X-Men Origins: Wolverine - MSN Review

As the title suggests, Wolverine is spun from the X-Men movies directed by Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner, and offers an action-packed backstory for the series’ best character, adamantium-clawed, cigar-chewing hunk James Logan (Hugh Jackman).

Cherry picking bits and pieces from various Marvel storylines, most notably the Weapon X series, XMO:W tells the story of Logan’s relationship with his mutant half-brother Victor, AKA Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber).  We meet them first as children in 19th century Canada, then follow their progress as professional soldiers through a potted history of American conflict from the Civil War to Vietnam. Wolverine’s healing powers apparently include the seven signs of ageing ; at any rate  his alarmingly pumped torso never degenerates into a middle-aged muffintop and moobs as the decades flit by. There’s plenty of torso on display, by the way. The odd spot of butt too. It’s that kind of film.

Anyway, the brothers hairy are recruited by the CIA for a black ops mutant hit squad led by the villainous General Stryker (Danny Huston playing a younger version of Brian Cox’s baddie from X2), but Logan soon finds himself alienated by their bloodthirsty exploits and runs off to be a lumberjack in Canada. We won’t go further into the plot because, frankly, there ain’t much and what there is makes barely a scat of sense.

 

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer

Wolverine is not so much an origin story as an extended game of superhero top trumps, with a narrative designed for no purpose other than to pit Wolfie against as many minor X-Men characters as can be squeezed into the svelte running time. On the plus side, this means almost non-stop spectacle. You’re never more than five minutes away from an explosion.

However, director Gavin Hood communicates almost exclusively in the grammar of action movie cliché, so when something does explode you can guarantee that Jackman will be ambling away from the fireball, his hair delightfully ruffled and a stogie between his teeth. Meanwhile, tramautic events invariably see our hero falling to his knees and howling at the sky while the camera cranes into the stratosphere.  Seriously, this happens every time. Stubbed toe? “Arooooo, cruel world!”

This cookie cutter approach makes XMO:W rather uninvolving even by superhero blockbuster standards. It’s like watching a fireworks display masterminded by the Chippendales. Still, there is an awful lot of bang for your buck, and it’s an agreeable way to waste a Saturday night.

 

A fun but forgettable action spectacular.

 

 

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine trailer

Play The Wolverine Online Game