A feral heartless beast clawing frantically at its enemies and searching in vain for something missing...

Rating: 6/10 (19 September 2009)

No, by my summary/title i am not describing the character of Wolverine but the very movie itself. It is action packed, it is fun to watch but it is also a huge disappointment if you are expecting an honest to goodness "origin" story.
I could not quite put my finger on what was wrong the first time i watched this, but now with the DVD i can re-watch it as many time i like. First off, for a movie entitled "X-men origins: Wolverine" one would expect a more character centered narrative that delves deep into the core of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine character; his motives, his personality etc. What we are given instead is a generic action movie with the whole "origin" bit as merely a backdrop for introducing more "cool" mutant characters.
That is the main flaw of this movie as a whole: giving in too much to the demands of the typical summer blockbuster audience and sidelining everything else. No doubt that people will be impressed with the many wanton destruction scenes and fast paced fights this movie delivers. Vehicles are blown up, buildings are demolished; heck even a school is practically blasted in two. There are so many moments of "wow!" that even the brain-dead can just sit back and enjoy.
Sadly the characters themselves, though played well by some very professional actors, are not enough to drive the movie. I am guessing that we are supposed to see the tragic side of this hero's past that drove him toward his decision to graft adamantium to his bones. However, the character interactions are not strong enough for the audience to have much of an emotional connection to any of the characters. Wolverine's falling out with his brother, the death of his love interest, the betrayals etc, they never really convey much of an emotional impact. Instead they come across very "matter-of-fact-ly"; those events just happened so that the plot could advance. Even Wolverine's portrayal of a cool kick-butt hero with a sarcastic sense of humor may incite a giggle or two with his crass jokes but anyone looking for a deeper emotional understanding of the character, look elsewhere.(this flaw i blame more on the script as the actors themselves are quite good)
Once you look past all the visual effects and this whole grand scale epic journey, there really isn't much "heart" in this movie. Comic book fans would no doubt cry bloody murder at the liberties this movie takes with Wolverine's comic book origins and fans of the Bryan Singer X-men movies would agree that there was more emotional character development for Wolverine in 1 hour of X-men2 than there was in the entire 107 minutes of this film. The only audience i can foresee enjoying this are the superficial adrenaline pumped teens looking for a quick action fix. Honestly i would not even have gotten the DVD had it not been for its relatively cheap price and its wide array of extras.
Like its titular character, X-men Origins: Wolverine is cool, funny, and pack to the gills with heart pumping action. It slices and dices its way from one grand special-effects laden battle to the next leaving behind a thin plot and a core without "heart". Emotionally disappointing as a tragic origin story, this movie is never really able to find the balance that made other superhero movies like Batman Begins and Iron Man such hits.