As the title hints, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" aims to show us how the adamantium-clawed Wolverine character from the "X-Men" comics came to be. That this story has been all-but-told already in the three previous "
X-Men" movies doesn't help this one. Nor does its rehashed script and gaggle of extraneous characters. What does help is Hugh Jackman, once again donning the claws and muttonchops, and a director with a surprising knack for action.
Taking significant license with the Wolverine of the comics, the script by David Benioff and Skip Woods introduces us to James and Victor Howlett, two brothers born circa 1840. During a particularly nasty quarrel at home, the young boys discover that they each possess an unusual gift - the ability to heal. Throw into the mix the fact that they each grow claws (well, some variation of claws and fingernails) and the kids naturally get a bit freaked out. That's all before a nifty title montage which shows the boys growing into Mr. Jackman (as James) and Liev Schreiber (Victor) while they participate in every major war over the past 150 years (how do they know when to stop aging?). All that killing has had an affect on the boys. Victor likes it; James, not so much. So sets up the wedge between brothers that should ostensibly keep us interested in the film.
That's a lot of story already and it still hasn't explained the adamantium. That piece of the puzzle has to do with an elite (aren't they always?) squad of mercenaries called Team X, each with a unique X-Men-y talent. It's all lead by Colonel Stryker (played previously by Brian Cox and here, in a fine bit of casting, by Danny Huston), a classic mad-with-power miltary villian who fails to realize the flaw in creating an indestructible killing machine (the clue is in that sentence!).
What follows is a series of first-rate action scenes, directed with surprising flare by Gavin Hood, whose previous credit is 2005's comparitively miniscule "Tsotsi". As with the "X-Men" movies, "Wolverine" is bogged down with an excess of side characters. There's a sharpshooter named Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), a bullet-dodging swordsman called Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), the overweight punching bag "The Blob" (Kevin Durand), and a teleporter called Wraith (will.i.am). That's not even including the long-awaited comic favorite Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), who can inject inanimate objects with kinetic energy (or something).
Though the plot follows the standard loner-hunted-by-evil-gang-to-which-he-once-belonged trajectory (and cribs almost verbatim from "First Blood" at one point), far more interesting is the film's fraternal conflict (thanks to Mr. Jackman and Mr. Schreiber, who - ahem - bite into their roles). There's also a requisite tragic love story with Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) who, herself, possesses a secret (with a name like that, she'd have to). As you might imagine, it all leads to a typically bombastic climax, but Mr. Hood's comfort with sweeping camera angles keeps it interesting.
At the center of it all is Hugh Jackman, and it's hard not to like this guy. Having already established the Wolverine character in the previous films, he wears it here like a set of old Elvis sideburns. Wolverine was always the most interesting character in the "X-Men" movies and he's worth an in-depth look. While each supporting actor does his or her best to make something of limited screentime, let's put it this way, none of them should be getting their own xmen origins movie any time soon.
As a side note: for those of you who have seen the scandalous "Wolverine" Workprint that was leaked a few weeks ago, do not judge the merits of this film based on that unfinished material. Do yourself a favor and check out the final cut in theaters. It will give you a new appreciation for the fine art of post-production.
