If I had to sum up my feelings about X-Men Origins Wolverine in one word, that word would be "meh". It more disappointing than downright bad.
The film is a brand extension for the X-Men franchise starring Hugh Jackman's Wolverine (I know, weren't the last three Wolverine movies too? Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk). It focuses on his history prior to joining the X-Men.
There is an artistic quality to the work that prevents it from being entirely awful. Gavin Hood has enough skill to shoot a good movie. Yet, there is a major problem of tonal changes through out. There is the Matrix-like beginning, then it shifts to more of a 1970s Clint Eastwood kind of flick, they it apes the look and style of the rest of the X-Men franchise. This results in a choppy viewing experience.
And the plot is lacking. It features two of the most annoying qualities any script can have--not explaining things properly (why did Stryker want to bond adamantium to Logan anyway?) and characters acting like idiots just to move the plot along (Gambit attacks Wolvie for no good reason right before he was going to take care of Sabretooth once and for all, conveniently allowing Sabretooth to escape).
The most annoying quailty of this film is the change in the character. In the other X-Men movies, Wolverine had the Han Solo-esque quality of being a bad man who does good things. Here, he's a good man who occassionally does bad things. You might not think that is much of a difference, but it is and it severely handicaps the character.
There are a lot of comic book characters appearing in this movie for the first time. The filmmakers do a good job of giving them all a reason for being there and not just shoving them in. This doesn't mean that they are not underused. But at least they have a plot worthy reason for being included.
The action scenes are good, inventive and exciting. And, for the most part, the acting is top notch. There are nods to a lot of the elements of the comic book history thrown in. And the plot does a good job of lining up the arrows with the rest of the franchise. This film ends about 20 years before X-Men, and does nothing to contradict that story.
I guess you could enjoy this film if you put aside the flaws and just don't think too much about it. But it definitely could be better.
I think the lack of bullet sized holes or bullets inside wolvies head in the x-ray scene of x-1 would be a plot hole, no pun intended. That had to be the dumbest possible way of making him lose his memories.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I have totally boycotted this movie. I hated the idea of a Wolverine origin story when it hit the shelves, and I like it even less coming through Hollywood. Add to that a burning hatred for Gambeaux and you have two out of three reasons to never see this movie. #3, you ask? Yup-- plot. I like to see one. Especially when you have such a rich character to work with.
ReplyDeleteI never go to see a film and hope it is going to be the same as what the creator of any book, graphic novel, film, or television series intended. There are a lot of cinema goers who don't read the graphic novels or other literature that films have been based on. People may not have grew up with a television series or seen the original movie. Therefore I believe that Hollywood needs to attract those cinema goers with lots of explosions and special effects, for those who are todays mainstream teenagers, and 20+ who go most often to the cinema. The Plot cannot be too complicated, as a lot of people wouldn't understand. especially if they have not read the books or graphic novels. Best off just go and see a film as if you had never read the book or graphic novel or even seen the original television series or film.
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