Every Matthew Vaughn Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

The X-Men franchise was in dire need of fresh perspective after 2006 misfire The Last Stand, and Matthew Vaughn was more than up to the task of reviving it.

With X-Men: First Class, the British filmmaker injected youthful energy into the series and backed it up with a sharp script and some smart casting decisions.

Handing the lead roles to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender was a stroke of genius that brought gravitas, emotion and chemistry to the X-prequel, and this coupled with Vaughn's masterful pacing and knack for hard-hitting action sequences resulted in a blockbuster with heart, brains and firepower.

This confident, coherent reboot of sorts was the fresh start X-Men needed on the big screen, and it gave the franchise places to go afterwards.

Had Vaughn not come along when he did, the rights to the mutant team might well have reverted back to Marvel Studios by now.