Hugh Jackman Gets Naked in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (No Spoilers)
Written: May 01 '09 (Updated May 05 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Jackman and Schreiber. Entertaining movie overall.
Cons: Some characters seem out of place. Plot could have been stronger.
The Bottom Line: X-Men Origins: Wolverine has a few problems, but it is an entertaining movie overall that is worth seeing. Fans of the character will probably find something to like.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine |
The X-Men have been popular for years. The various characters have been in different comic books and there have been three very successful movies as well. Wolverine is one of the more popular X-Men characters. Around the time that X-Men: The Last Stand came out, I learned that a movie focused on the origins of Wolverine was planned. I've been looking forward to seeing X-Men Origins: Wolverine for a long time.
I am only going to briefly talk about the plot of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I won't be sharing any spoilers, though people who prefer not to know anything about the plot ahead of time will want to skip this next paragraph.
**Minor Plot Discussion**
A young, somewhat sickly boy discovers that he is different after witnessing a traumatic event and goes on the run. When he's older, Logan fights in many wars alongside Victor Creed, someone who also is different. After people figure out that Logan and Victor are mutants, William Stryker arrives and offers them a place on his special unit made up of mutants. It doesn't take long for Logan to decide that the unit isn't for him and he leaves. He manages to make a mostly normal life for himself before Stryker and Victor return and things fall apart. Logan then agrees to go through a procedure that will bond adamantium to his skeleton.
**End of Minor Plot Discussion**
Just about a minute into the credits, there is a short scene that helps to tie up something. There is also a short scene at the end of the credits that hints at a future possible movie.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is based on the character of Wolverine. He has appeared in various Marvel comic books over the years and has become a complex character. The movie focuses on how Logan ended up with adamantium and how he started to become Wolverine before he eventually joined the X-Men. There have been different comics dealing with the origin of Wolverine. I haven't read any of them, though I have read books that have shared information about the character. From what I can tell, the movie sort of condenses and combines several things from Logan's past while completely skipping other things. Overall, I think the movie does a decent job of telling the story. People that are more familiar with Wolverine from the comic books may be disappointed with the way things were handled.
I've always liked Logan/Wolverine from the cartoons and X-MenX-Men Origins: Wolverine movies. I did think that the plot for is interesting, though it could have been stronger. After a short scene showing Logan discovering his claws for the first time, the sequence during the credits shows Logan and Victor fighting in various wars. That works fairly well at covering a large part of Logan's life, though it is extremely condensed. Most of the movie is focused on what happens after Logan decides to leave Stryker's team. A few minor subplots pop up that aren't given enough attention, which is disappointing. There is enough going on to keep the pace moving and to keep things from getting boring.
There is a lot of action throughout X-Men Origins: Wolverine as well as some violence. The movie does deserve the PG-13 rating and isn't something that young children should see even though most of the violence wasn't overly graphic. Logan is involved in many fights during the movie, several of which are with Victor. The fights were done well, though they all had the two men running and lunging at each other. It would have been nice for a little variety in those sequences. There are some explosions as well in a few scenes. This is a decent entertaining action movie, though some people will be bothered by the issues the movie has. Special effects are used in several scenes and they are decent, though nothing really spectacular.
I think the majority of X-Men Origins: Wolverine is set about fifteen years before Logan first ends up at Professor Charles Xavier's school in X-Men. In that movie, Logan has no memory of most of his life. During X2: X-Men United, Logan encounters William Stryker and remembers things from his past, including some things from when the adamantium was bonded to his skeleton. There are some contradictions in this movie based on what has been established in the previous movies. Some of those things could be explained by Logan's memory issues. During the second movie, Stryker seems surprised that Logan doesn't remember. The explanation for Logan's memory loss shows that Stryker intends for Logan to lose his memory. The contradictions are minor, but they are there.
After leaving Stryker's team, Logan has a fairly normal life, complete with girlfriend Kayla. That does add a tiny bit of romance to the movie. The relationship does fit in with Logan's history from the comics since he did have various romances. There are only a few scenes that deal with the relationship. There aren't any sex scenes, but they do kiss a few times and are shown in bed once. Logan is shirtless a few times in the movie and he frequently wears a sleeveless undershirt that shows off his impressive muscles. Logan is also naked at one point and his bare backside is shown. At one point, it is does get close to showing a full frontal view as well, but it is strategically blocked. I've heard and read several things about how hard Hugh Jackman worked to get in shape for this movie, working out a lot and eating steamed chicken and vegetables. His work paid off and he looks really, really good.
Several other mutant characters turn up at least briefly in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Logan ends up in contact with several mutants, some of which don't really belong in his origin story. I'm not an expert on the characters, but I know enough to know that some things are just wrong. Logan ends up tracking down Remy LeBeau/Gambit at one point. Gambit has been a popular character and fans have wanted to see him in the previous X-Men movies. It seems like someone made a decision to throw Gambit in this movie as an attempt to appease fans even though he doesn't belong in this story. Gambit uses his power with cards and he has a staff. Some of the things he does seems a little off, though I might be wrong about that. Taylor Kitsch isn't anything special in the part and he doesn't get the accent right either.
At one point in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, several young mutants are shown. I have no clue who most of them are supposed to be or even if they are intended to be characters from the comic books. Most of them aren't identified by name. One of them is very recognizable, though it seems wrong for him to be in this movie. There is an explanation for his presence, but it still doesn't seem right to me. One very well known character makes a short cameo in one scene that hints at a future connection. One of the trailers that I've seen on television a few times identifies some of the mutants by name. That trailer identifies one girl as Emma Frost. Based on what I know of Emma's powers that is completely wrong. I know I've read about a mutant with that particular power in one of the books I have about Marvel characters, but I can't remember the character's name.
Victor Creed/ Sabertooth is a bit different from how he was portrayed in the first X-Men movie. I honestly don't remember hearing him called Sabertooth in this movie. Maybe he starts using that name after the events of the movie. In the first movie, Sabertooth barely spoke and was more of an animal than a man. He also didn't know about his past with Logan. In this movie, more history for Victor is shared as well and some of it is different from what has been shared about him before. His connection to Logan is different as well. Victor loves killing and is sort of like an animal, though he isn't as animalistic as he was in the first X-Men movie. He doesn't have the blonde hair he had in that movie either, which is a bit different. I think this version of Victor works all right. I did have some concerns about Liev Schreiber in the part, but he did very well with it. Schreiber also worked out a lot for this part.
The other mutants on the Striker's team are just in a few scenes and none of them are developed. I'm not sure that all of them are actual characters from the comic books. I don't remember hearing or reading about John Wraith, Agent Zero, or Bolt before. I know that The Blob and Wade Wilson/Deadpool have been in the comics, but I don't know enough about them to know if they were accurate versions of the characters or not. Wade has very impressive fighting skills with swords. He does tend to talk a lot, which annoys the other members of the team and Stryker. Ryan Reynolds is good in the part, though very under used.
Logan has spent most of his long life killing in various wars. He's very good at what he does, but he doesn't kill just to kill. He doesn't think that innocent people should be harmed, which causes conflict with Victor and Stryker. He decides that he is done with killing, and manages to create a mostly normal life for himself. When things go horribly wrong, he lets his need for revenge convince him to go through an experimental procedure. He has always been able to heal because of his mutant ability, but with the adamantium on his bones, he's basically indestructible. Hugh Jackman does a very good job with the part. I can't imagine anyone else playing Logan.
William Stryker is in the military when he tracks down Logan and Victor to get them to join his special unit. Every member of the unit is a mutant. He seems to have his own agenda and doesn't mind using the unit for those things. It turns out that he has some issues with mutants, and that drives him to do what he does. He's very manipulative and not a nice person at all. Danny Huston handles the part well. Kayla seems like a caring woman, though she isn't in enough of the movie to really be developed.
Main Cast
Will i Am - John Wraith
Lynn Collins - Kayla
Kevin Durand - Frederick J. Dukes/The Blob
Daniel Henney - David North/Agent Zero
Danny Huston - William Stryker
Hugh Jackman - Logan/Wolverine
Taylor Kitsch - Remy LeBeau/Gambit
Dominic Monaghan - Chris Bradley/Bolt
Ryan Reynolds - Wade Wilson/Deadpool
Liev Schreiber - Victor Creed/Sabertooth
Gavin Hood - Director
X-Men Origins: Wolverine has some problems and could have had a stronger plot, but it is still an entertaining movie overall. Fans of the X-Men or Wolverine may find something to like about this movie even though there are changes from the comic books.
This review is part of elvisdo's 2009 Funny Pages Write-Off.
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Recommended:
Yes
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