Okay, look, some parts of this movie are patently stupid and others are blatantly predictable. What do you expect, it is a superhero movie... and not a literary one like The Watchmen.
Here's the score: Back in the 1800s, two young boys named Jimmy and Victor have a quite an epiphany when they discover they are half-brothers over the body of their recently killed father. Not only are they brothers, they are mutants to boot. Sadly, they discover this only after they are wanted for murder for killing daddy. So together, they escape the law and join the Army. Together, they fight in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, and Vietnam... all before the end of the opening credits.
After that, our two lovable outcasts join a very special branch of special forces which eventually leads to an argument and they go their separates ways. Six years later, destiny throws them together again when cruel, evil Victor ruins sweet Jimmy's life incognito.
All very predictable, yes. What I had not expected was the charismatic performances. Note, I am saying charismatic, not necessarily good. Liev Schreiber is really, really fun to watch as Victor Creed, the evil half brother with the cat-like claws and the pointy teeth. Taylor Kitsch is more than adequate as Gambit--the card-throwing mutant. And Hugh Jackman? Well, Hugh Jackman may not be Laurence Olvier or even Bruce Willis; but he's dependable, likable, and believable. After three earlier outings, he's certainly comfortable playing Wolverine.
Now for the bad news. There are times when the dialog in this movie is painfully bad.
"How bad?" you ask. The dialog is so bad that one of the final bad guys had to be recreated with no mouth. I'm not joking. They sealed the guy's mouth off with skin, like what Agent Smith did to Neo in The Matrix. (Well, okay, I don't really know if that was why the guy's mouth was sealed, but it's the best explanation I could come up with.)
Okay, now that I have picked on some of the bad parts (I have left out the redundant scenes of Wolverine being thrown through the air by enemy after enemy only to come back and win the fight, the lame love story, the bad guy who looks and acts like Braka from Mortal Kombat, the silly cameo at the end, and did I mention the bad dialog?), let's talk about why I would give this movie a C+ and very possibly a B-.
Fist of all, the Wolverine did a great job of answering questions and tying loose ends. Paid critics and die hard X-Men fans will disagree, of course; but paid critics earn their livings by sounding superior and the die hard comics community is seldom pleased. Me, I'm not paid and haven't read an X-Men comic in decades. I'm blissfully ignorant and more than anxious to share my opinion.
What I liked best about this movie is how almost all of the mutants seemed less developed than the main X-Men mutants. As you watch the main mutants in X-Men Origins, you get the feeling they are inferior to Phoenix, Cyclops, Magneto... You get the feeling that they are from an earlier evolution.
So, in the end, while I may have lost a few brain cells watching X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I walked away well-entertained. If you see the movie, let me know what you think.
24 comments:
Haven't seen it yet, and with the little baby I probably won't for a while (I think the last movies I saw in the theater were Hellboy 2, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Dark Knight).
I've heard that the movie is good, and also that it doesn't stick to the comics as faithfully as it should have (Deadpool, for example).
I saw the other 3 Xmen movies and while they had potential, they were lacking something. Don't know what, but something. I'm hoping that Wolverine has that something that was missing, because Wolverine was one of my favorite comic characters growing up.
For me, the earlier X-Men movies simply did not come together. The cast was excellent, the effects were top notch. I found the writing a bit wanting. Maybe the biggest problem with X-Men in the movies was that there were too many supers to follow.
You know what, though, when I was in college there was an X-Men Satuday morning cartoon that had some of the best stories and scripts I have ever seen in any television show, animated or not.
I used to watch that cartoon and it kicked ass. If only they could do a movie like one of those episodes....
Aaron, I know exactly what you're saying in regaurds to the trilogy. It felt like something was missing, something that would bring it all together.
I just got home from seeing Wolverine with friends, and we had a blast. I read the Wolverine Origins comic years ago, and while the movie wasn't spot on, i felt like it kept the spirit of the comics much better than the trilogy. For me it was so great to finally see Gambit in an X-Men movie, that I almost didn't notice his accent wasn't sexy enough. I liked that we saw a lot of mutants, but the movie didn't get bogged down in trying to show off all their powers. But for me movies are all about the experience, and my friends and I had an awesome time, and were stoked watching the whole thing. i can't ask for more.
I'm gonna guess the X-Men cartoon you watched in college, Mr Kent, was the same one I was watching en elementary school / jr high. I actually own them all on dvd now, and they are really good. Written without compromising too much for the younger audience. I like them as much now as I did then, which is hard for me to say with most cartoons.
JenMo, first, call me Steve. There are no "Mr."s or "sir"s at Sad Sam's. (Well, Hunter deserves special deference considering the service he gives his nation.) Anyway, I wanted to say that while The Simpsons is my all-time favorite cartoon show, that X-Men show comes in a very close second. There was a depth to the characters and storylines that I have never seen matched in any cartoon and few live dramas.
Ok, I won't call you 'sir' or 'Mr.' but how bout ma'am Kent? :)
I said we were all equals. I did not say I wouldn't ban you.
That was good :)
I will say that I'd be bummed to be barred from Sad Sam's. I'll be on the good foot then.
Aaron, Sad Sam's would be a lonely place without you.
I just couldn't resist the ma'am joke though.
Steven, just want to give you props for having open dialog with those that read your work. It's truly appreciated sir.
I second that, super appreciated!
Quick question about the move: SPOILER ALERT!
Does anyone have any idea why Prof X was in CG at the end? Didn't make a lot of sense to me.
My guess is that Patrick Stewart is getting old. He's 68.
HUNTER, if you will send me your address, I will do everything in my power to make sure you get a copy of The Clone Betrayal before you leave for Iraq.
I really couldn't enjoy Wolverine origins. I wish I could have... seeing as my favorite comic book character was supposed to be in it. But as it turns out, the Deadpool (Baraka guy) that was in the movie was NOT the Deadpool from the comics. I mean this in the way that they destroyed his character, seriously.
But aside from that, I thought they did a fairly good job with it. My family enjoyed the movie, and I'm sure anyone who didn't have expectations for a true to the comic movie. (which I didn't expect, considering what they did with the other xmen movies)
I just hope that they solo Deadpool movie is more true to the comic because Deadpool is an incredibly interesting and entertaining character and I wish that all of the movie watching people of the world could see what us comic geeks see in him when we flip through the pages of his comics.
You will need to forgive my ignorance here. I did not even know that Deadpool was a character in anything but this movie. After reading your post, I looked him up on Google.
So is he generally a protagonist or always a monster?
Hehe, well first I will need to take a moment to get over my giddiness over you replying to something I posted. Hehe.
But no, he isn't really all that bad... he's a mercenary... the merc with a mouth is actually his nickname. In his first long run series he went through several things that changed his personality drastically. Around the middle part of that first long run series he actually saved the entire world... no not just this world actually probably every one in the entire multi-verse. He did this knowing full well that everyone would be angry at him, but none the less he did what needed to be done.
So yeah he is more considered an "anti hero". He does do somewhat evil things on occasion if the money is high enough but he won't necessarily enjoy it... except for sometimes he does enjoy it... =-D
He has a definite line that he won't cross so I wouldn't call him a monster... Before Deadpool took on the name Wade Wilson he could easily be considered a monster.
So yeah, Deadpool really isn't a villain and he has in fact worked with the large "good guy" teams on several occasions. He was partnered with a man who was considered a Messiah for a long while, the Messiah being Cable of course.
Deadpool is actually the only comic series that I buy on a regular basis and I do in fact do my best to buy everything he is featured in, because he is my favorite character in any of the comics. What really upsets me is that Deadpool's large debut was in a completely raped format and that the major viewing audience was not allowed to see him for all that he is.
Sorry if this was too long =-/
THank you, Merric101, now things make more sense. I did not even realize that Deadpool referred to a character, I thought they were referring simply to a collection of DNA from dead or kidnapped mutants.
SHows what I know. But I still enjoyed the movie.
I'm a pretty serious fan of all things Marvel, and conversant with the basic format of their fictional construct. That being said, I think the movie was highly entertaining as long as you remember that it isn't supposed to be canon as far as the main Marvel Universe (Earth-616) is concerned.
Even though I had that in mind, I just could not get over them turning Deadpool into Baraka from Mortal Kombat. That was just way over the top for me. Even the end fight scene looked like a combat stage from the aforementioned game.
On the brighter side, I agree that Hugh Jackman does a nice job playing Wolverine. Having seen him handle that character in four movies now, I have a hard time seeing anyone else with those trademarked feral qualities.
Anyway, that's my "two cents".
Thanks for listening.
By the way, this is a wonderful blog you've got going here. Really nicely managed. ;-)
Jeremy,
All the serious Marvel fans agree with you about the Mortal Kombat aspects, but quite a few are not so open-minded about the movie being entertaining. Me, well, I am among the Marvel illiterate, I suppose.
Wasn't Russell Crowe going to play WOlverine originally?
Mr. Kent,
Yes, I believe that is correct about Russell Crowe, although I'm not certain of the particulars. Very difficult for me to see him as Wolverine, but I think he'd have made an interesting Sabertooth.
As to the entertainment factor of the movie, it is difficult for anyone who is a 'true believer' in the Marvel mythos, a 'Marvelphile', to get involved in something that so blatantly thumbs its nose at continuity.
While I'm more of a movie guy than a comic book guy, the differences between the film world and that of the core Marvel Universe were still very distracting to me. My only way around it was to consider it as an issue of "What If?", or one of those worlds in the Multiverse that the Exiles visit on their reality-hopping missions.
Then, I'll admit... I was entertained.
You know what, it is the true believers that keep the entertainment community on its toes.
The guys who made the new Star Trek found a way around it. The new series began with a disturbance in the space-time continuum. The guys who made Wolverine were not so creative.
As movies go, Star Trek fundamentally better than Wolverine. As properties go, I think they are both brilliant. Did you ever see the book that mixed X-Men and Star Trek?
Mr. Kent,
It sounds like they handled the Star Trek story much better, based on what you're saying. I've yet to see the show, but probably will when it reaches the $1 Theater here in Orange County.
Indeed I have read the Star Trek/X-Men crossover, and found it pretty entertaining. But I cannot speak for the care taken with the characters, as I don't know much about the Star Trek story world. It seemed well done, but only a 'true believer' of Star Trek would know for sure. ;-)
As an aside, I've got a PDF of that story on my computer. If you'd like a copy, just send me an e-mail.
Jeremy, I appreciate the offer; but I better pass.
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