No New Ground Broken for SuperHeroes

Rating: 6/10 (5 May 2009)

In the middle of watching X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, I had this feeling like I'd seen it before. It was the 10:15am showing on opening day, so that wasn't right. But since the first X-MEN installment some 10 years ago, there have been quite a number of films in the superhero genre. Before that first X-MEN, it was pretty difficult to get it right; up until then, I wasn't sure anyone except director Richard Donner (SUPERMAN) had a clue what makes a hero super, or what makes a movie about that hero a good one.
These days, I'd say that Hollywood's got it down cold. They can crank these superhero flicks out with quite a bit of money and not a lot of thought. It's a science. Which is kind of how it felt to watch WOLVERINE. Steely cold science. Impressive at times, sure, but not a surprise. Thrill ride? Sort of. Maybe more like building the roller coaster than riding it.
Don't get me wrong, everything looked great. The score was another solid one from Harry Gregson-Williams. The sound design was crisp and in-your-face, like it should be with a modern action film. Plus, we actually had some acting from, you know, actors (I'm talking specifically about Liev Schreiber - and now I like him as an action guy too). There were even a couple of (small) surprises along the way. It was by no means unpleasant. It just wasn't SPIDER-MAN 2. Actually it reminded me at times of watching "Heroes" on TV. But with more money on the screen. Lots more.
We're now at a point where the whole superhero movie genre has laid out one big formula for itself. Going beyond that for the screenwriters and directors doing new superhero movies is going to be a tough nut to crack. DARK KNIGHT showed us it was possible (although I'm not admitting it was entirely a break from formula as some have claimed - just that it did a better job at enhancing said formula). WOLVERINE does not, however, move us beyond what's already been done and said about heroes. It's just "this year's model".
I still had fun. I didn't feel cheated. But another one like this, and maybe I will. Six out of 10 stars.