She Said: Wolverine
By Caroline Thibodeaux
May 4, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
I've been looking forward to this movie since the release date was first announced. I wouldn't exactly call myself a comic book geek but I do maintain a passing interest in the form. For the most part, I've enjoyed a lot of the recent comic superhero-to-film adaptations. I possess a great admiration for Jackman and the first two X-Men films, but I was cognizant that the series needed a shot to the arm (and a swift kick in the pants) after the regrettable X-Men: The Last Stand. Going back to where it all started for the individual team members seemed as good an idea as any and it made perfect sense to begin with Wolverine. Of all the X-Men characters, Logan remains the most enigmatic and fascinating, as well as the most popular. So I circled May 1st on my calendar, thought some more about Hugh's muscles, fell asleep smiling and fervently hoped the film would just Bring It.
But a lot happened between then and last Friday. First, the producer (Lauren Shuler-Donner) brought in her husband to "consult" during the post-production process. I loved what Richard Donner did with Superman, but Hood's responsibilities in post should have remained his responsibilities in concert with the editors. Not a good sign at all. And then, one month before the movie's release it was reported that a "working print" of the film had been stolen from Fox and the print was then pirated onto the Innernets. I tried (somewhat in vain) to ignore the mutterings and assessments of people who have no qualms with watching illegal DVDs and downloads (stealing). But the word was getting out steadily enough that the film was anywhere from bad to just so-so. I tried avoiding spoilers at all costs, but I began to get the sinking feeling that another Van Helsing was getting ready to stink up the cineplex. And if that's bad news for me, it's certainly worse news for Fox.
It turns out there's both good news and bad news. The good news is that Jackman retains all of the gruff charm of his original portrayal. His steely-eyed gaze and pointed sense of humor are welcome yet again in his reprising of the role. Schreiber seems to be cherishing the further exploration of his new badass persona (most recently on display in last winter's Defiance), Collins supplies exquisite simplicity and fortunately, Will i Am (Wraith) has only one real fight scene. (It's laughably bad, but at least it's short.) There's more to like in the movie, plenty actually, but (and here comes the bad news) the good points are all consistently undermined by a sub par script by David Benioff and Skip Woods and a nagging inattention to pacing and movement by director Hood. And in all honesty, some of the green screen/special effects are looking a little sketchy too.
The script seems to suffer from the studio tent-pole film writing process of planning all of the action set pieces beforehand and attempting to write dialogue and scenes around them. I understand that this is the preferred way to budget an uber-expensive film these days, but one still hopes these cost-saving measures won't come at the expense of commitment to quality storytelling and arc. I'm imagining a story and character development meeting at the studio. Decisions on whether or not to stray from canon are being bandied about and discussed. Important questions are being mulled over concerning how exactly the relationship between Logan and Victor shall be defined. How will Logan leave Team X? What will happen to Kayla? In the midst of all this some MBA from Wharton masquerading oxymoronically as a "creative executive" pushily interrupts: "Do whatever you want as long as he gets to single-handedly take on a helicopter. Cuz, you know, Hueys and Blackhawks don't come cheap." Admittedly, great comic book movie adaptations can be made this way if Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 are any indication. Unfortunately, this is just not one of those cases.
And it's a shame too, because with the exception of Will i Am, an estimable cast has been assembled. In addition to Jackman and Schreiber, I especially enjoyed Danny Huston's old school style portrayal of Stryker. Not at any moment does Huston play him like he's a big-bad summer movie villain. He's merely the guy who wants something markedly different from just about everyone else around him – and he wants it badly. I enjoyed his approach to making Stryker truly human and not merely some Dr. Strangelove/General Patton freakshow type mashup. Lynn Collins has a pleasing, lovely countenance about her and it exudes in everything I've seen her do to date. She capably utilizes her soft, husky voice and moves with a quiet subtle grace. She provides a sense of calm in the storm of Logan's life and she's his perfect complement.
It's a shame that Ryan Reynolds (William Wade) and Taylor Kitsch (Gambit) don't have more screen time as they're both fun and enjoyable, but this film's just not big enough for everyone in it. The good thing is that within the genre, it's more than probable that we could see these characters again.
I feel like Hood perhaps bit off more than he could chew. I loved the look and feel of the opening montage showcasing Logan and Victor over the years fighting war after war. And there's a great ménage a trois fight scene atop a nuclear silo. He was able to coax yeoman's work from his stable of actors. I'd wager that Jackman was able to reach even newer depths with Logan this fourth time around. But origin stories can be tricky. It's not easy balancing the providing of necessary exposition to the audience while acknowledging the inherent expectation of that same audience when well-known and loved characters are involved. There's always a risk of alienating both the existing fans of the characters and newcomers to that particular world. All of these considerations must be administered to while simultaneously providing all the wham-bam gee-whiz action sequences audiences have come to associate with this genre. It's difficult but it's not impossible. There were huge problems with pacing and tempo. Things would start to get going good and all of a sudden the story would stop moving ahead and any excitement or tension which had been built was quickly dissipated. I left feeling like the experience as a whole would have been much more satisfying if the story was allowed to play out in a more organic fashion.
Once the credits had rolled and we'd finished watching the now almost obligatory post-show nugget designed to stir up interest in yet another sequel, my mind turned once again – as it often does - to Thoughts of Hugh. There's something about Hugh Jackman's film career that just escapes me. Here is a guy who has been big on the scene for almost ten years now. He's got it all. He's charming, handsome and funny. The camera adores him and wants to eat him for breakfast. By all accounts he's one of the hardest-working men in the biz. He can do everything – act, sing, dance, tell jokes etc. And from what acquaintances have told me about his work ethic, he not only works harder than everyone else, he's quite possibly the nicest above the line star since Tom Hanks. Still, I'm perplexed. With all of these gifts and the major advantages and opportunities that have come with his numerous successes and the admirable approach to what he does – why can't Hugh headline a movie on his own that has a good or at least decent script? What the heck is that all about?
I'm talking about a filmography that includes Van Helsing, Australia, Swordfish, Deception, The Fountain and Someone Like You. He may as well have also starred in a movie called Blugh, Blah and Blecch – it couldn't have been less appealing than some of that other stuff. (I refuse to add "Kate and Leopold" to this list because as the only person in the world who actually digs this movie, I must remain in solidarity with my guilty pleasure.) It may sound absolutely ridiculous, because by now it is, but will somebody please take pity on this A-List Movie Star Pleasure to Work With Hottie Whose Name Alone Can Get You A Greenlight and write him a script that actually works?!
I mean is that really too much to ask?