When choosing the best Wolverine movies, there’s quite a bit of material to work through! Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Logan, better known as Wolverine, spans nearly two decades and thirteen films, making him one of the longest-running superhero actors in cinema history. From his breakout role in the original X-Men (2000) to his emotional farewell in Logan (2017), Jackman’s adamantium-clawed mutant has evolved from a reluctant team player to a complex, tortured hero grappling with his violent nature and search for belonging. Which of these films make the best Wolverine movies?
What are the best Wolverine movies as of June 2025?
While Wolverine appeared in numerous X-Men ensemble films where he often stole the spotlight, he also headlined three solo adventures that explored different facets of his character. Strong Wolverine stories often work as character studies first, action films second. When I rank the best Wolverine films, I ask myself, does the film understand what makes Wolverine compelling? His reluctant heroism, his protective instincts, his isolation, and his moral complexity? Does the plot serve Wolverine’s character effectively, or does it feel like generic superhero fare?
Logan
Mutants are nearly extinct, and a weak Logan mostly keeps to himself. When a mutant girl, Laura, is in danger and seeks his help, Wolverine must lead her to safety. Though Logan marked the end of Hugh Jackman’s run as Wolverine in 2017, this film sent us off with a personal and haunting farewell. Delivering a violent, yet nuanced performance that eludes genre conventions, Hugh Jackman requested fan input for Wolverine’s trajectory, which ended in us saying goodbye to the beloved X-Men. most fans and critics consider Logan to be exceptional and one of the best superhero movies of all time. Logan is a gritty, emotional send-off to Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine.
X-Men Days of Future Past
With mutants facing potential extinction thanks to Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), Wolverine goes back in time to rally the X-Men of the past and save their futures. He’s chosen for this mission because his healing factor allows him to survive the mental strain of time travel that would kill most others. Released in 2014, this epic superhero film is fast-paced and chock full of old and new faces. Blending time travel and science fiction, the film essentially uses Wolverine as the audience’s anchor point between the original X-Men trilogy and the newer First Class timeline, making Logan the bridge between past and future versions of these characters. The time travel plot actually makes sense and serves the story rather than just being a gimmick. It allows the film to explore themes of hope, redemption, and whether people can truly change.
Despite all the spectacle, the film has real emotional stakes. The relationship between Charles and Erik is the heart of the story, and Wolverine’s mission to save everyone he cares about gives the time travel plot personal meaning. The movie successfully reset the X-Men timeline, allowing for fresh storytelling while honoring what came before. With compelling performances and smart storytelling, this is a masterful crossover movie event.
X-Men: First Class
Set in the early 1960’s during the Cold War, two mutants, Charles and Erik, from different backgrounds become close friends. Charles and Erik join forces with other mutants to prevent a nuclear war. X-Men: First Class isn’t really a Wolverine movie at all. Wolverine only appears in a brief, memorable cameo where he delivers a perfectly timed F-bomb to young Professor X and Magneto when they try to recruit him. First Class brings fresh energy to the X-Men series by going back to basics and focusing on character relationships rather than just spectacle.
You don’t need to have seen other X-Men movies to understand and enjoy this one, making it perfect for newcomers to the franchise. While Wolverine doesn’t heavily feature in this one, you get to see how the X-Men team first formed, with great portrayals of young versions of familiar characters. The film also introduces compelling new mutants and shows their struggles with acceptance and identity.
X2: X-Men United
When a military scientist named William Stryker launches an attack on Xavier’s school and attempts to use the mutant-locating device Cerebro to kill all mutants worldwide, the X-Men must team up with their former enemies Magneto and Mystique to stop him. The film explores Wolverine’s mysterious past at Stryker’s facility while the mutants fight for their survival against a government conspiracy that threatens to wipe out their entire species.
X2 is often considered one of the best X-Men films partly because it balances Wolverine’s personal journey with the larger ensemble story effectively. The movie finally explores Wolverine’s mysterious past when the team infiltrates William Stryker’s facility at Alkali Lake. Logan discovers this is where he received his adamantium skeleton and lost his memories. The film shows flashbacks to his brutal experimentation. The film shows Logan becoming more invested in Xavier’s dream and the X-Men’s mission, setting up his evolution from reluctant participant to true team member.
X-Men
When a mutant-hating Senator Kelly proposes a Mutant Registration Act, the villainous Magneto plans to use a machine that will turn world leaders into mutants at a UN summit, believing this will force humanity to accept mutant-kind. Professor Xavier’s X-Men, including the newly recruited Wolverine, must stop Magneto’s dangerous scheme while protecting a young mutant named Rogue, whose power-absorbing abilities become crucial to both sides of the conflict.
Wolverine serves as the audience’s entry point into the mutant world and plays several crucial roles. Logan is introduced as a cage fighter with no memory of his past, living as a drifter. When he encounters Rogue, he becomes reluctantly drawn into the conflict between Xavier’s X-Men and Magneto’s Brotherhood. Wolverine essentially functions as both the heart of the film and the bridge between the human and mutant worlds. This one is a true classic, and Hugh Jackman’s premiere as the character Wolverine. We would be remiss to exclude the film that gave him his decades-long career journey!
How we picked the best Wolverine movies
I weigh character-driven films more heavily than pure spectacle, since Wolverine’s appeal has always been more about his internal struggles than flashy superpowers. Films that treat him as a real person dealing with extraordinary circumstances tend to resonate more than those that just use him as an action figure. In my opinion, the most successful Wolverine films use his immortality, memory loss, and outsider status to explore broader themes about family, sacrifice, aging, and what it means to be human and/or mutant.
The best Wolverine stories dig into his struggle between his violent nature and his desire to protect others, his search for identity and belonging, and his complex relationships. Since Wolverine is inherently a brutal character, the best films find the right balance – visceral enough to feel authentic to the character without being gratuitous. The choreography should showcase his unique fighting style and healing factor. Share below how’d you rank the best Wolverine movies!
