Rating of
2.5/4
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 01/30/12
A mutant with a healing factor that makes him virtually unkillable volunteers for an experiment that will transform him into "Weapon X" to revenge himself on the brother who murdered his sweetheart. Yes, that's the plot to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Shit, isn't it? It follows the usual blockbuster formula of montage, action sequence, montage, action sequence, montage, action sequence in a way that made me think that the franchise has become a victim of its own success; in the best examples of the comic stories, the extreme violence Wolverine perpetrates is merely alluded to and hinted at through images of the bloody aftermath. Here you have Logan gutting people with razor sharp claws and yet never managing to spill a drop of blood. Funny, that. In its desperation to appeal to mainstream, family audiences the Wolverine character is itself gutted and only in the opening sequence which is criminally skimmed over do we see any of the real potential of the idea. Despite the rather odd casting choice of Liev Schreiber, he actually makes a rather good Victor Creed and is a vast improvement over the WWF wrestler with a bronchial complaint we had in the first film. The rest of the plot is basically just a bunch of excuses to cram in as many peripheral characters as possible, the greatest waste of which is fan favourite Gambit getting relegated to air taxi duties. The action sequences are competently staged and it's reasonably entertaining, but it feels like a missed opportunity. I just hope that one blessed day my prayers are answered and Christopher Nolan adapts the original Claremont/ Miller mini series. And yes, I know I'm a geek.
