X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was directed by Gavin Hood and again stars Jackman as Wolverine. It is a prequel focusing on the character and his time with Team X, before and shortly after his skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal adamantium. The film reveals Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) to be his half brother. David Benioff began writing the film in October 2004, and unlike the other films it was shot in Australia and New Zealand. The film also introduces Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) to the franchise.
It's the fourth installment in the X-Men series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009. The film is directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as the title character, along with Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, and Ryan Reynolds. The film acts as a prequel to the X-Men film series, focusing on the violent past of the mutant Wolverine and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed. The plot also details Wolverine's early encounters with Major William Stryker, his time with Team X, and the bonding of Wolverine's skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium during the Weapon X program.
The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand, with Canada also serving as a location. Production and post-production was troubled, with conflicts arising between director Hood and Fox's executives, and an unfinished workprint being leaked in the internet one month before the film's debut. Reviews for X-Men Origins: Wolverine were mixed, with critics considering the film and its screenplay uninspired, but praising Hugh Jackman's performance. It opened at the top of the box office, and has grossed $179 million in the United States and Canada and over $373 million worldwide.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

X-Men: The Last Stand (also known colloquially as X-Men 3 or X3) is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. Director Brett Ratner took over when Bryan Singer dropped out to direct Superman Returns. The Last Stand revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the mysterious resurrection of Jean Grey. The film is loosely based on two X-Men comic book story arcs: writer Chris Claremont's and artist John Byrne's "The Dark Phoenix Saga" and writer Joss Whedon's and artist John Cassaday's six-issue "Gifted" arc.
Following Singer's departure, the director's position was offered to Darren Aronofsky, Alex Proyas, Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder. Matthew Vaughn, who cast Kelsey Grammer as Beast and Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, dropped out during pre-production and was replaced by Ratner. Filming started in August 2005, budgeted at $210 million, the most expensive film at the time of its release. X-Men: The Last Stand received mixed reviews from critics and fans, but grossed approximately $459 million worldwide, the seventh-highest grossing film of 2006.

Bryan Singer wanted to shoot the third film back-to-back with a fourth. On July 16, 2004, he left to direct Superman Returns, having only completed a third of a treatment focusing on Phoenix, and introducing Emma Frost, a role intended for Sigourney Weaver. In addition, Singer also wanted to showcase more characterizations of Rogue, Iceman and Pyro. Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn were hired the following month, and a studio executive read Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men story "Gifted", featuring a mutant cure, suggested it be the primary story. Matthew Vaughn came on board as director in February 2005, but left due to the rushed production schedule. Brett Ratner took over in June, and filming began on August 2, 2005.
A pharmaceutical company has developed an antidote to the mutant gene, provoking controversy in the mutant community. Magneto declares war on the humans and retrieves his own weapon: the telekinetic and telepathic Phoenix, who is the resurrected former X-Man, Jean Grey. After Phoenix kills Cyclops and Xavier, a final battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood ensues, and Wolverine must accept that in order to save Jean from her second personality, he will have to kill her.

X-Men-X2 (2003)

X2 (often promoted as X2: X-Men United) is a 2003 superhero film based on the fictional characters the X-Men. Directed by Bryan Singer, it is the second film in the X-Men film series. It stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Brian Cox, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, Halle Berry and Kelly Hu. The plot, inspired by the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, pits the X-Men and their enemies, the Brotherhood, against the genocidal Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox). He leads an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth.
Development phase for X2 began shortly after X-Men. David Hayter and Zak Penn wrote separate scripts, combining what they felt to be the best elements of both scripts into one screenplay. Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris were eventually hired for rewrite work, changing characterizations of Beast, Angel and Lady Deathstrike. Sentinels and the Danger Room were set to appear before being deleted because of budget concerns. Filming began in June 2002 and ended that November. Most of the filming took place at Vancouver Film Studios, the largest soundstage in North America. Production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas adapted similar designs of John Myhre from the previous film. X2 was released in the United States on May 2, 2003 and became both a critical and financial success, earning eight nominations at the Saturn Awards and grossing approximately $407 million worldwide.

X-Men (2000)

In 1994, 20th Century Fox and producer Lauren Shuler Donner bought the film rights to the X-Men. Andrew Kevin Walker was hired to write, and James Cameron expressed interest in directing. Bryan Singer signed on to direct in July 1996. Though not a fan of the comic, he was fascinated by the analogies of prejudice and discrimination offered by it. John Logan, Joss Whedon, Ed Solomon, Christopher McQuarrie and David Hayter wrote the script, with Hayter receiving sole credit. Filming took place from September 22, 1999 to March 3, 2000 in Toronto.
The first X-Men film introduced Wolverine and Rogue into the conflict between Professor Xavier's X-Men, and the Brotherhood of Mutants, led by Magneto. Magneto intends to mutate world leaders at a United Nations summit with a machine he has built, to bring about acceptance of mutantkind, but Xavier realizes this forced mutation will only result in their deaths.

X-Men (film series)

The X-Men film series is a series of superhero films based on the fictional Marvel Comics team of the same name. The films star an ensemble cast, focusing on Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, as he is drawn into the conflict between Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen), who have opposing views on humanity's relationship with mutants: Xavier believes humanity and mutants can coexist, but Magneto believes a war is coming, and intends to fight. The films also developed subplots based on the comics' Weapon X and Dark Phoenix storylines.
20th Century Fox earned the film rights to the characters in 1994, and after numerous drafts, Bryan Singer was hired to direct X-Men and returned for X2. He left a potential third and fourth film to direct Superman Returns, leaving Brett Ratner to direct X-Men: The Last Stand. Critics praised Singer's films for their dark, realistic tone, and subtexts dealing with discrimination and intolerance, but Ratner's film was met with mixed reviews. Nonetheless, each film outgrossed the last, and Fox is developing spin-off prequels. The X-Men films are also attributed as leading to a reemergence of superhero films in the 2000s, such as the Spider-Man film series.

X-Men Awards

The film was nominated the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, but lost to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. X-Men was successful at the Saturn Awards. It won categories for Best Science Fiction Film, direction (Singer), writing, costume design, Best Actor (Hugh Jackman) and Supporting Actress (Rebecca Romijn). Nominations included Performance by a Younger Actor (Anna Paquin), Supporting Actor (Patrick Stewart), Special Effects and Make-up. Empire readers voted Singer Best Director.

X-Men Reception

Based on 152 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, 82% were positive, with the consensus that the "story [is] faithful to the comic books and, while the movie may be too Wolverine-centered, it packs a freaky punch that is sure to excite the average summer moviegoer". 59% of 32 selected popular reviewers gave it positive reviews. By comparison Metacritic collected an average score of 64/100 from 33 reviews.
Kenneth Turan found "so much is happening you feel the immediate need of a sequel just as a reward for absorbing it all. While X-Men doesn't take your breath away wire-to-wire the way The Matrix did, it's an accomplished piece of work with considerable pulp watchability to it." ReelReviews.net's James Berardinelli, an X-Men comic book fan, believed, "the film is effectively paced with a good balance of exposition, character development, and special effects-enhanced action. Neither the plot nor the character relationships are difficult to follow, and the movie avoids the trap of spending too much time explaining things that don't need to be explained. X-Men fandom is likely to be divided over whether the picture is a success or a failure". Desson Thomson of The Washington Post commented, "[T]he movie's enjoyable on the surface, but I suspect many people, even die-hards, will be less enthusiastic about what lies, or doesn't, underneath".
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said he "started out liking this movie, while waiting for something really interesting to happen. When nothing did, I still didn't dislike it; I assume the X-Men will further develop their personalities if there is a sequel, and maybe find time to get involved in a story. No doubt fans of the comics will understand subtle allusions and fine points of behavior; they should linger in the lobby after each screening to answer questions." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone noted, "Since it's Wolverine's movie, any X-Men or Women who don't hinge directly on his story get short shrift. As Storm, Halle Berry can do neat tricks with weather, but her role is gone with the wind. It sucks that Stewart and McKellen, two superb actors, are underused."