Mood:
not sureNow Playing: X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Topic: Movie Reviews
There are probably very few comic book heroes that evoke such a fanatic following and worship as Wolverine a.k.a. Weapon X a.k.a. Logan. In the Marvel Pantheon, he must rank in at least the top 3. Wolverine existed for nearly 25+ years in the comic book world before they even delved deeply into his origins. So, you can imagine the problems that 20th Century Fox and Hugh Jackman must have had in bringing such a legendary character to the screen. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is going to be a polarizing film to the most hardcore fans to the passer bys.
Since joining the X-men franchise nearly ten years ago, Hugh Jackman has done justice to the Canadian-born, cigar chomping, enigmatic anti-hero. Jackman and Liev Schreiber do a good job of bringing some emotional depth to the mutant brothers Jimmy and Victor (Jackman and Schreiber respectively), who grow-up to become Wolverine and Sabretooth. Most superhero movies are not successful in bringing 30, 40 or 50 years of characterization to the screen without weighing down the action that the movie going audiences want to see. Spider-Man 1 and 2 and Batman Begins is a perfect example of how to create that balance. Superman Returns is an example of how not to do it. X-men Origins: Wolverine errs on the side of conventionality, and gives you a straight story without plowing too deeply into souls of Wolverine and Sabretooth. They give you just enough to set up the action.
Aside from Jackman and Schreiber, the acting is a little stilted especially from Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.I.Am as a teleporting mutant. (Ryan Reynolds is perfect as the sarcastic, buff and crazy mutant swordsman.) Luckily, Schreiber is the one who gets to deliver the best lines and sneers. Unlike most summer blockbusters, this flick doesn’t weigh itself down too heavily in CGI, car crashes, and aerial dynamics. Most of the action is the hand to hand (or is it claw to claw?), and it is easy to follow. Most action movies nowadays have a blinding number of action sequences that are harder to follow than the spin-offs of Marvel X-men comics.
Jackman and Ryan Reynolds give a nice show of their chiseled bods (WOO HOO!), and a luscious lipped actress Lynn Collins give the lads something to fantasize about when the fighting is done. The lack of emotional connection that made me a fan of the X-men comics and the first two X-men movies left me with a bit of a hollow feeling. Hugh Jackman can do no wrong, and even his worst movies are still entertaining. And, Wolverine is still my favorite anti-hero.
I give X-men Origins: Wolverine a B-, bub. 
