While undeniably better than the prior film, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is still a fundamentally flawed, under-written piece of work.

Rating: 5/10 (30 November 2013)

Every so often, you will encounter a film that truly throws you for a loop. One of those films where it seems that everything should be working for the best and coming together to make for a good film-going experience... yet it just doesn't. It instead just sort of clunks to a stop and falls apart in front of you.
"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is one such film.
This movie should work. We have Hugh Jackman returning in the lead role of Logan/Wolverine. Liev Schreiber joining the cast as Logan's brother Victor. A storyline covering the origins of Wolverine as hinted at in the excellent "X2: X-Men United." Academy Award winning director Gavin Hood taking the helm. And of course the miserable experience of "X-Men: The Last Stand", which the studio has hopefully learned from. This should have been a guaranteed, surefire good film.
But it's not quite.
Jackman stars as Logan. After fleeing from a troubling past including several wars alongside his brother Victor (Schreiber) and a brief yet turbulent stint as a mercenary in "Team X", Logan has retired to Canada, working as a Lumberjack (of course), and living an idealistic romantic life with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox. (Lynn Collins) However, Victor suddenly returns, apparently on a mission to kill off all the former members of Team X. Soon enough, Logan discovers that Victor has killed Kayla as a way to bring him out of hiding. Seeking vengeance, Logan teams with his former Commander William Stryker (Danny Huston), agreeing to undergo a unique procedure to coat his skeletal system with an indestructible metal and turn him into the most ferocious weapon imaginable... Weapon X.
The cast is very much a mixed bag. Jackman and Schreiber come off the best as Logan and Victor, both giving good, powerful performances that mix the action, emotion and development quite well. Though her role is limited, Collins is very decent as Silverfox, although she and Jackman don't really have a strong chemistry, which makes the romance feel forced and makes her come off far worse than she is. I found Huston to be just awful as Stryker, though. He takes over from Brian Cox, and gives a weak, sort-of forced performance that just rubbed me the wrong way. Although supporting roles by the likes of Taylor Kitsch, will.i.am and Ryan Reynolds are (for the most part) decently played.
The production is pretty flawed. The script (by the talented David Benioff and the hack-tastic Skip Woods, who would later go on to ruin "Die Hard" with the dreadful fifth film) is bizarrely good and bad, depending on the scene. There's a lot to like there, including a fantastic opening montage taking place in battles throughout history, a fun scene in which Logan is forced to stay with an elderly couple, and some great action beats. But then again, there's a lot to hate, including some really forced and contrived dialog, a lot of really horrible changes to the characters and continuity (particularly the side-character of Deadpool, who ends up being completely destroyed by the script), and a lot of severe pacing issues. It's mixed beyond belief .
The direction is also very mixed. Some of Hood's visual stylings and choices in shots are fantastic, but when it comes to the action, you can tell Hood is getting lost. The action is just too dull, and often feels like it's patched together haphazardly. This is particularly noticeable in one scene where Logan slices through scaffolding and metal ladders in an alleyway to get to a character called Gambit. It's one of the most bizarre, un-exciting, patched together action sequences I've ever seen, and has some cringe-worthy shots and effects. (I've heard rumors that Richard Donner was even brought in to shoot new shots for the action scenes, which wouldn't surprise me.) Hood does a lot better during the quiet moments, although I will admit the opening credits sequence and the big final fight are well-shot.
Other aspects of the productions are equally so-so. The CG effects are decent for the most part, but there was an inexplicable choice to make Wolverine's trademark claws CG, and it looks dreadful. The music by Harry Gregson-Williams is very decent, but it just doesn't measure up to the other films. The set and costume design is nice, but doesn't have much character.
This is just a mixed, mixed film with a plethora of flaws despite some strengths in the acting and some standout scenes. It's quite tragic, because there's a lot to like behind-the-scenes, from a talented director to a very decent cast. But for one reason or another, it just didn't quite gel together.
But hey, at least it's better than the awful "X-Men: The Last Stand."
I give "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" an average 5 out of 10. It's just for die-hard fans of the series, honestly. All others need not apply.