Hugh Jackman Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked": Where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted relevant accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Hugh Jackman-whose latest project "Reminiscence" arrives in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday.  

Hugh Jackman's Filmography Ranked:

18.Movie 43 (D)

17.The Fountain (D)

16.Chappie (C)

15.Van Helsing (C+)

14.X-Men Origins: Wolverine (B-)

13.Eddie the Eagle (B-)

12.Logan (B-)

11.Real Steel (B-)

10.X-Men: The Last Stand (B)

9.The Wolverine (B)

8.X-Men (B)

7.Butter (B)

6.Bad Education (B+)

5.Swordfish (B+)

4.The Prestige (B+)

3.Prisoners (A-)

2.X-Men: Days of Future Past (A)

1.X2: X-Men United (A)

Top Dog: X2: X-Men United (2003)

No disrespect to Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, Tim Burton's Batman or the original X-Men movie, but X2 was the first superhero movie that I ever saw as a kid that really blew me away. The whole concept of the heroes and villains from the previous movie teaming up to fight a common enemy (Colonel Stryker, played by the always great Brian Cox) was really distinctive at the time, the action scenes/visual effects were terrific and the few new mutant characters (Nightcrawler, Pyro, Deathstrike) that joined this already crowded group all get their moments shine. Even if it doesn't completely hold up now, X2's status as a sneaky trailblazing film for the superhero genre remains enough to forever solidify its greatness.

Lowlight: Movie 43 (2013)

4 Oscar winners (Peter Farrelly, Emma Stone, Kate Winslet, Halle Berry) and a whole host of other very talented people including Jackman, James Gunn, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Sudekis and Chloe Grace Moretz all have the honor of saying they were a part of one of the most infamous failed experiments in recent Hollywood history. This very poor attempt to update the anthology comedy format that birthed cult classics like 1977's Kentucky Fried Movie for the modern era features some of the most painfully unfunny comedy bits that I've ever witnessed and it speaks very highly of the talent involved here that appearing in such a huge piece of shit had zero adverse effect on their respective careers.

Most Underrated: Swordfish (2001)

Swordfish is an extremely stupid, flashy action thriller that is completely married to the 90's ways of doing business (hyperactive pacing, nu metal soundtrack, portraying computer hackers as the coolest people on the planet). It also happens to be preposterously entertaining and far better acted than it should be thanks to a cast of legit great actors (John Travolta, Halle Berry, Jackman, Don Cheadle, Sam Shepard, Vinnie Jones) that have no problem letting their hair down and rolling with the idiotic material every step of the way. 

Most Overrated: Logan (2017)

Logan is a tricky movie for me to criticize because there's really a lot that I admire about it. Making a somber, contemplative character study about a pair of superheroes (Wolverine, Professor X) dealing with their weakening powers and the looming threat of imminent death is a refreshingly ambitious spin on the superhero genre and the performances from Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart beautifully capture the frailty and vulnerability these seemingly invincible men feel in their final days of life. Despite its great acting and fascinating setup, Logan sadly fails to deliver on its grand potential. The script from Scott Frank and director James Mangold doesn't dive deep enough into the meatier character details (Logan's alcoholism, Professor X's battle with a neurological disorder, the father/son-like relationship between them) that are introduced, the spastic quick cut action scenes feel extremely jarring in such a slow, sad movie and the ending is disappointingly contrived for a film that otherwise subverts genre clichés.

One of the Rarest Unicorns in the World of Movies: Chappie (2015)

Chappie earns the extremely rarely distinction of being a film where a single element prevents the entire thing from collapsing. Sharalto Copley is so funny, charming and emotionally engaging as the titular robot that he prevents this otherwise unfocused, convoluted mess of a movie from ever having the spectacular meltdown that it almost certainly would've had without him. Mediocrity may not be the desired outcome when making a movie, but when the ingredients for colossal failure are all present and some gifted soul takes a couple of those shit sandwiches and turns them into a gourmet meal, it feels akin to a minor miracle.