As a movie star, Hugh Jackman is best known for his almost twenty-year tenure in the role of Wolverine in the X-Men movie franchise. However, he’s done so much more than that. Since his roots are in musical theater, he’s appeared in some of the rare movie musicals that still get made post-Golden Age, and he’s also provided solemn turns in cerebral thrillers that cut the audiences to their core. In short, he’s an actor with serious range, and while it’s sad to see him leave the role of Logan behind, it’s exciting to see where his career will go next. Here are Hugh Jackman’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes.
Happy Feet (76%)
While director George Miller is mostly known for creating the Mad Max franchise (and then revitalizing it in the modern day in one of the rare cases of a creator rebooting his own franchise in a satisfying way), he created a different franchise that’s as far-removed from Mad Max as it could possibly be: Happy Feet. When movies like Surf’s Up and March of the Penguins and Madagascar were getting made, Hollywood became inexplicably obsessed with penguins for a while. Happy Feet stood out from this trend as a soulfully animated, heartwarming tale. It rivals Pixar’s quality without trying to emulate its style.
Prisoners (80%)
Prisoners is one of the finest and most intense thrillers in recent memory. Hugh Jackman, as the father of one of two girls who have been kidnapped, desperately seeks their captor, even resorting to torture. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the unconventional, Rust Cohle-esque detective who is assigned to the case and takes an interest in Jackman’s mysterious character. Denis Villeneuve’s typically deft direction makes it feel like walls are closing in on the viewer as the characters get tenser and tenser; Roger Deakins’ Oscar-nominated cinematography is breathtaking as always; and Aaron Guzikowski’s screenplay contains more than a few surprising plot twists.
X-Men (81%)
Along with Blade and Spider-Man, X-Men can be credited for kicking off the superhero blockbuster craze that now dominates multiplexes across the world. Bryan Singer unwittingly set the template for ensemble team-up comic book movies like The Avengers and Justice League with the first X-Men movie.
It introduces all the characters and their relationships with one another, as well as giving them a common enemy to fight against. Hugh Jackman has said that he was almost fired from the first X-Men movie, but managed to keep hold of the role after being encouraged to trust his instincts by his wife, and the rest is history.
Eddie the Eagle (82%)
Underdog stories in the sports movie genre are ten a penny, but the most special ones are those based on real underdogs who overcame impossible odds to succeed. Taron Egerton stars as Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards, who in 1988, became the first athlete to represent Great Britain in the Olympic ski-jumping event in 60 years, while Hugh Jackman co-stars as Bronson Peary, an alcoholic and former champion American ski-jumper who initially encourages Edwards to quit, but ends up helping him become a British sporting legend. Egerton and Jackman have terrific on-screen chemistry, which makes this an unforgettable movie.
X2: X-Men United (85%)
The great thing about superhero sequels is that with the origin story out of the way, they can just dive right into the action and develop new conflicts from there, beyond the standard “Am I cut out to be a superhero?” internal debate. X2: X-Men United follows this formula, with the X-Mansion getting blown up in the first act and the team getting split up into various smaller groups throughout the second act before being reunited for a final battle in the third act. It’s the same basic structure followed by movies like Avengers: Infinity War. This movie set the template for the ensemble superhero team-up movie.
TIE: Bad Education (86%)
While Hollywood usually doesn’t indulge the autobiographical screenplays of comedy writers whose names aren’t Judd Apatow, this year’s Bad Education starring Hugh Jackman is drawn from the high school experiences of its writer and co-producer, Mike Makowsky. It just so happens that Makowsky’s school has a place in history, as it was responsible for the largest public school embezzlement scandal of all time (while Makowsky was a student there), and that’s the main event covered by the movie. There are dramatic elements, with this being based on a shady true story and all, but it also has a delightful sense of humor.
TIE: X-Men: First Class (86%)
Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine only had a cameo appearance in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, but it was one of the most memorable moments in the movie. Professor X and Magneto go around ‘60s America, recruiting mutants for their team, and when they find Wolverine knocking back drinks in a bar, he dismisses them with a quick “F**k off.” X-Men: First Class was an attempt by the studio to reboot the franchise by going into the past and recasting all the roles with younger actors. In retrospect, it was the first of many unfortunate nails in the X-Men film franchise’s coffin.
Missing Link (89%)
This little animated gem from Laika, the only animation house that can rival Pixar for both entertainment and emotional impact, didn’t make a lot of money at the box office this year, but it did deserve to. It was adored by critics for its gorgeous animation, delightful characters, and breezy tone.
Zach Galifianakis and Hugh Jackman make an engaging lead duo as a mild-mannered Bigfoot named Mr. Link and a self-obsessed monster hunter named Sir Lionel Frost, respectively, while they received strong support from the rest of the voice cast, including Zoe Saldana, Stephen Fry, Emma Thompson, and Timothy Olyphant.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (90%)
Following the release of X-Men: First Class, it became apparent that the newer, younger cast was great, but it also became apparent that fans missed the old cast. So, the natural response was to include both casts in a time travel movie. The time travel rules in X-Men: Days of Future Past dictate that the time traveler is sent into the body of their past self, which was a wise decision for plot, because it allowed Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine to be the focus of the movie. With unforgettable action set pieces and fan-pleasing character moments, Days of Future Past is up there with the best of the MCU.
Logan (93%)
After one bitter disappointment followed by a slightly better sequel, there was little hope for Wolverine’s solo threequel. The third movie is always the worst and Wolverine hadn’t even had a good first or second movie. But then something magical happened: the studio gave free rein to director James Mangold to helm the ultraviolent, blood-soaked, R-rated movie that Wolvie has always deserved. Logan was praised by critics and fans alike for its sincere, poignant, Shane-inspired look at an aging Wolverine and an even aging-er Professor X. The movie received is unprecedented, yet definitely earned its Academy Award nomination for its screenplay.