X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (20th Century Fox)
Directed by Gavin Hood

Hard to believe it’s been nearly three years since we last saw a piece to what has now become quite the franchise for anything relating to or on the famed comic X-MEN. Truth is many view this comic as one of the most diverse and unique of all time. So, it almost goes with saying whenever any new film based on or around one of the characters from this group of superheroes gets released, there will be some hype. Warranted or not, that’s just how it will always be and given just how big Marvel Studios has become in Hollywood over the past decade, this is still only the beginning. The depth at which Marvel Studios can go with any of its comics is beyond comprehension, so when I see a headline on a confirmed spinoff for one of the more interesting antiheroes within X-MEN, I’m not surprised. In fact, I would be more surprised if I didn’t see any headlines for a Deadpool or Magneto spinoff, as I can’t imagine Marvel Studios slipping into the background now, with nothing to gain and everything to lose. That being said, the so-called “test” spinoff for the famed comic series, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE has finally arrived with a whole lot of buzz, but very little bite when it’s all said and done.

As you might expect with ‘origins” being written into the title, the story here centers on the so-called beginning of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and how he became what we already knew. Sounds confusing, but trust me, that’s nothing compared to what this story could have been, if they actually went to the well for the exact depiction on how Logan became Wolverine. Through a series of flashbacks, we discover Logan has a half-brother named Victor, a.k.a. Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), who early on seemed a bit darker than his younger brother, until Logan murdered their dad, forcing them to run away from home. And after years of serving in pretty much every big war our country has seen, the two immortal mutants get recruited into a special army led by William Stryker (Danny Huston). This army was put together to keep other mutants from doing harm, but not too soon into it, Logan saw its true mission and chose to walk away. Beside, a more low-key life suited Logan, or he thought, as he moved into the mountains and settled down with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). Some six years later, though, Logan’s brother returns and murders Kayla, knowing it would get the attention of his brother. Now upset and full of rage, Logan seeks the help of Stryker, who makes him indestructible and virtually untouchable to all other mutants. But, as Logan got closer to his revenge, he discovered a whole new underlying truth that not only shook everything he held dear, but forced him into a battle to save all mutants like himself and more importantly take down whoever was responsible. This all leading to a conclusion that felt more like a letdown than anything else.

If you don’t know who Wolverine is by now, you must be hiding under a rock because it’s about the only good thing Hugh Jackman has done in his career. I know, I know, he was good on Broadway, but who cares. I’m only concerned with what he has done in film, which is not much up to this point. Some will argue his role in last year’s AUSTRALIA was a breakthrough performance, but he’s Australian starring in a film based on Australia. Not much of a stretch if you ask me, but nevertheless he at least makes a mean Wolverine from X-MEN fame. And here, he picked right up where he left off in X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, only in this film, he’s supposed to be younger in a body that never ages. All kidding aside, Jackman knows this character well and makes sure you get every ounce of what he has to offer with it, good or bad. That’s certainly a testament to what he will do for a role, which I will give him, especially when it is involved as this one has been over the years.

Supporting Jackman at just about every step of the way was Leiv Schreiber, who I wish was in more films. Here’s a guy who gets it and whenever he is on screen, makes sure you pay attention and know exactly where he is coming from. He adds in just the right humor to a fairly dark role and for the extreme action sequences, he seemed to hold his own. Same can be said for several other actors like Lynn Collins, Will I Am and Dominic Monaghan, who all fit in nicely within the story respectively. But, the two guys who clearly needed more screen time were Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Kitsch. For Reynolds, this isn't his first rodeo in this genre, but given just a few scenes to shine, he made sure his presence was known, proving the validity of what will for sure be a great spinoff in the near future. As for Kitsch, a guy many will not recognize, this is his first major role outside his hit TV series FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS and boy did he make the most of it. Maybe it’s because I know him from TV, but I couldn’t get enough of his character Gambit and how easy it was to watch him whisk in and out of scenes. It’s just too bad there wasn’t more of him, like Reynolds’ Deadpool, but I guess that’s why it’s so easy to spinoff these films when the time comes.

Not really knowing what I was walking into, I truly kept my expectations low for this film. Sure, I have seen the previous three X-MEN films, but given how atrocious the last one was, I couldn’t help but hope this would be the start of better times for the franchise. And maybe franchise is the wrong word, but to me they all tie together, so why not lump them together in that way? It really doesn’t matter, as each film had their unique spin on the series, but with WOLVERINE being a prequel, I at least hoped we would be subscribing to the “less is more” mentality. Meaning, when it came to special effects, please do not go over the top and do too much, as there’s simply no need to do so, despite the genre this film resides in. I get it; a film like this should have overblown special effects that raise eyebrows, but not in a way that can take you away from the story that still needs to be told, especially when it’s one centering on the origin of a character. That’s what happened here and I fault director Gavin Hood (RENDITION) for that, as there just wasn’t a need to throw in that much fluff for a story that was for the most part meant to explain the depth of one of the most popular comic book figures ever created. Too many times I felt the special effects or action was too ‘cheesy’ and unnecessary, as it didn’t help the story along, only hampered it when it counted. And that’s too bad, because this script was actually well put together by writers David Benioff and Skip Woods, which was surprising to me, given how many directions it could have gone in looking and reading about the true history of Wolverine within the pages of the famed comic.

For all those fans that didn’t happen to download the leaked version of X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE off the internet, this film is probably still worth seeing; not so much for the overdone special effects, but for the story that moves along better than expected. Flip a coin if you have to, but overall it still manages to entertain and throw out a few enjoyable scenes here and there, thanks to the wealth of talent behind it. And in the end, it’s almost like a train wreck that you can’t seem to turn away from, no matter how bad it gets.

C+