Is there nothing Hugh Jackman can’t do? He can sing, he can dance, he’s a nice guy and as Wolverine he gets to kick some butt and roar a lot. We’ll gloss over his Australia period as he more than makes up for that in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
I like the X-Men series. The movies are huge, with (one guesses) phenomenal special effects/CGI budgets. They are no brainers – you don’t have to think, just sit back and enjoy. Sometimes that’s all I want in a film and this one certainly delivers.
Anyhow, Origins tells the back story of Wolverine, how he discovered he was a mutant and what he then did before banding together with other mutants to save the world. Pretty much he was angsty, joined the American army and used his mutant powers to fight for the American way (or something), attempted to have a normal life and was betrayed by most people that he loved or trusted.
No wonder he’s angry!
The film explores his troubled relationship with his wayward brother Victor Creed/Sabretooth (a deliciously evil performance by Liev Schreiber) and explains how Wolverine got his very efficient self-healing powers and those shiny, razor sharp claw things.
There’s a lot of fighting, killings, stuff blowing up and a touch of romance, though not too much of the latter which is great. Of course being a prequel Origins fills in the gaps of Wolverine’s life and how he came to be who he is. That is, of course, if you aren’t familiar with the original Marvel comic books. I’m not I must confess.
The movie is also funny. Including Schreiber, Jackman is joined by an excellent ensemble cast. His cohorts include Ryan Reynolds (The Nines and Van Wilder) as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, Dominic Monaghan (yes, formerly a Lord of the Rings hobbit, now in Lost) as Chris Bradley/Bolt and Will i Am (from the Black Eyed Peas – he wrote that song about lady humps) as John Wraith.
The whole cast delivers their one-liners with aplomb and there is a very silly visual gag which I won’t ruin for you. There is only one real complaint I have with the X-Men series. Every time there is a scene where Patrick Stewart’s character Professor Charles Xavier needs to be younger they CGI his head so much he looks like he has been attacked by a botox monster. It doesn’t work. Leave Patrick Stewart’s head alone. Please!
Despite that I highly recommend X-Men Origins: Wolverine: it’s big, it’s bold and it’s fun. One looks forward to the next installment, yes one does.