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Title: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Director: Gavin Hood
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Reynolds, Dominic Monaghan
Release: 29 April 2009 [UK]

Synopsis: Leading up to the events of “X-Men,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” tells the story of Wolverine (born James Howlett)’s epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe.

Review: When I went to see this movie, I was expecting a bad adaptation – worse than The Last Stand…. but happily Wolverine’s latest outing isn’t a bad one. This being said, the online leak of the workprint and bringing forward of the release date hasn’t been kind – this is quite prevalent in some fairly obvious unfinished effects shots… and the seemingly rushed ending to the movie.

I’ll give a spoiler warning now, just in case some readers want everything left to the imagination – if this is the case, you probably shouldn’t read much further. Sorry!

The movie takes it’s inspiration from the Origin series of graphic novels (obviously), right down to introducing Wolverine as a child with the name James (his surname is Howlett, but this is never mentioned in the movie)… and these scenes are transcribed from the novels very well.

Along with introducing baby Wolverine (complete with claws of bone, prior to his adamantium treatment), Victor Creed (known in the X-Men world as Sabretooth) is introduced as James’ half brother – James was a product of an adulterous relationship with his mother. Once they run away after James kills his biological father, we’re shown the newly dubbed Logan & Victor as adults serving in the civil war, world war 1, world war 2, Vietnam and more… unfortunately this is kind of skipped over not showing us any great detail, which is a shame because a more in-depth look would have been very interesting.

The tone of the movie is a largely serious one, though there are spates of comedy injected via Liev Schreiber – like when he says “ooh Shiny” when Wolverine unsheathes his metal claws (see the trailer below)… or when the brothers are put to death via firing squad, and refer to the event by saying “it tickled”.

Action-wise the movie is excellent – it’s very enjoyable and eye-catching at every turn. Ryan Reynold’s introduction as Deadpool (or the man who will become him anyway)… he decimates a room full of bad guys using two swords to deflect bullets and despatch his wouldbe despatchers. His character is awesome, but unfortunately we don’t see enough of him. He appears at the end, modified slightly, and in an irritating fashion – his mouth is sewn shut, and he also has Cyclops’ power.

However the news of a possible Deadpool spinoff sounds great to me – a wisecracking pop culture-obsessed “merc with a mouth” would make a great movie, and Reynolds would definitely be able to carry it. His preceding action role in Blade Trinity was a perfect example of what the character would/should be like – but a little more badass.

Speaking of short appearances – several X-Men legends make cameos in the movie, and this is where the movie falls down in my opinion. I’m by no means a comicbook geek, but I like them, and I know a little about the X-Men universe. There are a few characters that we just don’t see enough of – Remy “Gambit” LeBeau (although I don’t think Taylor Kitsch was a good choice… he kind of has the look, but his accent is completely wrong), Scott “Cyclops” Summers, Emma Frost (primarily a very strong telepath… but this is completely glossed over in the movie, focussing on her diamond form mutation)… and a load of others – including Aurora “Storm” Monroe who appears in the trailer, but not the movie… and seems to be younger than Cyclops somehow.

For the die-hard X-Men geek, there is a lot to moan about in this movie… though taking into account the amount of times Dark Phoenix has been used to recreate the universe so writers can do whatever they like over and over, I think a small minority of geeks will still enjoy it.

Visually, the movie stands up very well… with a couple of exceptions. Firstly, when Wolverine escapes the Weapon X facility and is taken in and clothed by an elderly couple, he’s checking out his new claws and for some reason, they look incredibly fake due to the shoddy CG work. The second very noticeable instance is right at the very end when Professor Xavier shows up to lead the released mutants to safety – Patrick Stewart appears in an uncredited role, and it looks like CG has been used to try and make him look younger – this fails badly, making Professor X look like a well-animated computer game character instead.

As far as the story is concerned, the movie stands up well and links Logan to the new X-Men movies well… though his memory loss is explained poorly, having Stryker to blame for shooting him in the head twice with adamantium bullets.

Verdict: Overall X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a generally good, fun movie. Yes there are a few ropey effects shots, and the ending is a bit “Meh” (there is a 30 second segment during the credits, and one at the very end – so make sure you stick around if you want the complete experience). Generally though I found the movie enjoyable, and much better to watch than Brett Ratner’s poor excuse for a movie. However I’m always of the opinion that if Bryan Singer had directed the movie it would be much better. Though it seems both Singer and Zack Snyder passed up directing the movie. I would LOVE to see a Zack Snyder-directed X-Men movie!

Anyway, go see the movie, and enjoy. If you’re a comicbook geek, try not to get too pissed off by some of the innaccuracies, and enjoy some good action.

Rating:

Trailer:

Popularity: 5% [?]

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 16:35 and is filed under Movies, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.