A Convoluted and Wearing Flick Despite Jackman's Familiar Seething and Clawing

Rating: 5/10 (31 May 2009)

I don't think this strenuous 2009 offshoot of the "X-Men" series should be dismissed entirely, but it really doesn't contribute much to the genre the way "Iron Man" and "Batman Returns" did last year. Both of those films set a high water mark for comic book franchises, and unfortunately director Gavin Hood ("Tsotsi") can't seem to get his film-making arms around what would make Wolverine a compelling character over the course of 107 minutes. Don't blame Hugh Jackman, who puts in a valiant effort now in his fourth familiar turn in the title role. Addressing the inner demons of a conflicted character should have been within Hood's oeuvre given his previous serious-minded work, but he seems overwhelmed by the film's persistent blockbuster aspects. Fight scenes seem identical with each other, and there are lots of them here, so much so that the net result is more wearing than enthralling with the choreography and special effects looking the same from scene to scene. There are also new characters constantly introduced, each with some unique superpower of dubious distinction, so the story starts to feel like a springboard for yet more franchises.
Given that I am not familiar with the X-Men series, I will trust that screenwriters David Benioff ("The Kite Runner") and Skip Woods have remained faithful to the comic book with the convoluted storyline, a true chore to follow for the uninitiated like myself. The opening sequence shows Wolverine as a sickly child sometime in the middle of the 19th century. Along with his brother Victor, he has apparently fought every major war since the Civil War, both getting killed and resuscitated for their next enlistment. The immortality aspect is probably the most problematic aspect of the story since it really doesn't give the viewer any legitimate reason to be concerned with Wolverine's ultimate fate. Consequently, the story focuses the conflict more on Wolverine's soldiering for the government and his growing identification as a mutant. This inner turmoil tears the brothers apart since Victor cannot forgive his brother for deserting the military. However, living peacefully as a poor lumberjack in Canada with his comely schoolteacher girlfriend Kayla does not prevent him from being drawn back to the cause as a member of an elite mutant unit due to the persistent efforts of Colonel Stryker.
Even if abject alienation is still not his forte, Jackman does what he can with a rage-filled cardboard role that requires him to alternate between vindictive and sympathetic in lightning flashes. In an exasperating turn, Liev Schreiber has even less latitude as Victor (a.k.a. Sabretooth) since we never figure out why he turns so completely malevolent. Danny Huston fares better as Stryker since the character is rich in Machiavellian tendencies that are easy to root against. Lynn Collins plays an ambiguously dichotomous role similar to Eva Green's in the James Bond vehicle, "Casino Royale", and Ryan Reynolds has a near-cameo role as yet another comic book franchise in the making. He provides some much needed comic relief, but it's not enough to offset the constant mayhem. The explosion-driven helicopter chase and the relentless fight atop the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor are the only set pieces that linger in the memory. The rest of the movie will have greater resonance for devoted fans of the comic book.