Ranking All 31 Marvel Comic Book Movies - From Worst To Best

22. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Hugh Jackman's first solo outing as Wolverine was a massive disappointment, and one that never lived up to the potential of the brilliant opening. Despite a typically dedicated performance from the star, the movie suffered from some ropey CGI and narrative problems, with the final product bearing the hallmarks of studio interference. Things get off to a great start, with the opening credits showing us Wolverine fighting from the American Civil War through to Vietnam in a thrilling sequence. From there, things quickly go downhill. Ryan Reynolds makes the most of his limited screentime as Wade Wilson and Liev Schrieber is a suitably menacing Sabretooth, but the rest of the movie is all over the place. What we get instead is plenty of shouting, an abundance of poor CGI and a ton of exposition, held together by a terrible script and a hugely unsatisfying third act. Still, the popularity of the character saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine score a huge $85m domestic opening weekend and it ultimately grossed $373m worldwide. The infamous leaked workprint didn't impact the movie's financial success, neither did the fact that it was a bit rubbish. Jackman himself admitted that the project wasn't up to scratch, with the next Wolverine movie being a marked improvement.

21. Daredevil (2003)

The movie that swore Ben Affleck off making comic book movies (remember?) was the first Marvel adaptation to follow in the massive footsteps of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man and while it isn't as downright awful as many people would have you believe, the project completely botches the massive potential of a Daredevil solo flick. The script by director Mark Steven Johnson doesn't do the movie any favours, a cavalcade of cliched dialogue and thinly-written characters that sees the tone veer uncomfortably from darkly serious to overtly comic-bookish. Affleck is no more than okay in the title role, acquitting himself better on the physical side of things than the dramatic. Jennifer Garner and Michael Clarke Duncan provide solid support, while Colin Farrell completely steals the show as the demented Bullseye. Anticipation for the movie saw it open to $45m domestically and it eventually crossed the $100m barrier in the US, but poor international takings saw Daredevil finish its theatrical run with $179.2m, a disappointment given the $78m budget. For the record, the director's cut of the movie is much, much better and would have placed a lot higher on the list.

20. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

After Bryan Singer decided not to return to the franchise in favour of making Superman Returns, Matthew Vaughn was initially hired to direct the third X-Men instalment. However, he departed the project mere weeks before principal photography and Brett Ratner was quickly drafted in. The result was the weakest entry yet, sacrificing plot and character in favour of mindless spectacle. Ratner has always been a director that preferred style over substance, and The Last Stand unfortunately continued this trend. Completely mishandling the iconic Phoenix storyline, the movie is full of half-baked ideas and sprints through the multiple plot threads to get to the next action sequence. Although these set-pieces are admittedly impressive (the Golden Gate Bridge being a particular standout), any underlying themes or character moments are ignored in order to provide the next big explosion. Despite being the worst movie in the original X-Men trilogy, The Last Stand became the biggest earner yet, grossing almost $460m worldwide. Although a massive disappointment, it still remains the highest-grossing movie in the entire franchise to date.