Let the summer begin!

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2009)

X-Men Wolverine
Contains massive spoilers
Let the summer begin. This is one hell of a ride and it certainly lives up to my expectations. Wolverine's story has always been an interesting one and this film, as it delves into all that we know about Logan and his Wolverine alter ego is simply fantastic. I am not a comic collector, so I knew absolutely nothing about Wolverine before seeing X-Men. Now here we are four movies later and he is easily one of the best heroes on screen.
We start off in the Northwest Territories in the 1800's. A young Logan murders his own father, not knowing of course that he is. As he runs out of the house, his brother catches up to him and tells him that they must look out for each other. They both have gifts that can't be explained. So, he and Victor do what they do best. They fight in every single war known in American history. How they got to enlist in the American army is kind of confusing since they are both Canadian, but I guess that doesn't really matter. Soon, General Stryker comes calling after they have both been executed by firing squad. He wants to start up a special unit of mutants. He takes them to Nigeria to search for some kind of rock that can turn one into an indestructible being. But of course, to benefit from this rock, one must have regenerating healing capabilities. Since Logan is the only one who does, the task at hand is to get him to agree to it. To do this, the military sets him up. They kill his girlfriend, and then they promise him that they can help him avenge her death by making him strong enough to go after Victor, his brother, who killed her.
Once he becomes Wolverine, the film really takes off. It was good up to this point, but it gets fantastic once he becomes the indestructible animal. He discovers that what was once wooden like claws that came out of his hands, are now razor sharp and steel that can cut metal. Although he knew he could take bullets, regenerate and basically recover much quicker than a normal human being, his abilities are now heightened. This government experiment has made him more of an animal than he once was.
Soon he is on the hunt for his brother and this takes him to meet Gambit and all kinds of other mutants. The final showdown takes place on "Mutant Island" and it does not disappoint.
X-Men Origins Wolverine is action packed from start to finish. The ending is especially satisfying as Professor X makes an appearance and you get to see some of the young mutants who will eventually appear in the three X-Men films. I found the story to flow and I enjoyed the performances of Jackman and Live Schreiber immensely. Gavin Hood, who's only other Hollywood credit is Rendition with Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhal, does a masterful job keeping the action rolling, the fights exhilarating and the performances crisp and accurate. I don't know much about Mr. Hood, but I think he might get a lot more work after this film.
Seeing as I do not know anything about the Wolverine lore or the story I went into this just looking for a good time and something to keep me entertained. If the X-Men loonies have something to complain about, it goes over my head. This is a perfect film to kick off the summer and if the rest of the summer films of 2009 are anything near as good as this, we'll be in for a great 4 months.
9/10