X2: X-Men United (2003)

As good as the original X-Men movie was, the best offering in the original trilogy of the franchise was undoubtedly the second one – the fantastic X2: X-Men United.

The movie saw mutants on both the sides of good and evil coming together (hence the title) to face off with Colonel William Stryker and his anti-mutant forces, as the human sought to wipe out mutants with his own version of Professor Charles Xavier’s mutant-tracking Cerebro device.

Critics loved it, with the opinion almost universally being that it was better than its predecessor. The acting and script were praised and the character of Nightcrawler in particular – especially his spectacular scene in the White House – was singled out for applause.

X2: X-Men United almost quadrupled its $110 million budget at the box office and deservedly so. It proved that the franchise was more than just a flash in the pan.