| Review:
|
Of the comic book characters I’m familiar with, which
really isn’t that many, I can’t think of anyone I’d like
to be less than Wolverine. What a depressing character,
a man well over 100 years old who at one point or another
loses everything he holds dear. He has no real home, no
real friends, and no real family (with one exception, but
we’ll get into that later). Worse yet, he’s a mutant, with
retractable blades that emerge from his knuckles and the
ability to regenerate damaged skin. ***
Because of this, he’s relentlessly pursued by the government,
who, naturally, want to capture him and perform all sorts
of nasty experiments. They succeed in one regard; he’s injected
with a special metal from outer space that makes his bones
unbreakable. So not only is an outsider, he’s also forced
to live with being at outsider seemingly for all time. Compared
to Wolverine, being Bruce Wayne is downright fun, especially
with all that money at his disposal. ***
As the title suggests, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” takes
place before the events of the first three “X-Men” films
and documents the history of the title character. It does
a decent job explaining how he became so indestructible
and why he’s so miserable, but it fails to explain how he
(or anyone else, for that matter) was born a mutant in the
first place. Nor does it explain how he stopped aging or
when it might have happened. ***
Honestly, I had no idea Wolverine was such an old man.
He discovered he was a mutant in 1845 when he was only a
boy named James Logan, an event that coincided with the
untimely death of his father. It also marked the start of
a rivalry between him and his half-brother, Victor, who
has fangs and claws and can run on all fours. As the years
pass, we see them grow into primal warriors who were a part
of many major wars, including the Civil War, both World
Wars, and Vietnam. It’s during the latter war that the story
proper begins. ***
After surviving a firing squad, Logan (Hugh Jackman)
and Victor (Liev Schreiber) are approached by William Stryker
(Danny Huston) and offered a chance to be part of a mutant
military squad. The other members of the group: John Wraith/Kestrel
(will.i.am), who can transport himself from one place to
another in the blink of an eye; Chris Bradley/Bolt (Dominic
Monaghan), who can manipulate electrically operated objects
with his mind; Fred Dukes (Kevin Durand), who will eventually
gain a lot of weight and become The Blob; David North/Agent
Zero (Daniel Henney), who’s lethal with a gun in each hand;
and Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), a martial arts
expert who can’t seem to shut up, especially when it begins
annoying everyone else. There comes a point where Logan
has had enough of Stryker and decides to turn his back on
the squad. This doesn’t please Victor, who feels that brothers
should stick together no matter what. ***
Six years later, Logan’s quiet life as a lumberjack
is brutally interrupted when he learns that the squad members
are being murdered one by one. This reunites him with Victor,
who now goes by the name Sabretooth and is hell bent on
punishing Logan. After a series of unpleasant encounters
and unfortunate losses, Logan turns to Stryker, who takes
him to a secret laboratory and oversees a complete molecular
refit of his body. This includes a new set of stainless
steel knives to replace the bony protrusions he was born
with. It also includes a name change from Logan to Wolverine.
Basically, he has unleashed the animal that was always lurking
somewhere within, abandoning any notion of restraint and
compassion. ***
And that’s pretty much where the story becomes a prolonged
seek-and-destroy mission, which can only go so far before
it stops being entertaining. You’d think that characters
like Remy LeBeau/Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) or Kayla Silverfox
(Lynn Collins) would help enliven the film, but they don’t.
They are important characters, yet they aren’t given the
chance to contribute much to the story. ***
To be fair, this movie will give action lovers and
comic book fans everything they’ve been expecting. Just
wait until the unveiling of Weapon XI, a strange looking
mutant with a number of impressive superpowers. There’s
also a fun shot of Wolverine flying over a helicopter in
slow motion, which happens just after being ejected from
a fast-moving motorcycle. ***
But spectacle comes easy in a film based on a comic
book. What I really wanted was a more substantive story,
something that could make the Wolverine character seem like
more than an angry, brooding victim. I also would have appreciated
a bit more insight as to how and why specific things came
to be, mutants most of all. Regardless, I’m sure “X-Men
Origins: Wolverine” will be successful on DVD, appealing
to those who want nothing more from their superhero movies
than cool stunts and eye-popping visual effects. ***
|
