From ‘Logan’ to ‘Australia’: Watch these movies with Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman is one of the most famous Australian actors currently working. He’s also a pretty huge name in just about any country. He’s had a long & illustrious film career up to this point, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Jackman is widely best known for his portrayal of Wolverine in the X-Men franchise. Outside of this long-running franchise, he’s had parts in all manner of genre films, from action movies to dramas, from fantasy to period pieces, and from musicals to horror movies.
With the release of his latest film, Reminiscence, which looks to be parts romance, mystery, and thriller and co stars Rebecca Ferguson, we thought it’d be fun to look back at his career highlights.
The X-Men movies
Jackman had his big break when he landed the role of Logan in the X-Men franchise. The series started with X-Men in 2000, which holds up surprisingly well today. What holds up even better, though, is X2. The third movie, like many other “third movies in a franchise” is typically regarded as the weakest link in the trilogy. This is X-Men: The Last Stand, which was so disliked that later films did what they could to retcon it.
The Last Stand wasn’t the biggest dud of the franchise however. Ask most fans, and that would go to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It seems as though the studio wanted to course-correct, and thought a stand-alone film featuring their most popular character would be the way to go. Responses from critics and fans were mostly negative.
Jackman’s Logan got another stand-alone movie with The Wolverine. Most thought it was better than Origins, but it still isn’t the best standalone Wolverine flick. That would come later . . . .
But before that, let’s talk about X-Men: Days of Future Past. It depends on who you ask, but many feel that this is the best X-Men movie, or at least the best of the ones that feature a mostly new cast.
With that out of the way, now we can talk about Logan. Logan is Jackman’s goodbye to the character he played for nearly two decades. It features the hero, now old & sick, passing on what’s left of his legacy to his daughter. It’s really great and one of the few films that manages to transcend the superhero genre.
Happy Feet
Yup, you read that right. Hugh Jackman voices a character in that one animated film about penguins. The one that also won best animated picture at the Oscars that year. It’s possible that Jackman’s involvement was at least tangentially related to the film’s status as a U.S. & Australia joint operation.
The Prestige
Hugh Jackman worked with famed director Christopher Nolan for this movie about magicians in constant competition with each other. This is a notable film in Jackman’s filmography, as it’s a standout in terms of quality, and, well, prestige. He stars opposite Christian Bale.
Australia
It makes sense that two of Australia’s biggest stars would play the leading roles in a movie literally called Australia. Jackman stars opposite Nicole Kidman in this period piece romantic epic (is that a genre? It is now). The movie received less than stellar reviews, but it’s a pretty major motion picture nonetheless.
Les Misérables
Les Misérables was talked about quite often at the Academy Awards, as it’s the movie that won Anne Hathaway her Oscar. This film adaptation of the famous French musical had an all-star cast, and gave Jackman a chance to show off his vocal skills.
Prisoners
If horror movies and thrillers are more your thing, check out Prisoners. Then sleep with the lights on, cause it’s pretty unsettling. Jackman plays a man driven mad with desperation to find his missing child, and he turns out a pretty dark and powerful performance.
The Greatest Showman
Back to musicals! The Greatest Showman was another hit at the Oscars, mostly for it’s soundtrack.
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And this brings us up to speed! Of course, there are plenty of films and other works we’ve missed, but here we’ve aimed to cover the highlights of a long career. What’s your favorite Hugh Jackman movie? Have you seen the trailer for Reminiscence? Let us know!
