Hugh Jackman’s 5 best action movies, ranked

By Dan Girolamo Published August 16, 2024

Hugh Jackman is one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors. The 55-year-old multi-hyphenate can kick butt as an action hero, make you blush as a romantic lead, and sing his heart out as a musical performer. If that weren’t enough, Jackman is a fantastic dramatic actor, giving standout performances in , and

At this point in his career, Jackman is best known for his action movies. Since 2000, Jackman has been donning the claws of Wolverine in the X-Men movies. However, the Australian has stepped out of the superhero world to headline other sci-fi and horror action films. Our rankings for Jackman’s best action movies include multiple X-Men films, a sci-fi sports film, and a throwback monster movie.

Hugh Jackman, vampire slayer? With his hulking presence and flair for the dramatics, Jackman’s seamless transformation into the legendary Gabriel Van Helsing is a match made in heaven. Van Helsing travels to Transylvania to kill Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh) and protect Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale), the last descendent of an ancient Romanian family.

Van Helsing and Anna learn the key to Count Dracula’s plan is the blood of Frankenstein’s monster (Shuler Hensley). The duo team up to destroy Dracula, but it won’t be easy as seemingly every monster and creature — including a werewolf, Dracula’s brides, and undead children — wants them dead. Van Helsing is not a perfect movie, but it’s an entertaining homage to Universal’s monster films from the 1930s and 1940s.

Stream Van Helsing on Peacock.

If you noticed the chemistry between Jackman and Shawn Levy during Deadpool & Wolverine, it dates back to their collaboration on Real Steel, an underrated action film from 2011. In Real Steel, robots have replaced boxers in the ring. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer who struggles to make ends meet as a robot owner who continues to lose money on his failed machines.

Charlie’s life takes an unexpected turn when he reunites with his estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), after the death of his ex-girlfriend. Max likes the robots and finds common ground with Charlie over fighting. This father-son duo now works to build and train a robot into a champion. Levy’s gift is combining emotion and action to create a spectacle — a formula that works in this surprisingly effective movie.

Stream Real Steel on Hulu.

For some fans, X2 is the high point for the X-Men, and for good reason. After a brainwashed Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) attempts to assassinate the president, Colonel William Stryker (Brian Cox) pushes his anti-mutant agenda and gains permission to attack X-Mansion. Stryker plans to build another Cerebro and use it to kill every mutant.

Because you need a villain to fight a villain, Charles (Patrick Stewart) and Logan (Hugh Jackman) form an uneasy alliance with Magneto (Ian McKellen) to stop Stryker from wiping out mutants. X2 has everything a sequel should aspire to be — it’s bigger and better. Yet X2 also increases the emotional stakes, featuring a heartbreaking ending that perfectly sets up the third and final film in the trilogy.

Stream X2 on Disney+.

Logan aside, X-Men: Days of Future Past is the best X-Men movie. Before the MCU opened the multiverse, X-Men combined the franchise’s legacy characters from the early 2000s with the new crop introduced in X-Men: First Class. With Sentinels hunting the X-Men in 2023, Logan (Jackman) is sent back to 1973 to prevent the assassination of Sentinel creator Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage). This event changed the course of history for the X-Men.

Arriving in the past, Logan is surprised to learn that X-Mansion has been closed, with a depressed Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) abandoning his teaching. After explaining his situation, Charles agrees to help Logan, but they’ll need to rally some former X-Men to help. With stunning visuals and exhilarating scenes (Quicksilver’s slo-mo run in the kitchen still rocks), Days of Future Past is the pinnacle of X-Men team-up movies.

Stream X-Men: Days of Future Past on Disney+.

At this point, it’s somewhat disrespectful to only describe Logan as one of the five greatest superhero movies ever. It doesn’t need the clarification that it’s a comic book movie. Frankly, Logan is a great movie, period. Originally billed as Jackman’s last appearance as the iconic X-Man character, Logan picks up in 2029 in a world where no mutants have been born for over two decades. When he’s not driving a limousine near the Mexican border, Logan (Jackman) cares for Charles Xavier (Stewart), the founder of the X-Men who now suffers from dementia.

Logan’s life is thrown into disarray when he meets Laura (Dafne Keen), a young mutant created with his DNA. Logan agrees to help protect Laura from Transigen, the corporation looking to capture and kill her. With a darker tone and significant emotional stakes, Jackman saved his best for last in Logan.

Stream Logan on Disney+.