In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a fair few films have felt like mere stepping-stones to the next Marvel joint. Some of the worst offenders include Iron Man 2 and Thor 2 - movies that were incredibly insubstantial - and Marvel's most recent effort, Age Of Ultron, which seemed like its main objective was to set up Phase 3. The X-Men movies, conversely, haven't been beholden to a grand, multi-phase plan; as such, each film is treated as though it's as important as the next. X-Men: The Last Stand isn't a great movie, but it at least doesn't come from a place of cynicism (it was in the hands of X-king Bryan Singer before Brett Ratner got his blunt mitts on it). There have been some fantastic standalone Marvel movies - The Avengers, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians Of The Galaxy all benefited from forging an individual path - but the fact is the X-Men series has benefited more greatly from creatives approaching each film not knowing the plan for the film that's coming after. The X-Men franchise isn't mapped out until 2028, so every film has so far been satisfyingly self-contained.