The first spin-off from Marvel Comics' blockbuster X-Men movies, has been plagued by bad luck from the start, but it delivers what it needs to in the end and will buck the rumored curse...
First, even though Hugh Jackman made a surprise appearance at 2008's Comic-Con to promote the movie, the production was already rumored to be in trouble. Supposedly, director Gavin Hood was being told to tone down the violence -- that the studio wanted to make it less gritty for a broader audience.
Then there were the reshoots last January. Although, they had been announced earlier, it seemed as though some last minute make-overs were being done, especially to Ryan Reynolds key character and fan fav Deadpool -- as though giving him a little more screen time was being used as a fix-all to placate the hardcore fans.
Next, just a few weeks before the movie's release date, a pirated copy was leaked online and was downloaded by hundreds of thousands. So, in order to get those naughty little pirates to lay down their 8-10 bucks and come to the theater, Fox has been doing a ton of seemingly quickie promos and contests to get people interested to see it again. And from early ticket sales, it looks like all of the promos may be working.
But NOW, that the week of the movie has come, we get news that a pandemic of Swine Flu is going global, and the movie's premiere is even cancelled in Mexico--the epicenter of the virus. Will anyone want to go into a crowded theater with a communicable disease floating around?
Well, we think you should risk it. Risk it for Hugh. He's been promoting his ass off.
Here's my CBM review...
Full disclosure. The movie has its own continuity, and so, many of us comics purists will indeed have a problem with it. Obviously, the movie focuses exclusively on the years before Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, became a full-fledged X-Man.
You'll remember in the previous X-movies that Logan suffers from amnesia and has no memory of his past. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is supposed to fill in these blanks.
Originally known as James Howlett, Jackman's character takes an unconventional route through life before brandishing his famous adamantium claws.
Wolverine is hinted to be somewhat in conflict with his animalistic nature while his brother Victor, who is also a feral character, embraces his berserker nature far more fully. This conflict not only plays internally within Logan, but externally as a conflict with his bro.
In intriguing early scenes Logan is a soldier in battles spanning from the Civil War of the 1860s to the Vietnam conflict a century later.
In this way the movie gets across the fact that Logan is seemingly immortal - though his exact mutant abilities are never fully discussed and fleshed out adequately. Non-comics readers may be a little confused at this point.
Logan is persuaded to join "Team X," a covert US Army unit of superhuman soldiers. A disastrous secret mission prompts Logan to retire from undercover mercenary work but he reluctantly comes out of hiding when several Team X members are killed.
Much of the movie is devoted to Logan's long and bloody feud with his evil brother, Victor Creed played by Liev Schreiber. The fact that they have two different last names is also conveniently not discussed -- yet another bit that doesn't seem thought out well.
The scale of the violence and destruction is impressive but the reason for so much bashing, crashing and smashing is unclear other than to titilate the typical action movie fan. This is very much a plot-driven action film which doesn't always offer a great deal of depth or emotional complexity.
Probably because Logan/Wolverine was the main star of the three other X-flicks, I found myself wanting to learn more about the other mutants more than Wolverine.
Taylor Kitsch did a good job as Gambit, and brought his game to the role. It was nice to finally see the character properly brought to the big screen. In one of the film's key scenes, Gambit and Wolverine go head to head in a game of Texas Hold'em poker. I guess this scene was also meant to appeal to the legions of online poker fans too, because the scene also features poker pro, Daniel Negraneau.
While it was fun to see all the comics characters that you've read about on the printed page, pretty much all the other mutants were somewhat of a disappointment, and what was done to Deadpool will infuriate most hardcore comics fans.
The creators did throw in enough cameos and easter eggs for us fans to keep interested. And the scene/shout out to Vindicator/Guardian of Alpha Flight was a treat.
Then there is that obligatory scene after the credits, which is apparently one of several variant endings added to different prints of the film. The one I saw took place in a bar in Japan. Comics fans will know (and cheer) what that means.
Bottom line. Although it is decent summer blockbuster fare that will be fine for the average movie-goer, the verdict from fans of the many comic books in which Wolverine and these other characters have been featured will be left a little disappointed -- wondering what has become of some of their favorite characters. But I do see hope for continued X-Films such as Magneto and Deadpool. So, whether you like what Hollywood does to our beloved properties or not, it is a good thing to keep them coming and hopefully IMPROVING. Wolverine will keep the comic book movie craze going, and that is a good thing.
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DogHumanHybrid
4/27/2009