Cartoon fun

Rating: 7/10 (9 May 2004)

Ridiculous stunts that defy the laws of physics and a simple one-dimensional screenplay drag this down. The action sequences could have been trimmed a bit, but it is surprising how well the single plot-line with short, go-nowhere subplots keeps its momentum. The atmospherics of the movie are good -- think Sleepy Hollow meets Two Towers. Jackman plays a very Wolverine like character. So most of this is a derivative hodge-podge of cliched eye-candy from other better sci-fi, fantasy and suspense films -- Matrix, Alien, X-men, Batman, James Bond, etc. Even Silvestri's Gothic-Wagnerian score sounds familiar from other movies. Nevertheless, it is fun to watch Jackman tackle various monsters. His female sidekick does an adequate job, but plays up arrogance and vulnerability and downplays the sort of intensity that the character needed, more in the direction of Linda Hamilton in T2, Sigourney Weaver in Alien(s).