I Don't Think It's Dreadful

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2013)

Oh boy, now we get to the X-flick many seem to spit upon. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a spin off and a prequel to the previous three films of the series, and while it's not my favorite of the series, it still has it's ups as well as downs. I'm going to come right out and say that I enjoyed this one a bit more than I did X-Men: The Last Stand. Many of the problems I had with The Last Stand I didn't have with this film, and the overall tone and feeling of this spin off was a bit more satisfying than the one in the previous film. But that doesn't mean the film is flawless, for there are many flaws present in the film that I will touch upon as my review progresses.
One of the reasons I liked X2 so much is because we got a brief glimpse of Wolverine's backstory, which has been shrouded in obscurity since X1. In this film, we see his origins head on, and I think it's my favorite aspect out of the entire film. Seeing Wolverine and his stepbrother Victor aka Sabretooth fight throughout all the major World Wars, it really shows why the two of them are as angry as we know them as. Seeing Wolverine get injected with blazing hot adamantium, it really puts gas in your stomach and you can almost feel the unbearable pain Wolvy had to endure during that dreadful procedure. And seeing Wolverine get his memories wiped away with an adamantium bullet, it tied all the loose ends and explained the very reason why he didn't know who he was in the previous three films. After all, the entire point of a prequel is to explain why things are the way they are in the films that came before. Why do you think the Star Wars prequels are caked with rich, yet complex stories? Because they have a lot of questions to answer.
The acting, like in the previous three films, is very wooden at times, but I will say that it has improved drastically, especially with Ryan Reynolds in the film's ranks. He is spot on as Deadpool, and although he would later go on to play Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern movie, he seems to embody Wade Wilson perfectly. It's too bad that they had to turn him into a mouthless, silent drone with adamantium blades protruding from his wrists. They might as well have brought in Baraka from Mortal Kombat. It wouldn't have made much sense, but at least they wouldn't have butchered the trademarks of a beloved comic book character. Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is brilliant as always, and Liev Schreiber was pretty cool as Sabretooth, although his appearance is different than the one in X1, thus creating an unresolved plothole. Maybe Sabretooth had some plastic surgery before X1 that gave him blonde hair and black eyes. Maybe it's a different Sabretooth. Who knows?
There are many other mutants present in the film, but with so many characters, we run into the same problem we had with X3. Some characters are killed off anti-climatically, others don't get enough screen time or development. I did like Will.i.am as the teleporting mutant John Wraith, portraying him as a wise cracking, sarcastic cowboy like character. But he surely bites the dust very quickly and his character doesn't seem to have that much dimension beside his snarky attitude. Taylor Kitsch was perfect for the role of Gambit, but his appearance in the film was limited to only a few scenes. And Danny Huston's take on William Stryker was just not on par with Bryan Cox's portrayal of the character in X2, as Huston portrayed Stryker as a pathetic, cowardly adversary rather than a cunning, scheming opposer. That doesn't mean all the casting is bad, for Lynn Collins was triumphant as Wolvy's love interest Kayla Silverfox and Tim Pocock was decent as young Scott Summers/Cyclops, helping the mutants escape Stryker's lab and get recruited by Charles Xavier in one of Patrick Stewart's finest cameos.
One of the film's prominent highlights is the action. Though it's not on par with the action of X2, it still packs a punch and I think the fight between Baraka Deadpool, Wolverine and Sabretooth towards the end was one of the saga's best fights. I also must point out that the effects have improved very much since the first X-Men film, although, as many have pointed out, Wolverine's metal claws look very computer animated at times, especially in the scene where he extends his claws in front of the bathroom mirror. However, the effects do shine in the scenes where Cyclops shoots his optic blasts or when Emma Frost activates her diamond skin. And when John Wraith and Drone Deadpool teleport, you get a brief glimpse of their skeleton as they teleport away.
So as you can see, there are many things I enjoy about X-Men Origins: Wolverine and as I said before, I think this one is a tad better than The Last Stand. Of course, we all have our different opinions, and I think that, for a prequel to one of the highest grossing superhero series of all time, Wolverine did a fairly good job. From what I understand, a sequel is on the way this summer. Let's hope the filmmakers are able to capture the same magic this film was able to bring forward.