A look into the early life of Wolverine, particularly his time with
Team X and the impact it would have on him for the rest of his life. ACTION/SCI-FI
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)Directed by Gavin Hood
Written by David Benioff and Skip Woods Starring Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, Ryan Reynolds Prequel to 2000's X-Men Based on characters from Marvel Comics |
X-Men Origins: Wolverine marks the lowest point for this long running franchise. While it's big on action and everyone's favorite mutant, it lacks the thematic depth that made the originals so great. It also doesn't help matters when the movie features a story the audience already knows. Needless to say, this is the low point for the series.
I'll start with the positives, so I'm not ragging on this film too much. Hugh Jackman continues to excel in the role of Wolverine. He singlehandedly keeps a decent chunk of this movie together, showing once again why he's the perfect actor for the beloved character. Liev Schreiber does a fantastic job as Sabretooth. While he didn't have much competition against Tyler Mane's portrayal, Schreiber does much better justice to the character. Ryan Reynolds's portrayal of Wade Wilson at the beginning of the film is also a delight, as it shows he was the man born to play the role. Finally, the opening sequence montage is one of my favorites in the series. Now for the negatives, the biggest of which involving the film's later use of fan favorite character Deadpool. The decision to literally shut his mouth up is one of the biggest crimes ever committed to cinema. Also, the film plays as more of a straightforward action film, losing much of the thematic depth found in previous entries. The themes present in past films like equal rights and social conformity are completely absent in this entry. Finally, the film introduced a number of inconsistencies and plot holes to the continuity. This should have been a great film. It starred fan favorite character, Wolverine, and featured a number of cool new additions to the films' mythology. Deadpool and Gambit alone were pretty cool to see. Alas, it ended up being a massive misfire and currently represents the low point for this franchise. |