20 Sequels That Brilliantly Fixed Past Mistakes

Fox's X-Men franchise was, looking back on it now, a bit of a wasted opportunity. First up, few of these movies were anything more than OK (the first two Bryan Singer films aren't as good as you remember), and secondly, they constantly squandered their thematic potential. 

This story of mutant superheroes touches on many great themes and ideas but rarely explored them with the depth and substance that they deserved... until Logan, that is. That is one of the many reasons why Logan is this franchise's absolute peak, for it finally achieved true dramatic depth. 

Alongside being an all-around great film with far better writing than most of the other X-Men flicks, Logan was a sombre, thoughtful, and character-driven neo-Western that prioritized substance over style, and, aided by the studio finally allowing an R-rating, Logan was able to commit fully to delivering a bleak and haunting meditation on what it means to be a mutant in a world that doesn't want them. 

A relentlessly grim experience, Logan isn't always an enjoyable film, but it is a great one, and it's among the best superhero films of all time. That's even more remarkable when you remember that this one was following up X-Men: Origins - Wolverine and The Wolverine, both of which were dire. It is always so heart-warming when bad movies are succeeded by terrific sequels such as this.