We’re days away from the highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine, which will storm into theaters this weekend. At this point, we have 24 years of Hugh Jackman Wolverine movies, with the latest chapter marking his tenth appearance as the violent, roguish Logan. His journey has not always produced the best products, but seeing the big guy slicing and dicing his way through hordes of enemies is always a treat, no matter the film.
I decided to look at all of the Hugh Jackman Wolverine movies and rank them from worst to best, in case you’re in the mood for some unhinged mutant carnage before Deadpool. (Note: the list does not contain Wolverine cameos, i.e., X-Men Apocalypse and X-Men: First Class.) Let’s do this!
7) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
It’s only fitting that a ranking of the best Hugh Jackman Wolverine movies would start with the God-awful X-Men Origins: Wolverine, mainly since Gavin Hood’s film first introduced Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool.
In what should have been the final nail in the coffin for the ailing X-Men franchise — and destroyed the careers of everyone involved — this listless prequel charts Logan’s life beginning with his days as a young boy living in the US territories in 1845. We see him fight alongside his half-brother, Victor Creed, aka Sabertooth (a perfectly cast, but ultimately wasted Liev Schreiber) through WWI and WWII, learn how he received his patented jacket, and even discover the contrived way he lost his memory.
By that description, this sounds like the most badass Wolverine picture ever produced. Somehow, it all sucks.
Jackman does his best with a clunky script but dodgy CGI and an uneven tone mar what could have been a fun outing with everyone’s favorite furball. And don’t even get me started on Taylor Kitsch’s Gambit — ugh!
Origins is the very definition of a film made by a committee. Luckily, Jackman and Reynolds redeem themselves in future installments.
6) X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The Last Stand isn’t terrible. Parts of it are pretty entertaining, including a wicked rumble inside a house between Storm, Wolverine, Juggernaut, and a few, uh, other mutants. Director Brett Ratner keeps the film moving along at a nice clip and squeezes some compelling drama from the Dark Phoenix storyline.
Regrettably, the third chapter in the X-Men franchise never rises to the high bar established by its predecessors due to director Bryan Singer vacating his post for the equally bland Superman Returns. The Last Stand lacks his sturdy hand and feels more like a product assembled by a panel of marketers than the work of an auteur filmmaker.
Jackman delivers a commendable performance despite Wolverine missing some of his usual roughness.
Given the nature of the production, it’s a wonder The Last Stand even works as meager entertainment. Still, botching the Dark Phoenix storyline is an unforgivable gaff the franchise has never fully recovered from.
5) X-Men (2000)
Bryan Singer’s original X-Men hasn’t aged well. Even in 2000, its stilted action and black leather costumes left much to be desired. However, it deserves credit for starting it all. X-Men kicked off the second age of superhero movies, paving the way for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man and, to some extent, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy.
As a youngster, seeing the X-Men on the big screen was more than worth the price of admission. At the time, if you had told me we’d eventually get a series of Avengers pictures and two adaptations of the Dark Phoenix saga, I would have dropped to the ground and flopped like a fish. While the comic book genre lost some of its luster over the years, there’s no denying the impact these early entries had on the movie industry, for better or worse.
If you approach X-Men with the right mindset, it stands out as a unique cinematic exercise, notable for jump-starting the careers of nearly everyone involved, including a less bulked-up Hugh Jackman. While it may not be a great film, it is undoubtedly an essential footnote in the annals of cinema.
4) The Wolverine (2013)
Following the success of Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, Fox gave Wolverine another solo feature. This time, directing duties fell to James Mangold, known for his work on Girl, Interrupted, Cop Land, Walk the Line, and 3:10 to Yuma. For 85% of its runtime, The Wolverine is an exceptional superhero drama, on par with The Dark Knight. Unfortunately, Mangold botches the ending so badly that it nearly makes the film unwatchable.
No joke.
It’s a shame because Jackman delivers one of his best performances in the role, infusing Logan with a darker edge that pays dividends. Coupled with impressive set pieces and strong performances from Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, and Rila Fukushima, this iteration of Wolverine marks a definite step up from previous versions of the character.
A clunky third act, clearly resulting from rushed reshoots, slashes away the goodwill built up in the first few hours, leaving The Wolverine a remarkable disappointment. We’d probably still be discussing the film if not for the terrible ending.
3) X2: X-Men United (2003)
If X-Men proved superheroes didn’t have to rely on campy theatrics to work on the silver screen, then X2: X-Men United is the picture that demonstrated their untapped potential. Packed with solid action, strong performances, and assured direction from Bryan Singer, the follow-up to 2000’s surprise hit delivers the type of superhero escapism nerds had yearned to see since the X-Men rose to fame in the mid-70s.
While a tad sluggish in parts, X2 nevertheless dazzles with its complex characters, intelligent script, and brutal action. Singer delves deep into Wolverine’s past and presents our first look at the Weapon X program, William Stryker, and the Dark Phoenix. He also unleashes Wolverine in a terrifically violent action sequence set within Xavier’s Mansion, where our boy finally shows off his knack for wanton violence.
Jackman does a bang-up job with the character in Round 2, once again balancing unbridled rage with plenty of empathy. He may not convey the brutal nature of his comic book counterpart, but the actor undoubtedly remains the best part of this franchise.
2) X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
My personal favorite X-Men movie, Days of Future Past, blends ferocious, stylized action with a novel time-travel story that successfully merges past and present with surprisingly powerful results. Wolverine again takes center stage, traveling back to the 1960s to prevent Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), a pivotal moment leading to a deadly future war. Logan must team up with a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) during one of their most perilous periods of rivalry.
By this point, Jackman has fully embodied Wolverine, delivering the perfect blend of snark and emotional depth that makes viewers truly care about his journey. He’s given ample compelling material to work with alongside a talented supporting cast that handles much of the heavy lifting.
Overall, Days of Future Past stands as the pinnacle of X-Men films. The only downside is knowing that Singer might have brought the same level of sophistication to The Last Stand if he hadn’t left for Superman.
1) Logan (2017)
It only took two decades, but Fox finally took the kiddie gloves off Wolverine and delivered an R-rated epic filled with F-bombs aplenty, gore, brutal violence, and pathos.
Now aged and broken, Logan must defend a young mutant (Dafne Keene) from a dangerous biotechnology corporation while dealing with a dementia-suffering Professor X (Patrick Stewart), whose powers killed the X-Men a year earlier.
Directed by James Mangold, Logan leans more on Western genre troupes than standard superheroics but still affords its hero plenty of opportunity to slash and dash his way to eternal glory. Logan is a dark, mean, and incredibly bleak piece of cinema, but also emotionally satisfying. Jackman gives a tour de force performance that captures every nuance of the long-suffering character. Free of PG-13 restraints, this iteration of Logan rages like never before and finally resembles the comic book character fans fell in love with years before.
Wolverine’s journey continues in Deadpool & Wolverine, an unneeded but welcome addition to the list of Hugh Jackman Wolverine movies, so long as it doesn’t shit all over his most outstanding chapter. Logan rocks!
