X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Nathan Swank
September 18th, 2009
First, let me point out how great Hugh Jackman is as James Logan, otherwise known as Wolverine. He might be the most perfectly cast character ever. I believe when reading the comics the envisioned real form of Wolverine was in fact Hugh Jackman. Unfortunately, he alone cannot make a film great. A prequel to the other X-MEN movies, this time around we see Logan and Victor Creed, played by Live Shreiber, later to be known as Sabertooth, as half brothers growing up then fighting together through all the major wars. This was done as a montage during the opening credits. It would have been nice to expand further on Wolverine and Sabertooth’s relationship before they became enemies. Especially since these two actors did the best job sinking their teeth and claws into the characters in spite of a weak script. We immediately jump into the two of them joining another team of mutants under the leadership of William Stryker, played by Danny Huston, to do secret co-op missions. Again, the film does not spend enough time telling these stories which I found very interesting. The film slows way down and expands on Logan leaving the team and finding love and lumberjack. After a “Stryke” on a loved one and a mutant X-periment gone wrong, called weapon X, Wolverine is out to get his revenge.
I understand this is origins but I kept thinking the entire movie was still an opening. I kept waiting for the fleshy meaty part of the movie to begin. I looked at the clock about an hour in and realized, oh this is the movie. Sort of like the other X-men movies, there are too many characters that are introduced that seem to peak my interest but then are vastly underused. Gambit, played by Taylor Kitsch, specifically seemed to be a complete waste. His character barely mattered…and where was his New Orleans drawl? That in particular is what drew me to the character from the cartoon. The rest of the supporting characters are sufficient in their parts. I liked that we had some recognizable faces in the roles it helped us care a little more about them since we barely got to know them. Will I Am was the obvious weak point and proves why great musicians should stick to their day job. I never did quite figure out what some of the characters mutant powers were specifically and I don’t get why Sabertooth is stronger than Wolverine. There are also a few cameos and a familiar character that makes an appearance which I think people will like.
The direction by Gavin Hood seemed a little uneven. The action scenes that do happen are very cool, particularly the fight between Wolverine and the helicopter, which is showcased in most previews. However, the ending battle against a very cool Dead Pool seemed a little anti climactic. I can’t understand for the life of me, why a movie would have a character looking into the air yelling over a body while the camera zooms out above him. That seems like the cheesiest cliché move in the book and Wolverine does it more than once. Overall, the movie had too many weak points, but with such a familiar character and some fun action scenes it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t too “X” citing either.
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