17 - X2: X-Men United (May 2003)

In the immortal words of DMX, "X Gon’ Give It 2 Ya!" — and boy, does this movie ever give it to us! The costumes, the miniature work, the sets, the acting, the stunts, and Huge Jacked-Man’s guttural Wolverine yell that sinks Rod Steiger’s 'January Man' yell-acting to the bottom of a medical-grade aquarium faster than a she-ninja full of Adamantium.

This might just be the movie that made the studio X-ecs realize the neo-superhero franchise had real potential — launching us into the Marvel-ized world we know today. Or maybe someone just really wanted an "X-cuse" ...an "X-Twose?... to film Hugh Jackman in his birthday suit. We may never know.

This movie is fun. Maybe it’s starting to show its age ever so slightly, but a pristinely “X-ecuted” early-aughts action romp worth its salt — and one that still holds up today — will always be a yeah from me, dawg. Oh and Shawn Connery and Chewbacca show up... sort of.

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