Welcome back, readers, to another edition of Logan’s Home Video Update!
In honor of the upcoming Marvel film The Wolverine, I decided to dig through the series of X-Men films and pull out the best ones for this week’s recommendations.
X-Men (PG-13, 104 minutes- starring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart) The first X-Men movie opened up the floodgates for the oncoming rush of modern superhero blockbusters that would eventually takeover the film industry. It had an impressive cast, with the likes of Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and James Marsden all being perfectly suited for their mutant roles. It also didn’t hurt to have a villain with the charisma of Magneto and the acting prowess of Ian McKellen. It is a fun movie (especially any scene involving Hugh Jackman) and one that you can re-watch many times.
X2: X-Men United (PG-13, 133 minutes- starring Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen) By far the best film of the original trilogy, X2 wasn’t settling for cute and enjoyable. It was going for greatness. This is obvious form the very beginning. The opening scene with Nightcrawler invading the White House still leaves me breathless to this day. Magneto upped his villainy, Wolverine and Cyclops traded stinging insults over their affection for Jean Grey and Halle Berry held her own as Storm. Once you reach the climax, you’re fully expecting anything to happen, and the ending doesn’t disappoint.
X-Men: First Class (PG-13, 132 minutes- starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender) In an attempt to erase the embarrassment of the previous two X-Men films (X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), director Matthew Vaughn brought both style and tenacity to the table in First Class. In another feat of wonderful casting, McAvoy, Fassbender and a pre-Hunger Games Jennifer Lawrence all brought their A-games along with the rest of the great ensemble cast. Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw was a vile treat of a villain, and his henchmen were just as compelling. This film really made you care about the friendship of Professor Xavier and Magneto, so when the eventual rift occurs, it’s all the more heartbreaking. May 2014’s series mash-up X-Men: Days of Future Past, should be just as exciting.
Hopefully this week’s recommendations will put you in the mood for The Wolverine!
Photo form the upcoming The Wolverine.