How Every X-MEN Movie From The Original To DARK PHOENIX Stack Up With Their Rotten Tomatoes Scores

How Every X-MEN Movie From The Original To DARK PHOENIX Stack Up With Their Rotten Tomatoes Scores

Dark Phoenix arrives in theaters tomorrow, but how does its lowly Rotten Tomatoes score compare to every other instalment in the franchise? Find a breakdown of that from 2000 to 2019 right here...

Feature Opinion
By JoshWilding - Jun 05, 2019 06:06 AM EST
Filed Under: Dark Phoenix
Love it or hate it, Rotten Tomatoes is now more important than ever when it comes to whether moviegoers decide to check out the latest releases in theaters, and it's not uncommon for studios to tout scores in TV spots as proudly as they do actual reviews. 

Now, with Dark Phoenix arriving in theaters to horrendous reviews and a laughably low score, we're taking a look back to see how every X-Men movie has fared on the review aggregator. 

Below, you'll be able to see how the "Critics Score" for each film compared to the "Audience Score" (there are some very interesting differences there), and whether or not every single one of these X-Men movies were "Certified Fresh" (hint: they weren't). Throw in the "Critics Consensus" and a ranking from the worst to best reviewed, and there's lots to discuss here. 
 
So, to take a look at the full list, all you have to do is click on the "View List" button below. 

X-Men (2000)

Wolverine-1


Critics Score: 81%
 
Audience Score: 83%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: Faithful to the comics and filled with action, X-Men brings a crowded slate of classic Marvel characters to the screen with a talented ensemble cast and surprisingly sharp narrative focus.
 

X-2: X-Men United (2003)

Wolverine-2


Critics Score: 85%
 
Audience Score: 85%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: Tightly scripted, solidly acted, and impressively ambitious, X2: X-Men United is bigger and better than its predecessor -- and a benchmark for comic sequels in general.
 

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Wolverine-3


Critics Score: 58%
 
Audience Score: 61%
 
Certified Fresh? No
 
Critics Consensus: X-Men: The Last Stand provides plenty of mutant action for fans of the franchise, even if it does so at the expense of its predecessors' deeper character moments.
 

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Wolverine-4


Critics Score: 37%
 
Audience Score: 58%
 
Certified Fresh? No
 
Critics Consensus: Though Hugh Jackman gives his all, he can't help X-Men Origins: Wolverine overcome a cliche-ridden script and familiar narrative.
 

X-Men: First Class (2011)

First-Class


Critics Score: 86%
 
Audience Score: 87%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: With a strong script, stylish direction, and powerful performances from its well-rounded cast, X-Men: First Class is a welcome return to form for the franchise.
 

The Wolverine (2013)

The-Wolverine


Critics Score: 71%
 
Audience Score: 69%
 
Certified Fresh? No
 
Critics Consensus: Although its final act succumbs to the usual cartoonish antics, The Wolverine is one superhero movie that manages to stay true to the comics while keeping casual viewers entertained.
 

X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)

DOFP


Critics Score: 90%
 
Audience Score: 91%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: X-Men: Days of Future Past combines the best elements of the series to produce a satisfyingly fast-paced outing that ranks among the franchise's finest installments.
 

Deadpool (2016)

Deadpool-1


Critics Score: 84%
 
Audience Score: 90%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: Fast, funny, and gleefully profane, the fourth-wall-busting Deadpool subverts superhero film formula with wildly entertaining -- and decidedly non-family-friendly -- results.
 

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Apocalypse


Critics Score: 47%
 
Audience Score: 65%
 
Certified Fresh? No
 
Critics Consensus: Overloaded action and a cliched villain take the focus away from otherwise strong performers and resonant themes, making X-Men: Apocalypse a middling chapter of the venerable superhero franchise.
 

Logan (2017)

Logan-1


Critics Score: 93%
 
Audience Score: 90%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: Hugh Jackman makes the most of his final outing as Wolverine with a gritty, nuanced performance in a violent but surprisingly thoughtful superhero action film that defies genre conventions.
 

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Deadpool-2


Critics Score: 83%
 
Audience Score: 85%
 
Certified Fresh? Yes
 
Critics Consensus: Though it threatens to buckle under the weight of its meta gags, Deadpool 2 is a gory, gleeful lampoon of the superhero genre buoyed by Ryan Reynolds' undeniable charm.
 

Once Upon A Deadpool (2018)

Once-Upon


Critics Score: 51%
 
Audience Score: 50%
 
Certified Fresh? No
 
Critics Consensus: Once Upon a Deadpool retains enough of the franchise's anarchic spirit to entertain, but doesn't add enough to Deadpool 2 to justify its own existence.
 

Dark Phoenix (2019)

Phoenix-4


Critics Score: 17%
 
Audience Score: TBA
 
Certified Fresh? N/A
 
Critics Consensus: Dark Phoenix ends an era of the X-Men franchise by taking a second stab at adapting a classic comics arc -- with deeply disappointing results.
 

How They Stack Up

829728


13. Dark Phoenix
12. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
11. X-Men: Apocalypse
10. Once Upon A Deadpool
9. X-Men: The Last Stand
8. The Wolverine
7. X-Men
6. Deadpool 2
5. Deadpool
4. X2: X-Men United
3. X-Men: First Class
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past
1. Logan
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WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 6/5/2019, 6:26 AM
The ranking is actually pretty close to mine. Best to worst:
Logan
Days of Future Past
Deadpool
First Class
Deadpool 2
X2
X-Men
The Wolverine
Apocalypse
The Last Stand
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

OUAD isn't really a film.
knocturnalzen10
knocturnalzen10 - 6/5/2019, 6:28 AM
@WakandanQueen - good list i think i'd only switch dp2 and x2 around but that's about it .
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 6/5/2019, 6:38 AM
@knocturnalzen10 - I often find myself switching those two around. It's pretty close imo.
Imfunnyhow
Imfunnyhow - 6/5/2019, 6:30 AM
When Feige looks at what has been done with the X-men franchise
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 6/5/2019, 7:01 AM
@Imfunnyhow -

For all we know, just like Spiderman Homecoming we are just going to get a half ass reboot that doesn't cover any origins or relevant characters because it can't largely affect the Avengers film. But audiences are just going to be like...well at least the x-men are in the MCU now.
LeBronStan
LeBronStan - 6/5/2019, 7:21 AM
@Imfunnyhow - imo X2, DOFP, and Logan are better than at least 40% of the MCU
adamcawa
adamcawa - 6/5/2019, 7:36 AM
@mastakilla39 - how many times do you want to see Spiderman's origin story? At least the Peter Parker version of it. With two basically identical origin stories already put to film, they had two options: A) change it up or B) start past it. ALthough the GA probably wouldnt have cared if they went option A, fans of the comic book (their best selling character mind you) would have, so they really only had 1 option.
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 6/5/2019, 8:15 AM
@adamcawa - But if the MCU is going "younger" you can't skip his origin. Uncle Ben is vital to his character depth and growth. Holland's Spider-man is still an immature, irresponsible, and hyper teenager in Homecoming because at the end of the film he decides not to grow up.

I agree we do not need a whole film or even half a film retelling his origin but Marvel should at least acknowledge or establish some groundwork of his current situation. All we have are vague nods and references that could be or won't be established in later sequels. It's obvious they had no direction of what to do with Spider-Man, Capt. Marvel, or Black Panther because Marvel was more focused on IW and Endgame. So MJ is not really Mary Jane Watson, Uncle Ben is never mentioned (he is referenced, but we don't even know if he is dead yet), and most of all he never earns his costume. Tony stark just gives it to him because Marvel wanted Spider-man in civil war.

In the comics and Rami films, Peter matures at a young age and has strong moral justice because he understands "responsibility". He earns his suit after Uncle Ben's death because that's where he commits to becoming "Spider-Man". The MCU is frustrating because they never fully "commit" to an new idea then build on it in later sequels, instead they always just give subtle hints and nods until it's the actor's final film.
AwesomePromoz
AwesomePromoz - 6/5/2019, 10:14 AM
@mastakilla39 - Tony Stark is Uncle Ben now. Tony taught Tom Holland's Spidey all the lesson Uncle Ben would have. How to be a hero. How to make sacrifices, etc.

The MCU is based more on Ultimates than 616, and now is its own thing completely so best to let go of the comic book continuity kvetches.

I actually think that now the movies are no longer adaptations. The comics take cues from the movies, and while the comic continuity is not beholden to the MCU (most modern fans have grown up with the MCU and are only peripherally aware of comic books) the comics serve a valuable role as incubator for Intellectual Property generation that the movies can take and adapt.

The main Marvel continuity is now the MCU. The comics is where the characters get workshopped and litmus tested.
Vadakin
Vadakin - 6/5/2019, 6:31 AM
Just back from seeing it. It was...OK...I guess...Magneto had some good moments but for the most part it was kinda bland and boring and illustrates a problem I've had with the X-Men movies since the very beginning.

I've always thought of X-Men as having epic, sprawling sagas, like a mutant Lord Of The Rings but the movies have always been really restricted and confined. In essence, they feel small. Even when the stakes are high and the whole world is in danger the movies feel trapped within themselves. I've no problem with smaller, more personal stories. Such an approach worked well for Logan but I think a proper X-Men movie needs to be on a much larger scale.

There have been hints of it over the years, moments like Magneto moving the Golden Gate Bridge in X3 and Apocalypse is the closest the movies have gotten to a proper X-Men saga film (let down by a poor script) but there's never been a truly "epic" X-Men film, the kind of film the source material demands.
SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 6/5/2019, 6:32 AM
This is so goddamn lame Josh lol.
Havenless
Havenless - 6/5/2019, 6:34 AM
It’s worse than Last Stand. Bet you didn’t see that coming.
nibs
nibs - 6/5/2019, 6:39 AM
lmao worse than wolverine origins. great job guys.
SpideyPuffsMJ
SpideyPuffsMJ - 6/5/2019, 6:41 AM
More bad than good IMO. Deadpool 2 kinda sucked.
connorblaze
connorblaze - 6/5/2019, 6:41 AM
Logan, X2, First Class and the Deadpool movies. They’re the only ones for me.

Days of Future Past was shit imo but had Quicksilver and the Fassbender/McAvoy dynamic at least.

I think The Wolverine may be my least favourite of the bunch to be honest. But Logan is definitely my favourite. Man that character has seen some highs and lows.

Shame they didn’t lean into the grittier aspects and fresh start of First Class in its sequels. If they had just forgotten the originals and made it a reboot, kept the Magneto/Charles dynamic at the centre, kept it in the 60s, and done less silly CGI stuff (magneto and his coin will always be cooler than a thousand lame cgi cameo mutants like Sunspot). But they let it get convoluted and silly instead.
IronMandarin
IronMandarin - 6/5/2019, 6:46 AM
Dark Phoenix can't possibly be worse than Wolverine Origins can it?

That movie represents the absolute lowest period in history for CBMs where every movie was overstuffed with heroes and villains regardless of whether they were developed or not.

Can Dark Phoenix possible outdo Amnesia bullets, Barakapool, ugly CGI claws and Sabertooth's Twilight outfit in terms of awfulness?

That movie is so bad that Deadpool 2 literally went back in time to mock and retcon a scene from it.

Hell even the video game tie in was better than the movie.
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