Movie Review: X-Men Origins Wolverine (2009)
Director: Gavin Hood
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will.I.Am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Reynolds
Plot: The origin story of Wolverine (Jackman), filling in the gaps - or more appropriately, making you question what was said before - that the first three X-Men movies put into your head is a fun rollercoaster ride of an action story that, when you actually stop to think about what you're seeing, doesn't make a ton of sense and seems incredibly sloppy.

Logan / Wolverine and Victor Creed / Sabertooth (Schreiber) are brothers that, because of their healing abilities, are practically immortal and have been fighting for the US since they left their parents after Logan murdered their biological father. The difference in their growing up is that Logan grew a conscious, while Victor just got more blood thirsty. Upon being recruited into a special program for mutant black ops (in the comics called "Weapon X"), Logan loses his cool and decides that he doesn't want to kill anymore. The movie claims that this sends Victor over the edge, but never quite gets into how or why.

Logan then goes on to live a life in Canada as a lumberjack, and is in a happy relationship with Kayla Silverfox (Collins). However, when Creed finally tracks Logan down and kills Silverfox, the revenge plot finally kicks in and all of the reasons for Logan volunteering to be fused with adamantium and chosing the name Wolverine come to light. The movie becomes a visual feast of explosions, poorly rendered CGI, and awesome over-the-top action pieces after that.


Let me start by saying that Wolverine is a very fun and enjoyable popcorn movie. I had a lot of fun watching the movie, enjoyed it, and will probably buy it on DVD. However, after the credits started to roll, my friends and I got into nick-picky nerd mode and we realized that the plot was very sloppy and contradictory to previous X-Men films (not even touching on the comic book continuity), and was written by someone with the capacity to tell a story along the lines of a 7 year old.

[MILD SPOILERS AHEAD]

Like any action flick, your plot is just an excuse to get your main character from one fight scene to the next, and Wolverine does that pretty well here. But the poorly construction elements of the plot tend to get fumbled and it becomes a lose excuse to throw in as many Marvel characters as they can possibly justify. Like Gambit, who is by far the weakest character in the entire flick and doesn't even have a Cajun accent in the film, who is really there to fight Logan, allow Victor to get away, and then fly Wolverine from point A to point B for the next big action sequence. His super-human ability to twirl a staff like a helicopter was also rather retarded.

The fact that Silverfox (a Native American) and Emma Frost (an English chick with no accent in the movie) were sisters was also a big oversight on the writer's part. During an online discussion that I had with a friend we both pointed this fact out, and I tried to play devil's advocate and say, "Well, perhaps they're half-sisters?" My other friend, a published comic professional, went on to reply, "Perhaps they're NOT sisters."

Cyclops is in the film briefly, and has aparently developed heat vision. In the previous films (and comics) it's been established that he fires a concussive blast from his eyes. Remember the roof of the train station in the first film when Toad knocks his visor off? The roof blew out into the sky, and nothing caught on fire. In this movie, that's not the case. Scott's glasses are knocked off and he slices a school with heat beams that catch the walls and ceilings on fire. Did it look cool? Sure. Did it make sense? Absolutely not.

The ending (which I won't spoil for you here) was a very b-rated sci-fi inspired element that felt very left field to me. When it's first introduced in the beginning of the movie, it doesn't make any sense...and it just feels lame and cheap when they finally explain what it's there for. Like movie going audiences suspenion of disbelief wouldn't accept something closer to the source material. Again, if you haven't read the comics and seen the movie, then you probably don't have any idea what I'm talking about - but trust me, it's the cheater's way out. I felt a little cheated.

Overall, X-Men Origins Wolverine is a fun action piece with a sloppy story, poorly rendered CGI effects, and some contradictory elements that don't distract from the fun factor. It's worth seeing in theaters, but if you get your nerd-think going you're going to notice that there are a lot of missing pieces to this story. However, a sequel has already been green-lit, and I'm excited to see what they can do with it.