Every X-Men Movie Ranked From Worst To Best

X2 dealt with the "who watches the Watchmen" idea that has played such a massive part in more recent comic book movies well before any of them considered it. The idea of Colonel Stryker discovering the X-Men programme, attempting to frame them for an assassination attempt on the president and then storming the Academy to "neutralize the threat" is a brilliantly compelling one. It helps, of course, that Brian Cox's Stryker is eminently hateful.

After coming late to the party for the first movie, this is really where Hugh Jackman blossomed into the role. He's physically more fitting, he's more poignantly haunted by his past and he's more X-Men. Both McKellen and Stewart both add more depth to their performances and a vulnerability to match the regality, and Alan Cumming is fantastic as tender, darling Nightcrawler.

There's very little wrong with the film at all (the biggest crime is Halle Berry's lack of charisma), and the rewards for watching even now are huge.