SUMMARY:
Despite horrid reviews by major critics, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is actually a movie to see.  There were a few bad casting decisions (Taylor Kitsch, Kevin Durand, Will i Am), which didn't help some weak character development.  However, the overall story was good and the action movie seekers will be pleased.

PLOT:
As a child, Logan appears in a sickly state, with his brother (Victor Creed) watching over him.  You soon learn that Victor has short, dangerous-looking claws.  Logan finds his dad murdered by a man downstairs and kills him with his long bone claws.  Logan discovers, at that moment, that the man he killed was his actual father.

Later, as a grown man, he is shown fighting in several major wars alongside his brother, who apparently has developed a taste for killing.  Logan clearly shows his disappointment at the kind of thirst his brother now has.  They eventually end up in prison for having killed a commanding officer.  William Stryker, a military colonel, convinces both of them to join his "special" unit.

They team up with a group of other mutants of various unique talents.  They go on a mission for Stryker that ends up being more than just combatant against combatant.  Civilian lives are at stake and Logan wants no part of it, despite his brother's desire to stay.

Finally, Logan is shown living with a woman whom he loves dearly.  His brother finds where he is living and appears to have murdered his wife.  Logan finds his brother and loses a fight with him.

Stryker then finds Logan with an offer to help him kill his brother.  Logan reluctantly agrees.  During a dangerous experiment, Adamantium is grafted to his bones successfully.  It is at this point that he becomes Wolverine.  He escapes the compound and tries to hunt down his brother.

After finding out that a few of the mutants from Stryker's original group have been killed by Victor Creed (who at this point goes by the name of Sabretooth), Wolverine seeks out Gambit, the only mutant to escape those being captured by Stryker for his experiments.  Gambit and Wolverine soon become friends after a quick fight and travel to Stryker's new hidden compound.

It is here that Wolverine discovers what Stryker has been up to and what he has to do to stop it.

CHARACTERS:
Most of the characters were under-developed.  There is little to no explanation about why Logan and his brother are the way they are.  Most of the mutants they end up joining have no real mention of backstory, something that could have been quick to dish out in a small dialog here and there to help the story thicken a bit.

CASTING:
Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber make powerful performances that help carry most of the story through.  Ryan Reynolds, as Wade Wilson and later, Deadpool, also did a great job at pulling his character performance to an outstanding level.  Daniel Henney, also known as Agent Zero, manages a convincing role.

However, there were a few poor casting desicions that really hurt the movie.  Tayler Kitsch, Kevin Durand, and Will i Am, all had mediocre performances.  It was hard to see any of them in their respective roles and they failed to surprise.

CRITICS vs THE PUBLIC:
Yes, critics were hard on this movie.  Some of the early movie goers, were, as well.  However, many of the points they made were related to a lack of depth in character development (also echoed above).  That said, viewers who haven't seen any of the earlier X-Men movies would certainly be in the dark about Wolverine's background.  The title of the movie was inappropriate, as it suggests more will be learned about the X-Men, whereas the movie was focused on characters not seen in the first three movies and little was done to expound on the ones that did appear frequently.

MUSIC:
Although the music was appropriate, it wasn't extremely memorable.  I remember thinking afterwards, that I hadn't paid much attention to the music...that it wasn't much of a worthwhile soundtrack.

LIGHTING:
Lighting was great in most areas of the movie, but somewhat dark in others.  Better use of high-dynamic-range imagery would have been better.

PERSONAL SPIN:
I fully expected to enjoy this movie.  I read the mere few reviews of it on the day of its release, most of which really bashed the movie.  I was almost convinced not to bother seeing it.  I'm glad I stuck with it.  I enjoyed it immensely.  I'm not a comic book junkie at all, but I did watch the first three movies and had seen some of the cartoons growing up.  My biggest gripe about the movie is that they mis-cast Taylor Kitsch as Gambit, who really should have been me :)

Recommended: Yes

Movie Mood: Action Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: A few glitches, but mostly complete.
Worst Part of this Film: Cast