X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

My word...where to begin?  Well for starters, I'll say that I was a big fan of X-Men back in the day.  The first film pretty much established the modern superhero film genre and the second film still stands among the top 5 superhero films of all time in my opinion.  Then Bryan Singer left the franchise for Superman, and the series went to pot. X-Men: The Last Stand barely achieves mediocrity, but only because of what was already established by Singer and Co. in X2.  The first two films were handled gracefully and intelligently.  The third film and subsequently, this prequel film are packed with cliches, poorly directed action and an emphasis on quantity over quality.  

First off, there is simply too much happening at too quick a pace in Wolverine.  About a hundred and twenty years worth of story is glossed over in less than ten minutes and sequences that could have served for an entire movie in and of themselves are whisked along without hesitation.  The result leaves the audience without much opportunity to connect with Logan/Jimmy/Wolverine.  Life-changing events for Logan transpire in moments and are gone before any impact can be felt.  Therefore, Logan's torment and desire for revenge never connect in a believable way.  I know I sat in the theatre not really caring if Logan got his revenge or not, but still quite positive that he would achieve it anyway.  

The movie is also overstuffed with characters, unfortunately.  It is a problem that has been evident in all the movies, but it's especially unnecessary in this prequel.  After all, the movie is (or should have been) all about one character and his journey.  Instead, we get Logan, his half-brother Victor, a 7 member team of mutants, none of whom are even recognizable to anyone who isn't a diehard Marvel fanboy (and I speak as a casual Marvel fan myself), and brief cameos from a young Cyclops, Emma Frost, Silverfox, Gambit and even the good Professor himself.  I'm not even counting the rabble of random freak mutants rescued from captivity at the end of the film (some 10-15 more).  Another problem run into, especially the later you get into the X-Men universe, is the recycling of powers.  We have new characters introduced, but they have the same powers already seen in earlier characters (i.e. Kestrel, who can teleport which we've already seen more impressively with Nightcrawler).   The main difference is, of course, that no one cares about Kestrel.  It's mutant overkill, and the main quest (if it can be called that) is lost among everything else happening.  

The story itself is passable until the end.  Stryker's whole idea of pooling mutants' powers into one super villain is quite simply, stupid.  It's unnecessarily "epic" in this film, which should have been much more personal and intimate.  I was hoping for a story that helped us understand Logan's character better, a film with a much slower pace, less action and more intelligent use of supporting characters that have a significant impact on the shaping of Logan's character.  Instead we have a bloated, action saturated, cliche-filled romp that moves at light speed pacing with so many explosions, primal roars, awful sideburns and half-naked men that it makes you sick.  Another specific detail that I felt was dumb was the sheer number of "claw shots."  Those claws spend so much time on-screen, center-screen that you begin to feel the movie is more about the claws than it is about anything else.  The action sequences are planned around how to make the claws look cool.  The dramatic scenes are planned around how to make the claws look cool.  The comedic moments are planned around how to make the claws look cool.  Enough is enough! ( I won't even go into how physically impossible it is that the claws exist at all)

There is plenty of talk around about how more prequel movies could be made in the X-Men series, potentially about Magneto, Gambit and even Deadpool.  I, for one, think this series should be officially laid to rest as a film franchise.  None of those characters, I feel, is strong enough to support an entire movie based around their story, especially with these filmmakers at the helm.  X-Men is a comic book universe and it should stick to that medium, especially when the film results are this bad. 

4/10

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Directed by Gavin Hood

Written by David Benioff and Skip Woods

Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, William J. Adams (I refuse to refer to him as Will.i.am), Lynn Collins, Daniel Henney, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Reynolds

Music by Harry Gregson-Williams

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity