X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Gavin Hood, 2009): Australia | USA | Canada

Reviewed by Vee Rice. Viewed at Plaza Stadium Cinemas 14, Oxnard.

Gavin Hood’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an undoubtedly phenomenal way to kick off May 2009’s magnificent movie month. Surpassing Bryan Singer’s X-Men and X-2, and multitudes more amazing than Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand, the newest volume of X-Men is both pleasing and exciting. Several beloved characters from the series are finally introduced, including Victor Creed (later to become Sabretooth), Silverfox, Deadpool, and my personal favorite: Gambit.

However exciting to finally see these characters on the big screen, the usual onslaught of too many new characters keeps the audience from really getting to know anyone in particular—except of course, Wolverine. His in-depth background story gives a viewer such as myself, with little experience with the comic book lives of the characters, a much better understanding of the onscreen hero. Unlike many origin films, Wolverine hardly lends itself to a dull moment. And with its standout cast and loyal following, Wolverine is sure to be one of this summer’s blockbuster favorites.

Wolverine stars Hugh Jackman once more as the title character, a tortured loner. This time around, we find out why he is the way he is. The opening scene reveals Jimmy’s (Wolverine) tormented early years…and a secret that has been kept from him since birth. Young Jimmy teams up with Victor (Live Schreiber), and together the two fight in every war from the mid-1800s on as the credits roll. Wolverine’s attachment to William Stryker (Danny Huston) is fully exposed; there is no longer the intense mystery of what Stryker knows about Wolverine that Wolverine doesn’t know. The biggest disappointment was how wasted the Wade Wilson/Deadpool character was—Ryan Reynold’s portrayal makes him lovable and fun, and yet so little was done with him. Lynn Collins as the stunning Kayla Silverfox, however, thoroughly impressed me; she is gorgeous, with both softness and an attitude to her. I see her as a rough draft femme fatale who lost her way, and she really compliments the Wolverine character. Taylor Kitsch, who is relatively new to the scene, marks an impressive Gambit. I am disappointed that his accent is not thicker, but he doesn’t do a bad job. He is certainly not the best choice, but he has a Johnny Depp-ness to him that makes it all right for him to play such a coveted role.

The plot seems to loophole from the previous X-Men films, causing me to question if this is the start of another new strand of X-Men spin offs. The story takes place before Logan (and did I miss when “Jimmy” became “Logan”?) joins the X-Men team. Jimmy and Victor join an elite military unit of mutants under Stryker’s command, but after a bloody mission in Nigeria, Wolverine leaves the team, which leads to its breakdown. Wolverine ends up living a quiet life as a lumberjack with a schoolteacher, Kayla Silverfox. But Kayla is hunted down by Victor Creed and murdered. Wolverine reluctantly accepts an offer from Stryker to be used in an experiment to give him his adamantium skeleton, which will give him the strength to kill Victor. He finds out that Stryker was using him to see if the experiment would work; Wolverine manages to escape, and seeks revenge on both Victor and Stryker. The subplot to bring in the full X-Men aspect is Stryker’s plan to kidnap and harvest the powers of young mutants to create a “Super Weapon.”

X-Men Orgins: Wolverine is no Dark Knight, but it is by far the best of the recent X-Men series of movies. I applaud the effort.

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Published:
05.03.09 / 11am
Category:
Films