down the middle: some want to try and reason with her, while others seek to stop her by any means necessary.
At first glance, Dark Phoenix had everything to succeed: a great cast of A-listers clearly committed to the material — why else would they be there, in movie number four, no less? — and one of the all-time great comic book storylines to adapt. Plus, the movies had already botched The Dark Phoenix Saga once; they couldn't possibly do it again, right? Wrong. Dark Phoenix is bad, lazy, uninspired, and often terribly silly, a complete bastardization of a classic comic book story in favor of the cheapest thrills possible. It takes the most basic plot elements and translates them into the big screen with as much enthusiasm as a slug crawling through the ground. Dark Phoenix wastes a great premise, a talented cast, and a unique chance to conclude their series on a high note. Worst of all, it's boring, the cardinal sin a comic book movie can commit.
3 'X-Men: Apocalypse' (2016)
Directed by Bryan Singer
Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan), and Kurt Wagner (Kodi Smit-McPhee), walking through a decimated city and looking concerned in X-Men: Apocalypse
Image via 20th Century Studios
Following a peak in the series, X-Men: Apocalypse sunk to new depths not seen since X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The plot sees the ancient mutant En Saba Nur (Oscar Isaac) return to once again try and reshape the world under a "survival of the fittest" approach. Aided by his four horsemen, including a broken Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Apocalypse launches a worldwide attack, and it's up to the X-Men to stop him from destroying the world.
X-Men: Apocalypse does everything from a "bigger is better" approach, and the result is disappointing.
X-Men: Apocalypse is an overblown mess of epic proportions. The plot is as formulaic as they come, with Oscar Isaacs' wasted Apocalypse spitting out the most by-the-number lines one could possibly imagine. The new cast, especially Turner as Jean Grey, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, and Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler, do some very heavy lifting here, but their youthful commitment can't elevate this movie past its limitations. X-Men: Apocalypse does everything from a "bigger is better" approach, and the result is disappointing. It takes everything that works from previous movies, from Peter's (Evan Peters) hyper-speed rescues to Mystique's (Jennifer Lawrence) anti-hero side, and makes them louder and more elaborate but not any better. It has some bold ideas, but the execution is lacking.
X-Men: Apocalypse
Release Date
May 18, 2016
Cast
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Lucas Till, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Ben Hardy, Alexandra Shipp, Lana Condor, Olivia Munn, Warren Scherer, Rochelle Okoye, Monique Ganderton, Fraser Aitcheson, Abdulla Hamam, Hesham Hammoud, Antonio Daniel Hidalgo, Al Maini, Berdj Garabedian
Runtime
144 minutes
Writers
Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Dan Harris, Michael Dougherty
2 'X-Men: First Class' (2011)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Havok (Lucas Till), and Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), standing outside in X-Men: First Class
Image via 20th Century Studios
Fan-favorite director Matthew Vaughn took the difficult task of revitalizing the X-Men franchise and did so by injecting with some '60s mojo. X-Men: First Class follows a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) as he assembles a team of young mutants, including a vengeful Magneto, to fight the Hellfire Club, led by the powerful and dangerous mutant Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon).
With a healthy dose of style, flair, and homoeroticism, X-Men: First Class was the jolt of electricity the franchise needed to come back to life. The film is the very definition of cool, with each sequence dripping with stylish energy and a clear regard for the source material. At the core, First Class is a tale of a broken friendship, with the now-iconic Charles-Erik relationship taking center stage. McAvoy and Fassbender are incredible together, sharing more chemistry than the average couple in a rom-com and injecting the film with a heavy dose of warmth and heat. With an excellent supporting cast, a brilliant villain brought to life by a scenery-chewing Kevin Bacon, and a clever approach to the mutant-human drama, X-Men: First Class is probably the most purely rewatchable X-Men movie, an enjoyable ride that never gets old.
X-Men: First Class
Release Date
June 3, 2011
Cast
James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Kevin Bacon, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Lucas Till, Zoë Kravitz, Caleb Landry Jones, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Edi Gathegi, Matt Craven, Álex González, Rade Šerbedžija, Glenn Morshower, Laurence Belcher, Bill Milner, Morgan Lily, Beth Goddard, Éva Magyar, Corey Johnson, Demetri Goritsas, Don Creech
Runtime
131 minutes
Writers
Matthew Vaughn, Zack Stentz, Ashley Miller, Jane Goldman, Bryan Singer, Sheldon Turner
1 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' (2014)
Directed by Bryan Singer
X-Men: Days of Future Past is probably the single best adaptation of a classic comic book story in the X-Men series. The plot starts in a future where mutants have been hunted to near-extinction by the Sentinels, shapeshifting robots that can adapt to different mutant abilities. In a desperate attempt to prevent such a bleak life, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) travels back in time to stop Mystique from killing the creator of the Sentinels, scientist Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). To do so, he recruits the young Charles and Erik, both broken versions of the man they once were.
Critically acclaimed and beloved by audiences, X-Men: Days of Future Past is an impressive effort that excels as a superhero movie, a sci-fi adventure, and a family drama. The film juggles multiple characters and makes it seem effortless, granting each story enough room to breathe while still keeping a tight and tense pace, leading to a riveting third act that still feels remarkably emotional. Dinklage is excellent as the antagonist, while Lawrence delivers what is probably the best version of Mystique in live-action. Jackman is as entertaining as ever, and McAvoy and Fassbender once again make Charles and Erik compelling and tragic. Days of Future Past includes what is possibly the best scene in the X-Men series — the now-iconic "Time in a Bottle" sequence — and keeps things moving quickly with a generous dose of '70s boogie. Superhero movies don't get any better than this.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Release Date
May 15, 2014
Cast
Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Anna Paquin, Elliot Page, Peter Dinklage, Shawn Ashmore, Omar Sy, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing, Adan Canto, Booboo Stewart, Evan Jonigkeit, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Lucas Till, Mark Camacho, Zehra Leverman
Runtime
132 minutes
Writers
Simon Kinberg