X-Men Origins: Wolverine Review

Since the early 1960s, the X-Men franchise has reigned supreme as one of the most successful series of comic books to come out of America. Beginning in 2000, the series has received multiple movie adaptations, the most recent of which being X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

This installment in the series is a prequel to the first film, returning to the past to follow the main character, Wolverine, through his very long and slightly disturbing life. Logan (Wolverine’s real name), played by Hugh Jackman (Australia, Van Helsing), is a mutant, or someone with a genetic mutation that gives them special abilities. His “gift” is the ability to withdraw three bone claws from between the knuckles on both of his hands. In addition, he has an incredible regenerative ability, and ages much slower than a normal person. He and his older brother Victor, a fellow mutant who will eventually become Sabretooth, go through their lives fighting in every major war since the mid 1800s. Fast forward to the present, when the pair is approached by a man in the Canadian government with a special place for “people like them.”

Origins was an above average film, boasting a good cast, very good acting, and a respectable amount of action. The only place where the movie faltered was with its rather sub-par display of special effects.

The movie followed through with what it intended to do: it chronicled Wolverine’s pre-X-Men life to the chord. From the discovery of his powers to his past relationships, from his fights to his flights, everything is here, at points in excruciating detail. The movie wastes no time in jumping into the action, either: in the first ten minutes of the movie, Wolverine has already impaled a man and fought in 3 or 4 wars.

One of the hidden gems in the movie was Wade Wilson, the wise-cracking, sword-toting mercenary who eventually becomes the mutant Deadpool. Fantastically played by Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Just Friends), the character’s humorous personality is allowed to shine. So much so, in fact, that FOX has confirmed the production of a Deadpool spin-off, simply due to Reynolds’ interest in the role and the incredible amount of positive reception of the part from the fans.

Of the four X-Men movies to date, Origins is the most suited to the casual-viewing audience. The first three films were geared more towards past X-Men fans, staying relatively true to the characters but also attempting to put a new spin on the series. Origins, however, can be enjoyed by anyone, whether fanboy or not. Most of the story unfolds in a relatively easy-to-comprehend way, being completely understandable to someone with no prior X-Men knowledge.

In the movie, the special effects appear to bounce back and forth between acceptable and just plain bad. There were scenes that had fairly good special effects, such as numerous explosions and many of the fight scenes. There were others, however, where the effects were uncharacteristically low quality for a movie of such a high caliber; they appeared to be the effects of a mid-budget B-movie.

Due to an unfinished version of the movie getting leaked onto the internet approximately one week prior to the film’s release, the movie did not perform quite as well as people had originally predicted, though still topping the box office after making approximately $85 million. All $85 million dollars were well deserved, too; Rebecca Murray of About.com says “The action is eye-popping and in your face and the acting is spot on.”

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a very good movie, with its fair share of action, comedy, and drama. The stereotype of “I shouldn’t see that because I’m not a comic book fan” is completely false in this movie: if you like action, Origins is a good choice. With summer 2009 so close, this is a good way to start the season.