Wasted Opportunity

Rating: 5/10 (4 May 2009)

So where do I begin with X-men Origins: Wolverine. Well as X-pected it's not that good but also it's not as bad as everyone says. The main problem is that the script is awful and nowadays it seems no one is bothered with continuity as characters contradict themselves from one sentence to the next. Once again they have messed with the mythology and not taken into account any of the other films already existing in the universe. Then there's the pointlessness, like climbing to the top of a power station chimney for a showdown not because it's intrinsic to the plot but because it looks a bit better than fighting on the ground. The opening credits lead you into a false sense that this might actually be great but the realisation quickly hits you as you plod through Logan's past, even to the point where Jackman starts to seem bored by where he came from and in need of some action. But that's the crux of it, the film moves along almost at a flat line pace, nothing really happens which is o.k. for say 'Old Joy' or 'Wendy and Lucy' because that is the style of those films but for all the characters, effects and budget I don't think that was the desired affect here. Hairy Hugh saves the film in places with a mouth as sharp as his claws and he certainly looks good in his tight white vest, but the rest of the cast is poorly used and Gambit, The Blob, Bolt, Deadpool and even Sabretooth to name but a few don't really get a look in. I would have preferred a film following Stryker's special unit in Vietnam before they all went their separate ways and as the raid on the diamond factory in the film proves it would have been much better. Ultimately this feels like a wasted opportunity, it has all the elements but for some reason can't seem to gel them together to form a cohesive whole, that said I enjoyed it more than 'The Dark Knight'. Roll on Iron Man 2.