I think I’ve maybe done only one of these posts before? Anyway, while singing songs from The Greatest Showman, I was thinking about how many Hugh Jackman movies I’ve watched and thought I’d revisit this post format. Basically just a list of his movies (that I’ve seen) ranked by how great he was in each film (imo). Enjoy!
x. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
A cameo role in which Hugh Jackman plays himself, performing Camelot on stage. One nice touch is when the X-Men theme plays for a bit at one point, but his part in the film is mostly forgettable with all the other craziness going on.
ix. X-Men: First Class
Another cameo, and a profanity-laced one at that! #notafan =)
viii. X-Men: Apocalypse
Annnnnd another cameo. (I’m being thorough, okay? Though not thorough enough to include his animated film roles…) I think this cameo was a big deal for X-Men fans? But I don’t really know the comics at all, so it was just kind of a ‘huh, interesting’ moment.
vii. X2
Even though X2 is about Logan learning more about his backstory, Professor X’s part in the story is what stands out to me. I feel as though I need to rewatch the first three X-Men movies to get a better handle on how the characters were portrayed and the plots and all that.
vi. X-Men: The Last Stand
I don’t remember a lot about this movie, as I only watched it once when I was binging all of the group X-Men films. It ended pretty tragically for Logan though. While I was meh about his and Jean’s relationship, you can’t help but feel at least a teensy bit sad when Hugh Jackman acts out a heartbreaking scene. 😦
v. Les Misérables
Colm Wilkinson is ‘my’ Valjean, no question about it. But still, Jackman pours so much into his performance that you can really feel all the difficult emotions and choices that Valjean grapples with throughout the musical. And do NOT get me started on the final scene with him in the abbey (?) dying and Cosette coming to him and he says goodbye and then he dies…IT’S TOO MUCH. Beautifully done.
iv. X-Men: Days of Future Past
Fun fact: Days of Future Past was the very first X-Men movie I ever watched. As you might expect, there was a lot I didn’t understand. But, in an odd way, it worked better than you’d think because Logan was almost as disoriented as I was, what with waking up in the 1970’s and having to figure out how to bring two great enemies together again to save all mutants. Hugh Jackman does a great job in this film, though I’d say Logan is overshadowed by the feud between Erik and Charles + the drama with Mystique. But still!
iii. The Greatest Showman
ALL THE FEELS. Barnum isn’t the most applaudable character (ironically enough) for a lot of TGS, but when he starts singing ‘From Now On’, I melt. The Greatest Showman is one of my favorite musicals, and Hugh Jackman’s driven, scheming, selfish, yet ultimately sympathetic take on the greatest showman himself makes the film in a lot of ways. Despite (or because of) his mistakes, Barnum learns and grows and matures. And the ending? The (almost) literal passing of the baton to Carlisle, the ballet performance, the last half-whispered words? I CAN’T. It’s magic.
ii. X-Men
Hugh Jackman will forever be linked to the character of Wolverine, and his first appearance as the character is my favorite. He’s instantly cool as the unknown element, the man (mutant?) of mystery. His introductory scene is incredible. But what made me fall for him (just the tiniest bit!) was the protectiveness he has for Rogue. I love it!! ❤
i. The Prestige
Robert Angier is quite possibly Hugh Jackman’s most horrible role. (Though I haven’t seen anywhere close to all of his movies, as this list clearly shows.) So why does The Prestige get the number one spot? It’s because of Jackman’s acting. Throughout the course of the film, Angier goes from a polished, friendly magician’s assistant to a deranged, broken, psychopathic villain. This happens gradually and believably, thanks to Hugh Jackman’s amaaaaazing performance. I could rave about this movie for many blog posts, but suffice to say that if you’ve never seen it, you’ll almost certainly leave with a new appreciation for Hugh Jackman’s acting abilities.
What did you think of my ranking? Have you seen any Hugh Jackman movies that I haven’t? Let me know in the comments!
Eva-Joy
THE CAFFEINATED FANGIRL 
Oh, you should see the movie Australia! Hugh does a great job in that one as well. I had the privilege of going to see a live concert of his a couple years ago (just after The Greatest Showman was released) and it was SO COOL! He sang and told stories (and cool backstories about the films he’s been in etc) and did tap dancing and I was blown away and left with a new appreciation for him. 🙂
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Ahhhh that’s so amazing for you!! He seems like a great guy both on- and off-screen.
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😀 I’ve been meaning to do Ten Favorite lists for all my favorite movie stars, and Hugh would be next up, I think. So I won’t tell you my top ten, but six of these will definitely be on it 😀 And I think you know which one will absolutely not ever be on my list! Lol.
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Sweet! Sounds like a fun post. ❤
And, yes, I believe I can guess. 😉
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Tada! My list is up. Thanks for the nudge!
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Gotta love The Greatest Showman. ❤ *sings* "REEEEEEEEEWRITE THE STAAAAAAAAAARS …"
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LOVE the concept of this list and the films you chose to highlight!!. My own personal list would probably look a little something like this:
6. Kate & Leopold
5. Real Steel
4. Les Miserables
3. Australia (Baz Luhrmann’s answer to the Gone With the Wind style epic, there are so many things about this film I adore, I couldn’t even begin to list them all!)
2. The Greatest Showman (Your comments are pretty much dead-on with why I love him in this film too 😄)
1. Oklahoma! (This 1999 filmed stage production is my absolute favourite version of this musical; Hugh KILLS it as Curly, he has fantastic chemistry with Josefina Gabrielle as Laurey, and everyone else is also so well-cast!!)
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I want to see Australia at some point, especially based on your description of it! And I thiiiink my library has that version of Oklahoma!, so I should check it out. 🙂
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I actually just watched The Prestige for a film class, and it’s such a brilliant movie. I talked mainly about how the film mirrors the three magic acts and the entire movie itself is like a magic trick that all comes together in that RIDICULOUS finale. I mean, Jackman and Bale were phenomenal and it’s a movie I had a lot of fun watching. The way Angier changed from beginning to end was scary.
Also, have you seen Logan? I hear that’s one of Jackman’s best performances as Wolverine.
Emily 🙂
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Yes, another Prestige fan! I want to watch it again, even though I’ve already seen it several times. =)
I haven’t seen Logan. Part of me really wants to, but there’s just too much bad language for me to justify it. *sad face* If I could filter it, I would watch it in a heartbeat!
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The language in Logan is intense, yes, but a filter service could remove that really easily. What I don’t see how they could tone down is the really horrible violence, not without just removing big chunks of fight scenes. Or, like, most of the fight scenes, honestly. It’s far, far more bloody and graphic than anything in any of the X-Men films. And, yes, I’ve seen it 4 times anyway, but there are parts where I learned after the first viewing to just look away for a bit.
It’s an achingly wonderful story, but also… brutally ugly. Sigh.
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The two biggest online filtering services (VidAngel and Clearplay) allow you to choose what you do and don’t want filtered, down to the minute details. Like, each individual instance of violence is listed, with the option to show or hide. o.O The problem is that VidAngel doesn’t have Logan and Clearplay can be very annoying for Canadians. 😛
But maybe someday the stars will align and I can watch it lol.
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