X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

O Masterpiece

O Excellent

X Good

O OK

O Mediocrity

O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / May 10, 2009

Now that the blockbuster season is under way, let’s just call a spade a spade: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was designed to draw big box office sales and aimed to entertain boys and young men via lots of special effects and superhero action — that’s it. Mission accomplished.

We all know what to expect from the previews, so why do critics and some moviegoers complain when the movie is composed of bumper-to-bumper action that’s riddled with implausibility? 

Nothing revolutionary is revealed about the cinematic medium or the human condition, but here’s the key: The filmmakers never pursued any such ambitions. To judge fairly, shouldn’t we take into consideration what the filmmakers’ were trying to accomplish? I think so.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is thoroughly entertaining. It rarely slows down. I nearly rated it “Excellent,” but it’s just falls short of the stature of “Iron Man.” Instead, “Wolverine” is “Good” like “The Incredible Hulk,” and probably not quite as good as the “X-Men” trilogy.

The movie opens in 1845, when we see a brief but tragic episode that results in two unusual brothers’ permanent flight from their family. The siblings grow up together, battling back to back in multiple wars throughout the decades. They are mutants whose remarkable gifts lend them incredible resilience against aging, injuries and death. But due to the divergence of their natures, Logan (Hugh Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) part ways and become fierce enemies.

The plot summary above is quite simplistic and doesn’t begin to span the myriad developments in the movie. However, if you’re schooled in Wolverine’s comic-book history, you won’t need a lengthy explanation, and if you’re altogether ignorant of his story, then it’s better that you’re surprised during the movie.

Typically, origin stories (which are often supplied in a superhero’s first movie) are tiresome. Sure, if a person didn’t have super powers but then obtained them, he or she would have to fumble around with those new abilities for a while. A good example of this is “Spider-Man” (2002). But I’m often irritated by having to sit through the “learning curve,” which is usually intended to be funny and never is. And though Wolverine was born with his “powers,” there is a brief scene of this fumbling sort involving his atomantium (not positive about that spelling) claws.

Film often reflects the anxieties of the day. The sci-fi genre is a good example of this — especially during the 1950s when two of the primary fears were nuclear armageddon (atom bomb) and alien invasion (the Red Scare and McCarthyism). And with respect to all of the dismissive comments I made at the beginning of this review, perhaps there lies beneath “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” a sub-conscious fear of genetic engineering and experimentation. But probably not. It’s probably just action for action’s sake.

Lastly, there is a very small and insignificant morsel at the very end of this film for those who wait until the end-credits are finished rolling. But as my filmmaker friend Joshua Ligairi pointed out to me after reading my “Star Trek” review, those little “Easter eggs” aren’t the only reason to watch the credits.

Directed by Gavin Hood

Hugh Jackman / Liev Schreiber / Remy LeBeau

Action     107 min.

MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity).