‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’: Movie Review

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds
Direction: Gavin Hood
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: /photo.cms?msid=4677460


One of the most highly awaited films of the year, X-Men Origins Wolverine comes short of pleasing especially those who’ve loved the first two films in the series.

As the title suggests, the latest of the X-Men instalments is a prequel to Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000) thus showcasing the back-story of its most popular mutant Wolverine.

The film is a story of how the man Jack Logan became a steely clawed mutant Wolverine. The film begins in 1845 when Jack Logan in his early childhood realizes he possesses retractable claws made of bone that emerges from in between his knuckles when angered. Logan and his half brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber, impressive) who too possesses claws which emerge from his nails, thus decide to use their power to fight in America’s umpteen wars as they grow up. Their special powers don’t go unnoticed as General Stryker' (Danny Huston) offers them to join his special force of Mutants in order to fight the bad guys. The two brothers join the group but their differing moral values results in their fall-out.

Logan moves on and away to lead a peaceful life in Canada with his school-teacher girlfriend leaving Victor feel abandoned. Victor joins hands with Stryker to jointly invent Weapon-XI, an indestructible weapon that will have the best qualities of every mutant. Victor now needs Logan to complete his invention and thus kills his girlfriend to get him back in the trap. The incident leaves Logan traumatised and hungry for revenge. Logan’s vengeance readies him to go through an operation that transforms him to a metallic clawed indestructible Wolverine who needs to finish those who killed his girlfriend. The operation is conducted by Stryker which Wolverine soon realizes is for his own selfish motives with no intention of helping the latter.

Wolverine will now have to battle it out with Victor and Weapon-XI to avenge his girlfriend’s death.

X-Men has its share of high-octane action as one would expect from it but lack of originality and excess of cliché leads to disappointment. The story, treatment, characters, injection of pathos in the script... everything seems generic, including the hyper sensitization of the film’s main character Wolverine.

The glamour surrounding the metallic clawed brooding mutant comes from his character which is detached from all human emotions. The film on the contrary overshadows his animal instincts and anger by humanly feelings to make him look a hero which doesn’t work. The mellowed down good hero thus himself gets eclipsed by the villain Victor, portrayed well by Liev Schreiber.

Hugh Jackman has worked on his body which shows but the body muscles don’t hide the forehead lines and facial wrinkles that never leave his perfectly handsome face as he keeps frowning, grunting and sulking throughout the film. Wonder if it’s the acting or ageing...

This is bound to disappoint Hugh whose previous film Australia too didn’t go down too well with his fans.

This ones X-tra sensitive instalment of the X-Men series... you can afford to X-cuse yourself from watching it.