THE RANKING
Chris: The X-Men movies. Began in 2000 with X-Men, finished just a few weeks ago with The New Mutants. And while I don’t think that is a terrible film, it did end on a low-key note. Which is a shame, because this franchise deserved a more noble end.
Ben: It’s been a little while since it was really good, especially the mainline X-Men team films. It’s been off the boil for a couple of years now. It’s been sad to see it decline because it broke so many barriers for this genre.
Helen: What X-Men showed was that you could take comic books seriously as character dramas, and make something different out of them.
Chris: But let me ask you a question: if Mission: Impossible II doesn’t overrun, and Dougray Scott plays Wolverine, as was originally the plan, are we sitting here?
Amon: Nope.
Chris: Why not?
Amon: Man, Hugh Jackman…
Chris: Show your working out.
Helen: I think he just did. He said, “Man, Hugh Jackman…”
Amon: Hugh Jackman is this franchise’s biggest asset…
Chris: Sometimes literally.
Amon: And it was very clear early on that he was perfect casting for Wolverine.
Helen: Despite being a foot too tall.
Chris: And not Canadian.
The fact that he went on to reprise the role so many times is a testament to that. And in the first in particular, he’s the perfect audience conduit.
