X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)Director: Gavin Hood
Writers: David Benioff (Screenplay), Skip Woods (Screenplay)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, Ryan Reynolds
After the travesty that was X-Men: The Last Stand (You can read that review by Clicking Here) I didn't really have high hopes for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. As much as I enjoy Hugh Jackman as Wolverine I just didn't think they'd do the character justice in his own movie. Well I can say that I was, for the most part, wrong. The movie wasn't as good as X-Men or X-Men 2 but it was definitely a pretty entertaining action/adventure flick.
The film actually told a pretty interesting story and told it pretty well. I found myself actually invested in the characters and caring about what would happen to them. I even found the side characters to be pretty well done. Granted they weren't as fleshed out as the could have been but they worked for the movie that was being made. Overall the acting in the film was pretty good. No one is going to be winning any Oscars but they were all certainly believable.
If I gave it a lot of thought I could probably point out some plot holes. There were probably a few times where things that happened were just a little convenient but honestly I was too entertained by the movie to really care. The action sequences were very exciting and for the most part looked very cool. Obviously they were over the top and "comic bookie" but they worked.
There were really only a couple things that I could complain about and they are pretty minor. For one, it seemed like they did try to jam far to much story into just one movie. Because of this it seemed like some things were glossed over and some things just happened way to fast when they could have been fleshed out a little more. Of course there is only so much you can fit into a 107 minute movie so I can't really blame the film makers for that.
The only other problem I had with the movie was computer graphics. For the most part they were pretty good but there were some scenes where they just seemed unfinished. The scene that stands out the most in my mind is when Wolverine is in the bathroom and he is admiring his new Adamantium claws for the first time. They just looked fake. I am not even sure how to explain it, they just didn't seem to have any real weight to them.
Overall I would say that this was a pretty good flick. I was very entertained by it and I really enjoyed the characters. If they could continue to make X-Men movies that were on par with this one then I would continue to see them. Of course if they could make them on par with the first two X-Men movies that would be a little better. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that enjoyed the X-Men movies and most especially enjoyed Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. They movie does not disappoint.
Rating: 6/10
You forgot to mention how awful Gambit was
ReplyDeleteehh... my only real problem with Gambit was that they gave him some form of telekinesis which I don't think he had in the comics. The actor playing him wasn't spectacular or anything but he didn't really bother me that much either.
ReplyDeleteGambit is one of my favorite X-Men characters and I was fairly impressed with the actor who played him in the movie. Being from the South, I get more than a little annoyed with the "Aww Shucks" accents some actors attempt to pass off as Southern. But Gambit's New Orleans drawl was pitch perfect...and although he was a side character, he worked pretty well with what he was given.
ReplyDeleteI feel exactly as you do, Rick. In every respect.
ReplyDeleteBUD
I don't understand at all how this movie could be perceived as being better than The Last Stand. Of course, I liked the Last Stand, and don't understand why so many hated it. I think they're just pissed that "they killed Professor X!"
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, I thought this was awful.
@Fletch - A lot of my problem with The Last Stand was that WAY to much of the dialog seemed contrived, artificial and unnecessary. I mean they would have conversations that would basically go like this:
ReplyDeleteCharacter 1: You know, this would be an opportune time for you to use your mutant ability.
Character 2: Yes, I agree this would certainly be a opportune time for that. I shall use it now.
Character 1: Ahh, yes. This will now make our task so much easier.
Ok, so it wasn't that bad but it was pretty bad.
The action in The Last Stand was extremely poorly directed in my opinion as well. The action honestly felt like one of those Wild West Action shows that you see at places like Six Flags theme parks. It was just really really poorly directed.
The dialog and action in Wolverine weren't perfect but they weren't completely contrived and boring either.
And not to mention The Last Stand made The Beast look like fuckin' Cookie Monster...Cookie Monster!
ReplyDelete