The X-Men were a large part of my childhood. On Saturday mornings, I would excitedly watch the animated series. Summer vacations on the beach were usually accompanied with a quick stop at the corner store to buy an issue of the comic book. For a kid, there was nothing better. It was simple. It was exciting. I didn’t understand the themes or social commentary. I didn’t need to. I was a kid. All I needed to know was that there was a bad guy who was going to do a bad thing and the good guys were going to stop him. Superheroes and super villains. My X-Men action figures battled alongside G.I. Joe. They helped the Ninja Turtles stop the Shredder. Basically, they were the shit.
And out of all of them, there was on who was a certified badass. Even when next to people who could shoot lasers out of the face, teleport, or throw exploding cards. That badass mutha’ fucka was Wolverine. He was mean. He was violent. He was Canadian. Oh, yeah! And he had claws. Metal claws! There is a lot of nerd back-story here, some that I know and some that I have no clue about. I am not a comic book reader but I am enough of an X-Men fan to know the basics. Wolverine can heal from almost any wound, was part of a government program to create an indestructible soldier, and basically shits glory. When the X-Men movies came out, Hugh Jackman (aka “Huge Jacked Man”) gave a performance was right on par with everyone’s expectations. It was only a matter of time that this hero, who was essentially the main focus of the X-Trilogy (though, I tend to ignore the fact that X3 was ever made), got his own spin off film.
Enter X-Men Orgins: Wolverine, the first of many high octane summer-ish actions movies and potentially the first major flop of 2009 despite a large opening weekend. The story goes as such: we are introduced to a young Wolverine before the events of the X-Trilogy. The first time he got his powers, his long life of constant battle in almost every major war, his time with government black ops Team X, how he got his metal skeleton, and his life on the run from the government. Along the way, we are met with old faces and new ones in a plot that quickly goes from interesting to downright…well, comic bookish.
The main problem is not the source material or necessarily the actual story as a whole but its presentation. Wolverine suffers from major writing problems. Name a cliché. Any cliché. It is in the movie. Some would argue that gives it some semblance of campy charm but that is foolish to suggest. Wolverine is trying hard to be taken seriously as a movie. And it cannot succeed. The writing and dialogue are just downright bad. We are given so little reason to care about the characters that there is no investment in the story whatsoever. Doubly so for comic book nerds who will essentially bitch and moan about every little thing. “Why are Wolverine and Sabretooth brothers?” “Deadpool wasn’t like that in the comic book!” “Why doesn’t Gambit have a Cajun accent?!” We get it comic book nerds. It was different. Deal with it.
These concerns pale in comparison to the fact that Wolverine has serious pacing issues with various plot pieces that barely space out the time between fight scenes. On that topic however, the fight scenes are one of the few things that this movie does right. At least most of the time. There are a few really cool moments, particularly in the movies final three way brawl between Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Weapon XI. The opening gets credit too for taking the ensemble cast of Team X characters and giving each a moment to shine.
However, some of these cool comic book moments are marred by special effects that sometimes look like something done on a television budget. A particularly egregious example has Wolverine inspect his new metal claws in a mirror. In a moment that could easily be done practically, we are treated to some of the worst CGI claws ever. They look like something Judge Doom would have used at the end of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Now this is not to say that some moments are not genuinely cool. Gambit’s kinetic energy effects are sick, especially when used to devastate an entire back alley.
If Wolverine has anything going for it, it is the fact that it is very well cast. Hugh Jackman is Wolverine and gives his performance a respectful treatment of the character. Ryan Reynolds is the perfect choice for the wise cracking mercenary Wade Wilson, albeit underutilized. Replacing Brian Cox as the villainous Col. William Stryker is Danny Huston. Best known for his work on John Adams, Huston plays a realistic villain who carries a suitable amount of weight and purpose. However, the standout is Leiv Schreiber, who lights up the screen as the amoral Sabretooth. It is clear that he is enjoying the chance to play a comic book villain. And that is the best part: when an actor has fun, the audience has fun as well. Rounding out the cast is Taylor Kitsch, who gives a good performance as Gambit even if the plot demands him for all of 5 minutes, and Dominic Monaghan as a sympathetic former soldier turned circus performer. The only odd man out is will.i.am, who should never be in movies. Ever. No matter how many songs he writes about Obama.
And this is the most painful thing about Wolverine. With such a strong cast, all that was needed was a decent story and they would do the rest. This is partially the case here but you can only give them so much garbage before they can only make it stink less.
Final Letter Grade: D+
Bottom Line: Casual viewers will enjoy this movie if they simply are looking for a pop-corn flick. With the occasionally cool fight scene and invested actors, there is enough to make this watchable. Comic book nerds will decry deviations from the established canon.
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