Still not particularly good, but starts this summer off better than most

Rating: 5/10 (1 May 2009)

Quick thoughts on the X-Men trilogy: I thoroughly enjoyed the first film, with its compelling storyline, solid acting, and terrific action. X2 improved upon part one in just about every aspect, and is one of my personal favorite comic book films; and while I did enjoy the third movie, I felt that it was a pretty dramatic step down from its predecessor. I went into X-Men Origins hoping for the best, though like most viewers, expecting the worst. Now having seen the film, I have to say that, while still not a particularly good film, Wolverine proves to be a better start of the summer movie season than most.
The acting in the film, first of all, is all over the place. Some performances capture the essence of their respective character perfectly (most notably Logan and, my favorite of the bunch, Gambit), while others simply come across as overdone at times (such as Stryker and Wraith). The script is the real culprit, however, as the film is filled to the brim with cheesy dialogue. There are also a couple of characters from the previous X-Men films who, I felt, were shoehorned into this movie; and while I hate to be nitpicky, Wolverine's "claws" looked incredibly fake to me.
Despite these flaws, though, Wolverine is an occasionally fun movie. The action, although a bit too frenetic at times, is solid for the most part, with a couple of sequences that truly stand out being the helicopter "chase scene" and the film's climax.
While I can understand why this film has already gotten such a bad rap from long-time comic book fans and critics alike, X-Men Origins: Wolverine worked for me, at least to some extent. A good amount of the acting seemed overdone, the dialogue came across as cheesy throughout a good chunk of the film, and some characters felt as though there were placed in the movie just for the sake of it. That said, the occasionally witty dialogue and solid action made it somewhat entertaining. It's not a film that I'm going to remember a year from now (perhaps not even several months from now), but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a bit of fun.