More X-Men than Wolverine, actually

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2009)

From the moment Hugh Jackman first appeared as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's X-Men, it was obvious his character would be the first choice for a spin-off film: brooding, tormented and totally bad-ass, he's one of the coolest creations in superhero comics. And so here it is, his own movie. Well, at least that's what it was meant to be.
Taking advantage of the fact that Wolverine's origins have finally been unveiled in the comics as well, the film starts with a family tragedy which leads to the shaky alliance between two young stepbrothers in 19th century Canada. Both are gifted with heightened senses, and healing abilities that slow down the aging process, which is why, a hundred years and four wars later, Logan (Jackman) and Victor (Liev Schreiber) still look like they're pushing 40. At this point they're recruited by William Stryker (Danny Huston), a military scientist who uses mutants to do the government's dirty work. Unfortunately, Logan is disgusted by all the violence, despite being the most lethal member of the team (what with his retractable claws and all), and seeks a peaceful life. Due to fate - and Victor - that isn't possible, and thanks once again to Stryker, he is given the chance to get back at those who have wronged him. Thus begins a new chapter of Logan's life, one that is best summed up by the new name he has chosen for himself: Wolverine.
As it happens, said new chapter is also the point where the film starts getting it kind of wrong: gone is the introspection and careful look at a conflicted, lonely (super)human being, replaced by state-of-the-art action scenes and a truckload of new characters. Okay, so the showdown between Logan and a helicopter is admittedly a very cool moment, but why the sudden shift in tone, given Jackman (who's also the movie's producer) was lucky enough to get David Benioff (25th Hour) as the screenwriter (but hey, Hit-man writer Skip Woods was also involved) and Oscar-winner Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) as the director? The answer is disheartening and not very unexpected: fan demands. The film's title isn't simply Wolverine, it's X-Men Origins: Wolverine, meaning that once the origin bit was explained, it was perceived as no big deal to randomly insert popular characters from the comics who couldn't be included in the previous X-movies: some of them (Taylor Kitsch's Gambit) work to a certain degree, others (a pre-X-Men Scott Summers) appear at the expense of people who actually fit into the story, like the hilarious Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), whose presence is basically reduced to a teaser for his own spin-off (assuming it gets made, obviously).
Make no mistake: Hood is a skilled director, and the first hour of the film stands out as a very good introduction to one of Marvel's most loved "heroes", but much like Sam Raimi did with Spider-Man 3, he finds himself dealing with a second half that loses its focus while trying to please fan-boys (as well as providing a nonsensical explanation for the protagonist's memory loss). On the plus-side, a quick pace means the lesser parts are over quickly, and Jackman, now playing the Canadian mutant for the fourth time, is as charismatic as ever, brilliantly aided by Schreiber and Huston (and the shamefully underused Reynolds).
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not exactly a bad film (it has good action, a terrific first half and a solid cast), but it's painfully obvious this could have been something completely different had it been handed to original X-director Bryan Singer. The post-credits scene seems to suggest a sequel can be expected: fine, but could it focus solely on Wolverine, please?
6,5/10