serviceable but not much more than that

Rating: 5/10 (25 April 2010)

" X-Men Origins: Wolverine" provides fans with a back story showing how Logan (aka Wolverine) got his retractable adamantian claws. This prequel to the Marvel Comics' "X-Men" franchise is otherwise a pretty tepid affair, lacking the sharp sociopolitical underpinnings that so distinguished the first installment in the series (the franchise has been in steady decline since that stunning opening salvo).
It's true that Logan is a bit of a tortured soul in this film - he just wants to be left alone to live his life as a lumberjack with his beautiful girlfriend by his side, but no one will let him - but it's an inner conflict without much emotional resonance or dramatic impact. The reluctant mutant is up against not only his own brother, Victor, but Stryker, the de facto mad scientist who's kidnapping all the other mutants so he can perform diabolical experiments on them.
Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine, while the roles of Victor and Stryker have been taken over by Liev Schreiber and Danny Houston, respectively. The movie also features Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch (from "Friday Night Lights"), Dominic Monaghan (from "Lost") and Will.i.am in relatively minor roles.
The action sequences are well-done from a technical standpoint, but they would be a great deal more compelling if we understood just how vulnerable or invulnerable each character was at any given moment in the drama (their status seems to swing wildly back and forth depending on the individual scene and circumstance).