The noise and effects may distract but otherwise it is a fairly empty blockbuster that doesn't really engage on any level

Rating: Null/10 (19 January 2010)

If you remember a week or so before this film was released anywhere, the news outlets were reporting that a work print of the film was being downloaded by tens of thousands of internet users around the world. This copy was only partially finished and was missing a lot of music and finalised special effects, with safety lines etc still being clearly visible. The usual talking heads bemoaned internet piracy, Hugh Jackman said he was disappointed that people would watch a film that was not yet what the makers wanted it to be and the FBI were supposedly involved in the investigation of this leaked copy. Having finally seen Wolverine for myself I have to look back on all this fuss and wonder why so many people bothered downloading an unfinished version of this film (other than to make a point that they could do so) because given how average the completed film is, I cannot think of much worth seeing if the effects are unfinished.
Wolverine is a summer blockbuster and a film that you could fairly expect to be heavily reliant on action and special effects and you would be right, because there is not a lot else here for the viewer. The plot has its moments but generally there is no atmosphere to it. The brother relationship leads only to two hairy men running at one another – there isn't any real tension or drama between the characters beyond the superficial level needed to trigger the action sequences. Surprisingly, considering how loved Wolverine is by fans and casual viewers alike, there is very little in the way of excitement about seeing this character develop and become the weapon that he is when most of us met him for the first time. What we do get though is a straightforward narrative which produces lots of action sequences and parades a lot of comic-book characters in and out for those that care about such things (which, although I recognise many of them with ease, I don't care if they are just there for the sake of saying they are there). As such it does enough to be passable and set up the action sequences which are, after all, the only reason the majority of us are here.
Shame then that these too feel very average in the whole. Technically I'm sure it is all impressive but none of it really has much in the way of excitement or immediacy, leaving me watching things explode etc without ever being emotionally involved. It is definitely a film from the Mummy Returns school of action film-making in this regard and like this franchise, one never forgets that the visual effects are just that – computer creations that aren't real and pose no threat. It is not that they are "bad" effects but just that the use of visual effects is across the entire film to the point where green screen sections are so apparently green screen creations that it does hurt the film and act as another barrier in how one gets into the action. Like I say, given this is the deal with the final film I wondered why anyone would have stuck with the film in an unfinished state.
The cast and characters are varied. Jackman does his usual stuff as Wolverine; grizzled expression, tough stare, toned and muscular stance. The film gives him a few moments of emotion beyond the basic rage used in action sequences but he cannot do anything of real interest. Schreiber has a better time of it because he does have an evil glint to his performance that makes him more interesting and dangerous. Huston plays Striker reasonably well and offers up a solid bad guy. The addition of the other characters/cast is where the problem comes from. I am not a real comic fan but I can understand why those that are would object to the treatment of some of their characters here. Not only are some of the characters wheeled in for almost no reason (Gambit, Cyclops) but some characters are changed for the worse (Deadpool) and others are simply played by bad actors (Will.i.am is not a name I want to see on the credits of another film any time soon).
Overall Wolverine stands as the film that it appears to be a first glance – a blockbuster with plenty of spectacle but not a lot else, which of course feeds back into the action as it detaches the viewer, thus making it feel even more like empty spectacle. It isn't as bad as some say but there isn't a great deal to recommend it for once you take it out of its home turf of "heavily promoted summer global release", where the scale, newness and noise may have done enough to impress.