X-Men: Dark Phoenix, a retelling of the poorly received Jean Grey-centered story from X-Men: The Last Stand, bombed with the worst opening weekend in the franchise’s 20-year history. The first X-Men film (released way back in 2000) seems to have sparked the cinematic superhero explosion. Logan was the X-Men franchise’s singular experiment, arguably the peak of the series, a bleak, gritty western that concluded Wolverine’s story perfectly. ADVERTISEMENTThe X-Men universe always seemed inherently more interesting than the Marvel universe because of the underlying darkness, the use of the word “mutants” rather than “superheroes.” The X-Men have always been a clear metaphor for the oppressed, vague enough to reflect changing times, their powers wildly imaginative, and often burdensome. The X-Men films repeatedly chose world-ending threats over small-scale struggle, the clashing philosophies of Magneto and Xavier always the focus of the story, but never really explored beyond a superficial "good vs. evil" dynamic.

Source: Forbes June 09, 2019 18:33 UTC