X-Men Wolverine, Movie Review
By Christian Toto www.whatwouldtotowatch.com
Now we know why Logan - AKA Wolverine - is in such a cranky mood.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” tells the backstory behind the most intriguing mutant in the “X-Men” trilogy, the man with the steel claws and the permanent scowl.
It’s the role which made Hugh Jackman a star, and the indomitable Aussie does all that’s asked of him in this caffeinated prequel.
The actual story behind Wolverine, though, is far too complicated for its own good.
“Origins” begins in the 1800s, with a young Logan and his brother, Victor, getting chased out of their home after a double killing. The credit sequence follows the mutant siblings, now young men and played by Jackman and Liev Schreiber, fighting war upon war and, somehow, never aging.
Flash forward to the present, and the brothers haven’t spoken in years. Logan found himself a construction job and a honey of a gal (Lynn Collins) while Victor is among the missing. But soon the brothers’ old boss comes a calling, a military man (Danny Huston) who once used their mutant powers to help him defeat enemies across the globe.
Exhausted yet? This only scratches the surface of the back story, the various character motivations and the crush of fellow mutants who clog the screen.
Every few minutes another action scene erupts, and while they’re mostly thrilling they often don’t connect with the rest of the story, or with the audience. And the new mutants could use a tweak or two. Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am is a snore as a teleporter, “Lost’s’ Dominic Monaghan lacks screen time as Bolt, and Taylor Kitsch’s Gambit could be intriguing if his powers weren’t so vague.
And that leaves Jackman and Schreiber, two fine actors who commit to the material - and a Gold’s Gym membership, apparently. But who knows what’s going on between them at any given moment? Ambiguity in a film, even a comic book movie, can enrich a story, but the plot strands presented here need a few more drafts.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” delivers the requisite action, a grotesquely overdeveloped Wolverine and enough “whoa,” moments to justify its existence.
But films like “Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight” have taught us to expect so much more from comic book features.
Now we know why Logan - AKA Wolverine - is in such a cranky mood.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” tells the backstory behind the most intriguing mutant in the “X-Men” trilogy, the man with the steel claws and the permanent scowl.
It’s the role which made Hugh Jackman a star, and the indomitable Aussie does all that’s asked of him in this caffeinated prequel.
The actual story behind Wolverine, though, is far too complicated for its own good.
“Origins” begins in the 1800s, with a young Logan and his brother, Victor, getting chased out of their home after a double killing. The credit sequence follows the mutant siblings, now young men and played by Jackman and Liev Schreiber, fighting war upon war and, somehow, never aging.
Flash forward to the present, and the brothers haven’t spoken in years. Logan found himself a construction job and a honey of a gal (Lynn Collins) while Victor is among the missing. But soon the brothers’ old boss comes a calling, a military man (Danny Huston) who once used their mutant powers to help him defeat enemies across the globe.
Exhausted yet? This only scratches the surface of the back story, the various character motivations and the crush of fellow mutants who clog the screen.
Every few minutes another action scene erupts, and while they’re mostly thrilling they often don’t connect with the rest of the story, or with the audience. And the new mutants could use a tweak or two. Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am is a snore as a teleporter, “Lost’s’ Dominic Monaghan lacks screen time as Bolt, and Taylor Kitsch’s Gambit could be intriguing if his powers weren’t so vague.
And that leaves Jackman and Schreiber, two fine actors who commit to the material - and a Gold’s Gym membership, apparently. But who knows what’s going on between them at any given moment? Ambiguity in a film, even a comic book movie, can enrich a story, but the plot strands presented here need a few more drafts.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” delivers the requisite action, a grotesquely overdeveloped Wolverine and enough “whoa,” moments to justify its existence.
But films like “Spider-Man” and “The Dark Knight” have taught us to expect so much more from comic book features.
Labels: X-Men Wolverine Hugh Jackman Christian Toto Movie Review
posted by Ron Futrell at
7:14 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home