Are you still struggling with which X-Men movie to start with? This detailed recommendation on the order of watching the movies will help you sort out the timeline and take you to relive this classic mutant legend!
X -Men : First Stand ( 2011 )
As a prequel to the series, “X-Men: First Class” is an important cornerstone for understanding the entire “X-Men” world. The film goes back to the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, and the story focuses on the encounter and growth of Professor X, Charles Xavier, and Magneto, Eric Lensherr, when they were young.
It is worth mentioning that the super powers of the young mutants in the film, such as Mystique Raven’s transformation ability and Hank’s strength and wisdom, laid the foundation for the super power system of the series of films.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
In “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, the audience will have a deeper understanding of the legendary life story of Wolverine Logan. The film begins in the mid-19th century and shows the bond and conflict between Logan and his brother Victor (Sabertooth) spanning a century.
The film focuses on the relationship between Logan and his girlfriend, Kayla, the Silver Fox. This sincere love becomes the key driving force for Logan to resist Stryker and pursue himself. In addition, the film also introduces classic mutant characters such as Gambit and Deadpool. Although the creation of some characters is controversial, their appearance enriches the character universe of “X-Men”.
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
The story is set in 1983, following the timeline of “X-Men: First Class”. In the film, the first mutant in history, Apocalypse, awakens and attempts to realize the concept of “survival of the fittest” by destroying humanity and reshaping the world order.
The classic slow-motion scene of Quicksilver saving the school has become one of the most impressive clips in the series. In the end, the X-Men worked together to defeat Apocalypse, and Jean Grey showed a powerful Phoenix force in the battle, laying the groundwork for the subsequent plot development of “X-Men: Dark Phoenix”.
X-Men (2000)
As the first film in the series, although it is not the beginning in terms of timeline, it is the starting point for many viewers to understand the world of mutants. The film focuses on the first large-scale confrontation between the X-Men and Magneto.
The film shows the conflicts and prejudices between mutants and humans through the incident of Mystique disguising herself as a human councillor and causing panic among humans about mutants, laying the tone for the series of films to explore social issues. In the end, the X-Men successfully thwarted Magneto’s plot to turn humans into mutants, and he was imprisoned for this, but the conflict between mutants and humans is far from over.
X-Men 2 (2003)
“X-Men 2” continues the tense atmosphere of the previous film and further intensifies the conflict between humans and mutants. Colonel William Stryker, who hates mutants because his son was transformed by a mutant, uses the imprisoned Magneto to raid the X-School in an attempt to destroy all mutants. The X-Men are forced to join forces with Magneto to fight Stryker, and the movie delves into the background stories of multiple characters in this crisis.
Although the final crisis was temporarily resolved, Professor X was injured and the X Academy suffered a severe blow, making the future of mutants even more confusing.
“X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)
Humans have developed a drug that can “cure” mutants’ abilities, and this invention has caused great divisions among the mutant community. Some mutants are eager to live a normal life through drugs, while others are determined to defend their own identities. At the same time, Jean Grey was resurrected and turned evil by the Phoenix Force after her sacrifice in the first film. Her powerful and uncontrollable power has become the focus of competition among all parties. Magneto took this opportunity to gather mutants to declare war on humans, and the X-Men fell into a dilemma of internal and external troubles.
Although the film has been controversial due to its fast-paced plot and hasty handling of some characters, as the ending of the original trilogy, it shows the huge challenges and sacrifices faced by the mutant community in a tragic way, and lays new possibilities for the restart of subsequent stories.
Logan 2 (2013)
The story of “Logan” takes place after “X-Men: The Last Stand” and tells the adventures of the reclusive Wolverine in Japan.
The film shows the soft side of Logan’s heart through the emotional line between Logan and the Japanese girl Mariko, and also allows the audience to see the fragility and struggle of this “immortal” hero. At the end of the film, Logan has recovered some of his self-healing ability, but what he doesn’t know is that a greater crisis is coming, and his fate will once again be closely linked to the X-Men.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
This film can be regarded as a turning point in the series. It cleverly brings together the new and old generations of X-Men actors, and through the setting of time travel, tries to change the tragic future where mutants are exterminated by the giant robot “Sentinels”.
In the movie, the classic scene where Quicksilver saves everyone in the kitchen, with its creative slow motion and soundtrack, has become one of the highlights of the series. In the end, Mystique gave up the assassination, history was rewritten, and the future of mutants took a turn for the better. However, this change also opened up a new timeline, bringing more possibilities and unknowns to subsequent movies.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” continues the new timeline of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” and focuses on the darkening and struggle of Jean Grey.
The film deeply depicts the contradiction and struggle between Jean’s power and humanity, as well as the crisis of trust within the X-Men team. Although the film has shortcomings in the rhythm of the plot and the shaping of some characters, it still shows the complexity and tragedy of Jean Grey.
Logan (2017)
The story is set in 2029, when Wolverine has entered his twilight years and his healing ability has gradually declined, and the X-Men have long since fallen apart. Logan takes care of Professor X, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, while also struggling to make a living. Until he meets Laura, a little girl with similar abilities to himself, a group of mysterious organizations are hunting them down in order to capture Laura, and Logan has to pick up his weapon again and escort Laura to the legendary “Garden of Eden”.
The film uses a dark and depressing tone to show the sadness and helplessness of the hero’s twilight years. The wonderful performances of Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart vividly portray the deep friendship between Logan and Professor X and their helplessness in the face of fate. In the film, Professor X’s death and Logan’s final sacrifice put a tragic end to the legendary story of the character Wolverine, and also let us feel the most profound emotional impact and heroic feelings in the “X-Men” series of films.
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