Wolverine is bland, predictable and dull

Rating: 4/10 (11 May 2009)

Had X-Men Origins: Wolverine been the 1st X-Men film, the other 3 would not have seen the light of day at all. Wolverine is nothing but another revenge film about a superhero with powers that make him almost invincible. Director Gavin Hood could have made such a good film that would have revived the X-Men series but instead, he chose to benchmark films like Daredevil and the first Hulk movie and in the end, barely managed to better them. Wolverine is a disaster. The young boy witnesses the death of his father and along with his mutant powers and a friend, runs off into the night to explore his might. Thus, we see the duo fight through the civil war, the world wars and the Vietnam War but unlike Dr. Manhattan, their impact seems to be minimal even though their instant healing powers make them bullet-proof as well as age-proof. Thereafter, Colonel Stryker enrolls them into a black-ops unit of mutants who go on a killing spree in Lagos and much like in the Watchmen, Logan walks away from his team as his principles differ from the murderous intentions of the rest. Even after Logan finds solace in the Rockies with his girlfriend, his psychotic brother Victor and Colonel Stryker return in his life causing loss, tragedy and rage. His thirst for revenge forces him to take on Stryker's proposal of becoming a part of the Weapons-X program where his mutant abilities take a metallic twist. The battle is then between Stryker's forces and Logan as he realizes the manipulation of evil only too late.
Thin as a wafer and redundant as a normal salted one at that, Wolverine does not compel with story, plot, twists or characterization. First of all, what is the super-strength of Logan that makes him 'Wolverine'?? Retractable Metal claws that can scrape through anything and instant healing abilities that make him bullet-proof? These powers are more convincingly depicted in the 3 X-Men movies than in his solo movie here. Wolverine is supposed to be an enraged super-hero with attitude and temper issues owing to his past but he's more like a sorrowful, boring, calm guy with claws that are not put to much effective use besides the occasional action. More interesting is his nemesis Victor, who is portrayed to be a more evil and vicious character than any in the movie with powers equaling that of Wolverine. None of the characters in the film stand out due to poor characterization, worse casting and dull performances. This could easily have been a great build up to the X-Men series with interesting focus on the other superheroes of whom we get only a glimpse. The fall-out of the black-ops unit, the Weapons-X program, Logan's horrific childhood and him coming to terms with his superpowers are important aspects of the film that have been rushed through. If that wasn't enough, we are stuck with Wolverine's revenge-seeking saga against two protagonists who easily stand out more than him in character. No witty one liners, no breakthrough action sequences and familiar computer graphics take out whatever we would expect from an action-packed superhero film.
Where is the compelling story telling that re-defined and revived superhero franchises such as the Incredible Hulk and Batman Begins? Where is the depth in story and characterization? What about some revolutionary never-before-seen action sequences? It is just such a disappointment to watch a superhero movie fall so flat and turn out so bland as compared to some of the recent works that we have had the pleasure of watching. - 5.48 on a scale of 1-10.