He Said: Wolverine
By D. James Ruccio III
May 4, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the story of James Howlett (Logan) a young sickly boy born in the Northwest Territory of Canada in 1845. He witnesses the murder of the man he believes to be his father, John Howlett, at the hands of Thomas Logan. The murder is also witnessed by the murderer's own son, Victor Creed. In a fit of rage, James attacks his father's killer, bone claws extruding from his fists and kills the man. As Logan dies, he confesses to being James' true father. The boy then flees the family estate with the help of his "new" brother Victor.
The two brothers are then seen fighting in various wars from the Civil War to the Vietnam War in one of the film's more interesting and creative moments. During an attack on a village, Victor kills one of his own officers when he attempts to prevent him from raping a Vietnamese girl. Given the death penalty, the two men are put in front of a firing squad. After surviving due to their accelerated healing ability, they are enlisted into a covert military team of mutants under the guidance of Colonel William Stryker (Danny Huston). During one mission the team is tasked with obtaining a meteorite fragment from a Nigerian Warlord. As the team continues to track down additional fragments, the atrocities of the Team, most notably those committed by Victor/Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), force Logan to leave. He seeks solace in a simpler life with girlfriend Kyla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). But someone begins killing members of the covert team. Stryker finds Logan and asks him to assist him in tracking down the killer, but Logan refuses. It's only after Silverfox is brutally murdered that Logan seeks out Stryker again and agrees to undergo a secret medical procedure, whereby the ultra-indestructible material adamantium is bonded to his skeleton, as part of the Weapon X program.
At that this point, X-Men Origins: Wolverine becomes a standard chase and comic book film. This is the major flaw of this film - it's unremarkable. It's neither awful nor one of the better comic book adaptations. It simply moves through the story hanging convenient plot points (adamantium bullets...Really?) along the framework of the movie, providing decent performances and generally presenting the standard themes we've come to expect from the X-Men movies in a standard way. But it never really does any of these things particularly well.
Hugh Jackman is somewhat let down by the material. There was much trepidation amongst the comic book community when the first X-Men movie came out. There was much geeky angst over whether or not Bryan Singer really understood the cherished universe he was attempting to portray. As a member of that fandom I knew after seeing the first scene of that movie (still my favorite opening scene of a comic book movie) that the franchise's themes were fully understood by the director. Unfortunately, X-Men Origins: Wolverine director Gavin Hood does not have the same deft touch with the material. He introduces the conflict in Wolverine's personality between the feral side he resists (represented by the temptation offered by Victor/Sabretooth) and his peaceful nature he longs to embrace. But the presentation feels...soft and almost an afterthought. Oddly, Jackman as Wolverine spends too much time being just too...likable. Gone is the irascible anti-hero who made his debut in 1974 as the comic book version of Dirty Harry. In his place is a fairly bland man prone to occasional fits of rage. Gone too, for the most part, is the fatalistic, quippy humor of the character. Also missing is any sense of visual creativity like in the first X-Men with the introduction of Wolverine, shot from below and bathed in blue light as cigar smoke swirls around the comic book panel-like shot.
Schreiber as Creed/Sabretooth was an interesting casting choice. Initially, the unexpected casting choice seemed suspicious. But given how much I enjoy and respect his ability as an actor and the more I saw of him in the commercials the more I accepted the choice. Again, here the material is adequate but far from extraordinary. He very well conveys the sense of Sabretooth's psychotic personality but there are unimaginative attempts at menace. Too often this is demonstrated by slaying a few innocent bystanders. Again, the material does not take advantage of the acting talent available. And why it was revealed in the first five minutes that the characters of Logan and Victor were related instead of utilizing that later in the movie, which could have been done much more creatively, is somewhat of a mystery.
Too often the plot uses overly convenient devices like adamantium bullets (really?), or fake deaths or entire sequences like Wolverine's escapes from the Weapon X program that don't hold together. The Blob character flirts dangerously close to being Fat Bastard-like (but then again any person in a fat suit making jokes is asking for the comparison). The film sometimes overuses a few of the original touches it shows, such as the feline running of Sabretooth.
For the first time, an X-Men movie feels constrained by reality. There's very little in the way of creative visualizations as mentioned save for the final battle sequence between Wolverine, Sabertooth and a Weapon XI, who has several powers from various mutants. Most of the action sequences are fairly ordinary and very little seems new, original or well done. And they haven't quiet perfected the claws yet. They look better than they have in previous movies; however, they still need work. And one wonders if this movie was an attempt to attract a larger female demographic as the movie is conspicuously loaded with eye candy for the women and girls in the audience (would it have killed them to give us a few spandex clad curves?!) And most disappointing is the feeling that the film lacks the fundamental discussion of the various themes of alienation and acceptance.
All of this makes it sounds like I did not enjoy the film. While not enthralled, and there too often felt like there were missed opportunities, it is adequate. It is a perfectly serviceable summer action flick. It greatest weakness, however, is that it does not leave you wanting anything more than you've already seen. There is the feeling that in the hands of more capable talent, the film could have more artfully or at least interestingly explored the signature character in the Marvel Universe.