Reviewed
by Lamar Kukuk
5/1/09
Yeah,
yeah, prequels sound like a good idea: fans clamor to “fill in the
blanks” or actually witness the previously described backstory of their
favorite films. The problem lies in the execution. To truly
fill in those blanks, the important dramatic beats of the story often become
secondary to the Mad Libs exercise of filling in whatever data it takes
to make the original movie(s) track. As such, the average prequel
is a dog being wagged by its' own tail, a story no one would tell on its'
own because it must end in some indeterminate manner opening the door for
the “future” stories we've already seen. That's what's wrong with
the clumsily-titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a movie that
never really grabbed me emotionally because so much of it is predetermined
by the events of X-Men and X2: X-Men United.
But while I wasn't often engaged, I was consistently entertained because
Hugh Jackman once again owns his iconic role and a formidable roster of
guest stars bring mutants old and new to interesting life. Without
its' predecessors, Wolverine would be nothing to start a franchise
over, but it is two perfectly adequate hours of Homo Superior spectacle.
1845:
young James Howlett (Troye Sivan) watches as his father is murdered by
the father of young Victor Creed (Michael-James Olsen). In a fit
of rage, the kid sprouts spiky bones from between his knuckles and runs
the man through. Turns out, though, that he'd just killed his real
father, and newly minted brothers James (taking the name Logan after the
man he just killed) and Victor go on the run, where they remain for almost
150 years having aged to adulthood (Logan, as always, played by Hugh Jackman
and Victor by Liev Schreiber) and then no more. Their bodies heal
from all wounds, making them perfect soldiers in war after war before an
unsuccessful firing squad during Vietnam brings them to the attention of
General William Stryker (Danny Huston). He's assembling a team of
super-powered individuals like master swordsman Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds),
marksman Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), teleporting John Wraith (Will.i.Am)
indestructible Fred Dukes (Kevin Durand) and machine-controlling Bolt (Dominic
Monaghan). Together, they cut a swath of destruction across the globe
until Logan can stand no more and settles into a happy life as a logger
with girlfriend Kayla (Lynn Collins). But his past catches up to
him and Stryker offers a unique opportunity for revenge: submit to
a hellishly painful process in which his bones are coated in indestructible
metal Adamantium. But when Logan, now calling himself Wolverine,
learns Stryker's true intentions for him, he begins a trail of revenge
that will uncover a deadly plan the General and Victor have hatched in
a place called The Island.
X-Men
Origins: Wolverine works best as a mutant roll-call, beginning
with Jackman's Wolverine, perfectly pitched as always between misanthropy
and a pesky need to do the right thing. Schreiber puts an entirely
different and very effective spin on Creed, played by pro wrestler Tyler
Mane as a hulking brute in the original X-Men. Victor is equal
parts competitive sibling and sadistic antagonist, not dissimilar to the
role he played just a few months back in Defiance.
Will.i.Am makes an auspicious feature acting debut as the aptly named Wraith
while Huston, as always, excels at making a stock villain three-dimensional.
Reynolds strikes a good balance between his wisecracking comic persona
and a more physical super-presence. Durand is a hoot as Dukes, who
later develops an eating problem and becomes The Blob, and Collins skillfully
navigates the many facets of her role.
But
wait, there's more, because this is a movie CRAWLING with mutants.
Fan-favorite Gambit finally gets his day, and Taylor Kitsch is quite good
in the role, balancing a roguish charm with a hero's disposition and not
overdoing the New Orleans accent. Tim Pocock effectively stands in
for James Marden as a younger Scott Summers/Cyclops and Tahyna Tozzi makes
a big impression in a little screen time as Emma Frost. Several characters
from the X-Men chronology appear in blink-or-you'll miss-them cameos, and
fans of the franchise will be jazzed by a particular development in the
closing moments. However, bouyed by great similar moments at the
end of X-Men: The Last Stand and Iron
Man, the movie overdoses on credit cookies, stopping the end titles
twice for scenes we could really live without (I've heard the final tag
varies depending upon what theater you see it in, so I can only speak for
my own).
Gavin
Hood directs efficiently, maintaining an air of superheroic realism and
keeping the action scenes short and snappy (reportedly with some help from
co-producer Richard Donner). But any attempts to add gravitas to
the proceedings are hopelessly hamstrung by the fact that those who've
seen X-Men and particularly its' overrated first sequel (for me,
the least of the 3 previous X-flicks) already have a pretty good idea where
all this is headed. All that remains is to fill in a few looming
blanks (“Where does Logan come from?” “How does he end up with amnesia?”,
“Why did he consent to the Weapon X project?”) and writers David Benioff
and Skip Woods do so in a manner that is acceptable without ever generating
a single Wolverine-related “ah-ha!”. The script is best when it sheds
its' burden of inevitability, which happens primarily in character moments
with the mutants, like a boxing match between Logan and The Blob and the
time he spends with Gambit.
Given
its' reportedly huge budget, there's less spectacle on-screen than one
might expect, but the effects that we see are very impressive, particularly
an FX-heavy climactic rumble in a location I will not reveal, but that
cracked me up given my geographic proximity. But for all its' status
as Summer eye candy, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is more a movie
of small pleasures than big ones. Mutant fans (fans of mutants, that
is...) should find enough here to keep them entertained. But if you're
on the outside of the X-Men phenomenon, this isn't the place to start. |
