Now we know why Logan – AKA Wolverine – is in such a cranky mood.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” tells the backstory behind the most intriguing mutant in the “X-Men” trilogy, the man with the steel claws and the permanent scowl.
It’s the role which made Hugh Jackman a star, and the indomitable Aussie does all that’s asked of him in this caffeinated prequel.
The actual story behind Wolverine, though, is far too complicated for its own good.
“Origins” begins in the 1800s, with a young Logan and his brother, Victor, getting chased out of their home after a double killing. The credit sequence follows the mutant siblings, now young men and played by Jackman and Liev Schreiber, fighting war upon war and, somehow, never aging.
Flash forward to the present, and the brothers haven’t spoken in years. Logan found himself a construction job and a honey of a gal (Lynn Collins) while Victor is among the missing.
But soon the brothers’ old boss comes a calling, a military man (Danny Huston) who once used their mutant powers to help him defeat enemies across the globe.
Exhausted yet? This only scratches the surface of the back story, the various character motivations and the crush of fellow mutants who clog the screen.
Every few minutes another action scene erupts, and while they’re mostly thrilling they often don’t connect with the rest of the story, or with the audience.
And the new mutants could use a tweak or two. Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am is a snore as a teleporter, “Lost’s’ Dominic Monaghan lacks screen time as Bolt, and Taylor Kitsch’s Gambit could be intriguing if his powers weren’t so vague.
And that leaves Jackman and Schreiber, two fine actors who commit to the material – and a Gold’s Gym membership, apparently. But who knows what’s going on between them at any given moment? Ambiguity in a film, even a comic book movie, can enrich a story, but the plot strands presented here need a few more drafts.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” delivers the requisite action, a grotesquely overdeveloped Wolverine and enough “whoa,” moments to justify its existence.
But films like “Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight” have taught us to expect so much more from comic book features.
(Photo: Hugh Jackman returns to the role that made him a star in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”)
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Don’t forget “Ironman.”
I liked it.
I liked “The Watchmen.”
As an amateur cineaste and sequart fan, however, I acknowledge that both suffered from the same fault that pulled down “Daredevil” but avoided “Spider-man,”"Batman Begins,” “Iron Man,” and “Unbreakable”: adhering *too* close to the source material. Writer Chris Claremont originally imagined Wolverine to be a hyper-evolved-to-human-like form wolverine – as in, largest, deadliest, and fiercest member of the weasel family. Creative even by comic standards, but also elegantly simple. Then the character become popular, Claremont left Marvel comics, and *many* writers re-wrote Wolverine’s origin. For the ever-complex X-Men comics books, such convoluted plots are the norm; for a feature film, they are a confusing anomaly.
This film attempted to blend nearly *all* of the various Wolverine stories, and it does undermine the film’s potential as a serious vehicle for, and study of, the anti-hero archetype.
Maybe the Magneto film will do better….
~ Dagnabbitt
Weren’t you the guy who liked that film about the Extraordinary Gentleman???
i loved the film, ya it skimmed over some history but its an adaptation, im hoping they reveal more into wolverine’s backstory in parts 2 and 3. i dont know what everyone was bitching about. the credit sequence was the most dramatic i’ve ever seen in a comic book movie. i loved nearly everything about the film and im a hardcore die hard wolverine fan for 12 years running! great casting and will.i.am. was great as john wraith, very good acting by everyone. im hoping that they make movies out of the ‘origin’ mini series comic books cause those were fantastic and beautiful to read and drool over!! long live wolverine and hugh jackman and liev schriber!!