• Title: X-Men: Ten Movie Collection
• Format: Blu-ray
• Release: 2021
• Country: UK / Region B
• Certificate: 15
• Contents: X-Men (2000), X-Men 2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), and The New Mutants (2020) + associated bonus material/special features
• Features running time: 19 hours 13 mins (approx)

Ever since the live-action X-Men movie series expanded beyond a single entry, 20th Century Fox began releasing the films on home video as part of a series of collections. For example, X-Men was bundled up with X-Men 2 in the form of a twin-pack, a short while later both films were combined with X-Men: The Last Stand for a trilogy set, and more collections and combinations soon followed.

As such, over the course of time there have been numerous X-Men movie collections as the film series has continued to grow. None of these collections ever appear to offer a complete run of the films (often 2017’s Logan is excluded), but they do provide X-Men fans with the opportunity to own most of the films in one swift purchase.

The boxset being highlighted in this post (which was released by 20th Century Studios in 2021) is an example of one of these ‘incomplete’ sets. This set contains ten films, rather than the 13 X-Men movies that existed back in 2021, and is missing Deadpool (2016), Logan (2017), and Deadpool 2 (2018).

Why are these three movies missing from the set? Because they were viewed as being adult-orientated titles, which didn’t necessarily gel with the family-friendly vibe of the rest of the collection.

Either way, when it came time for me to add the X-Men movies to my collection, this particular ‘incomplete’ boxset suited me just fine. I already owned Logan on Blu-ray, so I was happy not to double-dip on that title, and a separate release of the first two Deadpool movies was available to plug the remaining gap.

While I prefer adding ‘complete’ boxsets to my collection as a general rule, on the odd occasion an ‘incomplete’ boxset is fine. This time around a ten-movie collection worked out well for me, and I’m sure it would work out well for other X-Men fans too.

So, let’s take a look at what the 2021 release of the X-Men: Ten Movie Collection includes. If you’re on the market for the X-Men movies on Blu-ray, this may be a set worth looking at if it meets your needs AND you can find it at the right price.

As you can see from the images above, the boxset includes five Blu-ray cases, all housed in an outer slip. The outer slip is made from card and follows the standard format for an X-Men collection – i.e it includes a text logo and an image of an ‘X’.

The five Blu-ray cases are divided as follows:

• (i) The X-Men Trilogy
• (ii) The X-Men Origins: Wolverine & The Wolverine set
• (iii) The X-Men Beginnings Trilogy
• (iv) X-Men: Dark Phoenix
• (v) The New Mutants

(i) The X-Men Trilogy

Here’s what the synopsis (on the back of the case) says about this set:

‘Prepare to join the fight for mutant rights with the X-Men Trilogy! Experience the first three adventures of the saga, in which Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is drawn into a conflict between Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen), who have opposing views on humanity and mutants. When the war for the future of mankind comes to a head, are you ready to choose a side? This legendary collection kick-started an entire genre and features an all-star cast including Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Famke Janssen, and many more.’

And here is what the X-Men Trilogy includes:

X-Men

• A HD copy of X-Men
• Audio commentary by Bryan Singer & Brian Peck
• Deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary by Bryan Singer & Brian Peck
• Easter eggs
• FOX Special ‘The Mutant Watch’
• Bryan Singer interview
• Animatics
• Art gallery

X-Men 2

• A HD copy of X-Men 2
• Audio commentary by Bryan Singer & Tom Sigel
• Audio commentary by Lauren Shuler Donner, Ralph Winter, Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris, and David Hayter
• Marvel Universe trailers

X-Men: The Last Stand

• A HD copy of X-Men: The Last Stand
• Director & writer commentary by Brett Ratner, Simon Kinberg, and Zak Penn
• Producer commentary by Avi Arad, Lauren Shuler Donner & Ralph Winter
• Deleted scenes
• Easter eggs

(ii) X-Men Origins: Wolverine & The Wolverine

Here is what the synopsis says about this Blu-ray collection:

‘Watch Hugh Jackman unleash Wolverine’s primal instincts in this indestructible double pack!

‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine: The mysterious origins of Wolverine (Jackman) include his relationship with Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) and the Weapon X programme that unleashes his fury!

‘The Wolverine: Hugh Jackman returns as The Wolverine and faces his ultimate nemesis in an action-packed, life-or-death battle that takes him to modern-day Japan. Vulnerable for the first time, and pushed to his limits, Logan (Jackman) confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also an inner struggle against his own immortality in an epic fight that will leave him forever changed.’

And here is what is included in The X-Men Origins: Wolverine & The Wolverine Collection:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

• A HD copy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine
• The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein
• Filmmaker commentaries
• The Thrill of the Chase: The Helicopter Sequence
• Weapon X Mutant Files: 10 featurettes providing background on new mutants, Sabretooth, The Blob, Deadpool, Wraith, and Gambit
• Deleted scenes
• Wolverine Unleashed documentary

The Wolverine

• A HD copy of The Wolverine
• The Path of a Ronin – A comprehensive look at the filmmaking journey from comic to the big screen
• Alternate ending
• X-Men: Days of Future Past set tour
• Director’s audio commentary

(iii) The X-Men Beginnings Trilogy

Here is what the synopsis says on the X-Men Beginnings Trilogy:

‘Witness the origins of your favourite X-Men, including Professor X and Magneto, in this beginnings trilogy of X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and X-Men: Apocalypse. In X-Men: First Class, young Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr meet for the first time and join forces to stop certain nuclear war. Then, in X-Men: Days of Future Past, a ferocious battle rages across timelines as the X-Men must travel back to reshape history. Finally, the world’s first and most powerful mutant awakens to destroy the planet in X-Men: Apocalypse.’

And here is what is included in The X-Men Beginnings Trilogy:

X-Men: First Class

• A HD copy of X-Men: First Class
• Children of the Atom – Multi-part documentary
• Deleted scenes
• Cerebro: Mutant tracker
• Composer’s isolated score

X-Men: Days of Future Past

• A HD copy of X-Men: Days of Future Past
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Bryan Singer
• Kitchen sequence
• Gag reel
• Double take: Xavier and Magneto
• X-Men: Reunited
• Classification M
• Sentinels: For a Secure Future
• Stills gallery: Trask Industries

X-Men: Apocalypse

• A HD copy of X-Men: Apocalypse
• Deleted/extended scenes with optional introductions by Bryan Singer
• Gag reel
• Wrap party video
• X-Men: Apocalypse Unearthed documentary
• Audio commentary by Bryan Singer & Simon Kinberg
• Stills gallery
• Easter egg

(iv) X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Here is the synopsis for X-Men: Dark Phoenix:

‘Sophie Turner, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence fire up an all-star cast in this spectacular culmination of the X-Men saga! During a rescue mission in space, Jean Grey (Turner) is transformed into the infinitely powerful and dangerous Dark Phoenix. As Jean spirals out of control, the X-Men must unite to face their most devastating enemy yet – one of their own.’

And here is what X-Men: Dark Phoenix includes:

• A HD copy of X-Men: Dark Phoenix
• Rise of the Phoenix: The Making of Dark Phoenix – Five-part documentary
• Audio commentary by Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker
• Deleted scenes with optional commentary by Simon Kinberg and Hutch Parker
• How to Fly Your Jet to Space with Beast
• Theatrical trailers

(v) The New Mutants

And finally, here is the synopsis for The New Mutants:

‘In this action-filled film, five young people who demonstrate special powers are forced to undergo treatment at a secret institution – allegedly to cure them of the dangers of their powers. But it’s soon clear that their containment is part of a much bigger battle between the forces of good and evil!’

And here is what The New Mutants includes:

• A HD copy of The New Mutants
• Deleted scenes
• Origins & influences
• Meet The New Mutants
• Audio commentary: Josh Boone interviews Bill Sienkiewicz
• Teaser trailer
• Official trailer

When I purchased this X-Men box-set, it carried a retail price of £29.99. As this equates to £2.99 a film, I believe this was a great value purchase.

Is it the most dynamic looking boxset? No – but very few entries in the X-Men movie collection are.

20th Century Fox and later Disney (under the 20th Century Studios name) have been utilising the generic ‘X’ logo design for years, and I doubt it will change anytime soon. For me personally, it’s not an issue.

The individual Blu-ray cases have decent designs, so I am tempted to ditch the outer case completely. I appreciate the mere suggestion may be sacrilege to some, but I’m all about tweaking and improving my collection, and will remove an outer case if I feel it adds no value.

The important thing is that I have a significant chunk of the X-Men movies on high-definition disc, and they were reasonably priced. I have a real soft-spot for this movie series, and it is one I return to regularly.

If a better box-set is released in the future, with new special features, then I may upgrade. However, for the price this is a decent set, so long as you already have the missing movies, or you take into account the add-on price of those additional films.

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