As a prototype of sorts to the great Marvel Cinematic Universe, one of the biggest franchises of all time, the X-Men Film Series has tons of great music.
X-Men
- Following the Fox fanfare, the very first title theme
paves the way for a 20-year-old superhero universe. - The first half Logan and Rogue, where Logan (willingly) nearly sacrifices himself just to revive Rogue, someone he's only known for a short while. Heartbreaking doesn't begin to describe it.
- The late Michael Kamen's "Checkmate and End Titles" is spectacular.
- John Ottman's title theme rules all before it.
- The opening scene where Nightcrawler takes out the CIA to Mozart's "Dies Irae" is too awesome to put into words.
- John Powell's "The Phoenix Rises" is magnificently bombastic.
- "Logan Through Time" by Harry Gregson Williams, which plays during the opening credits sequence, shows Logan and Victor fighting through various wars over a century. The scene is considered by many to be the best and most interesting part of the movie.
- The whole soundtrack is amazing (it was made by Henry Jackman after all).
- Special points go to the main theme "First Class", "Frankenstein's Monster", "Cold War", "Sub Lift", and "Magneto".
- "Rage and Serenity" counts as this and Heartwarming Music. It's especially beautiful because it's a combination of both Charles Xavier's and Erik Lehnsherr's themes. This piece turned out to be so awesome that it was eventually reused in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. This essay explains in more detail what makes the piece so poignant."...at 0:42, a small melodic motif is introduced, which seems to generally be used as Charles' theme in the film. This continues to play as Charles acts as a mentor and friend to Erik, showing him the memory, and telling him to try again.At 1:19 in the song, Erik's theme comes in. Now, Erik has two themes: a calmer, somewhat arpeggiated electric guitar riff, and a more intense "Magneto" theme, generally used when he is doing something violent. The one used here is the calmer one. However, instead of taking over the music entirely, the guitar actually plays the theme in counterpoint to Charles' theme, not sacrificing its unique timbre, but still blending in with the orchestra to create an amazing sound. The song builds to a climax as Erik finally moves the dish, and then fades away gently as Erik smiles and laughs, and Charles pats him on the back proudly.This, more than anything, really enforces the metaphor that Erik and Charles are Rage and Serenity. They have their individual strengths and advantages, but they are stronger when working together to reach a single goal. And working together doesn't erase either of their individual qualities—Erik is still Rage and Charles is still Serenity, just as the guitar is still a guitar and the orchestra is still an orchestra. Together, they create something new and better, something more than a sum of its parts, as the popular saying goes. That's why the relationship between Charles and Erik is so powerful, and why this scene is so emotionally charged—they were practically made for each other, each perfectly complementing the other."
- Special points go to the main theme "First Class"
- The end credits theme which is a fairly subtle, but no less effective piece of music that captures the I Work Alone vibe that the man himself sports.
- Admit it, you got excited when you heard John Ottman's X2 theme again in this movie's opening for the first time in 11 years.
- The sublime "Hope (Xavier's Theme)" is the standout piece on the soundtrack, as it essentially captures all that is beautiful about Professor X's character.
- It's 1973, the appropriate year for Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle", which is beautifully used as Quicksilver uses his speed to save Xavier, Wolverine and Magneto in the Pentagon's kitchen.
- We also get a very era-appropriate French version of "Stop in the Name of Love" during a Paris nightclub scene.
- "X Gon Give It to Ya" by DMX, which plays during the main trio's Team Power Walk and fits the nature of Deadpool, in addition to sounding awesome.
- "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa, which plays while Deadpool's crudely drawing himself shooting Francis and is singing along to it. It's insanely catchy as well.
- The "Deadpool Rap" by Teamheadkick, which suits the scenes it plays in (Deadpool going after Francis' mooks to get his location) perfectly.
- Lastly, "Angel of the Morning" by Juice Newton is sublime Soundtrack Dissonance, as it plays over the opening montage (which features a moment in time of the highway shootout later in the film).
- The soundtrack by Junkie XL is no slouch either. Especially the "Maximum Effort" leitmotif. Many have compared the synth parts of it to "Beat it".
- The opening theme composed by John Ottman, again, now sounding like a fusion of its two previous renditions for maximum awesomeness.
- The film is set in 1983 and features Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. What could be fitting for Angel's empowering scene? Metallica's "Four Horsemen", of course!
- Another great reminder that we're in 1983: Quicksilver saves all of Xavier's students and teachers from the exploding school... on Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"!
- The first trailer's usage of Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt", which is almost universally considered by fans to be a perfect match with the general atmosphere of the film and Logan himself.
- The second trailer delivers as well, with Kaleo's Way Down We Go.
- Cash's "The Man Comes Around" as the closing title music is not too shabby, either.
- Moving on to the score, "Main Titles" perfectly sets the neo-western tone of the film, and "Forest Fight" captures the awesomeness of the Wolverine being unleashed one last time.
- In the Tear Jerker department, there's "Don't Be What They Made You", a near-ambient track that serves as Logan's funeral hymn.
- "X Marks The Plot", played during Laura's eulogy and final farewells to Logan. It begins softly and somberly, before gradually swelling as she turns his cross on its side into an X, and walks away.
- "Las Mil y Una Noches" from the opening fight.
- The gas station scene has "I Got A Name" by Jim Croce playing in the background.
- "Ashes", which David Leitch describes as an "emotional through-line" for the film's story and themes, sung by none other than Céline fucking Dion. Even Deadpool himself thinks it's too good for the movie. From the extended cut, this beautiful acoustic version sung by the writer of the song Jordan Smith replaces the acoustic version of "Take on Me".
- "Mama Said Knock You Out" by LL Cool J has been used as the unofficial theme song of the movie during the trailers, and it lines up perfectly. Even better, it uses the Undefeated Remix with a powerful beat that gives it an extra punch.
- A combat montage, early in the film, is set to Dolly Parton's "9 to 5".Deadpool: Hit it, Dolly.
- Teamheadkick returns with an X-Force themed remix of their Deadpool rap from the last film.
- AC/DC's rock anthem "Thunderstruck" plays as the X-Force makes their big entrance. It continues to play as all of them die horribly one after another.Deadpool: Leonard, hit it!
- At the start of the Final Battle, we see Wade and his friends rush off to the orphanage to "Welcome to the Party", which wouldn't feel out of place in a Fast & Furious movie.
- The only way to truly herald Juggernaut as he beats the crap out of his opposition, is with copious amounts of Ominous English Chantingnote , with "You Can't Stop this Motherf***".
- We get the legendary '80s number "Take On Me" when Deadpool and Vanessa meet for their anniversary date. The song later returns in acoustic form when Wade and Vanessa reunite in death.
For his return to superhero movies following a hiatus after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Hans Zimmer produced a suitably epic soundtrack for the Grand Finale of the X-Men film series.
- "Gap" is majestic when the X-Men are launched into space, then turns frightening and frantic when they're confronted by the "solar flare" in the void of space.
- "Frameshift" has a massive slow-down when it turns out Jean Grey can spot Quicksilver no matter how fast he is. It's essentially Jean's leitmotif, and it's suitably powerful.
- For the third trailer, Ninurta by Audiomachine is an immensely epic, heart-pounding track that gives a sense of both wonderment and dread as the stakes rise ever higher.
- The first trailer makes excellent use of Think Up Anger and The Filthy Souls' cover of "The End" from The Doors, hammering home that this movie represents the End of an Age for the franchise. In a sizzle reel that leaked out beforehand, it was the original song, edited in a way that was even more haunting in its presentation.
- An eerie cover of "Another Brick in the Wall, Pt.2" accompanies all of the trailers except for the final trailer, which has...
- "The Hills" by Martin Wave accompanies the final trailer that fits the Superhero Horror tone of the movie.
- Marilyn Manson's cover of "Cry Little Sister" from The Lost Boys might be even better then the orignal. It was so awesome it even was used in the trailer for Titans (2018), although it was cut from the movie itself.
- "I Go Numb", the catchy 2000s-esque pop song that was used in some promos. Unfortunately it appears nowhere in the movie itself.
- Mark Snow's dark and haunting soundtrack is worth a listen: "The Bear Advances", the beautiful "Rahne Dome" and "Obedience".
- "Bastards of Young" by The Replacements is a high energy punk rock anthem played during the teenage rebellion party scene.
- "The New Mutants" is a beautiful, haunting theme that concludes the X-Men saga.
- And if all this wasn't enough for you, the promotional playlist hand picked by the cast members certainly will capture the feeling of youth.
