Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Admit it! There is something special about those Adamantium claws that make it really attractive for people of both the sexes, even if it is for different reasons! Right?

If there was one character from X-men that people just didn't get enough of, it has to be Wolverine! Complex, deep, disturbed, torn he was the one who gave the vibe of being on or near the edge! A little more bad and he could easily be on the other side! This edge is what warrants wolverine his own movie!

The movie was already part of a controversy, even before it was released. Rumor had it that it was already leaked online before it was released in the theaters. Fox had to send out memos in the news print to assure the audiences that the "leaked" movie was very different from what will be shown in the theaters. Of course, once the news became public, websites were leery of carrying the movie in fear of a lawsuit!

Not to sound disappointing, but the movie plot did not have enough in it to make it REALLY enjoyable for me. Perhaps I was expecting to see the antics of Wolverine himself, but was surprised by seeing other mutants in the movie. Or perhaps it was that some of the other mutants were a little bit too cool for wolverine! Or perhaps it was that wolverine's brother, the sabertooth mutant had similar powers. Or perhaps there was not one single villain in the movie and he was not that powerful, just cunning? Ok, I'll go with the last excuse.

Having got that out of the way, now I can focus on the positives of the movie.
The one thing worth mentioning is that the action in the movie is really slick! I totally loved it when they slowed down the scene to make it look more exciting than it really is.

Also have to admit that the character of Silverfox (Lynn Collins) kinda grew on me. The director really built that suspense quite well in the movie. Totally believable. Being full bodied (read not skinny), she kinda looks hot! I like her ;-)

Liev Schreiber plays Victor Creed / Sabertooth. He is Logan's brother, with retractable nails instead of knuckle-claws. He has elongated canine teeth that make him look like a badly developed vampire/werewolf. Kinda silly actually!

Danny Houston plays Stryker - cunning to the core, he is quite intelligent. But then,I feel it does not take much intelligence to fool a gullible and confused wolverine, just guts. And Stryker may be cunning, but he does not display the same level of cool cunning as displayed by Magneto in the X-men series.

I liked the character of John Wraith played by Will.I.Am. A mutant, his powers are pretty cool. His character had a slight Morpheus-like feel to it and I liked Morpheus's character much in Matrix.

Other cool mutants in the movie are blob , Gambit, Agent Zero, Deadpool, Bolt. Scott's character was quite weak. Weapon XI was kinda ugly and looked unbeatable, and yet, was easily destroyed.

The character that needs no introduction is, of course, wolverine. Even though the plot is kind of shallow, his character has the maximum screen presence. However, the movie fails to develop an emotional attachment towards its main character. One does not quite feel for the character as he goes through enduring various events in the movie. Perhaps the gruff exterior of the character dis-allows for an emotional connect? Somehow, it didn't quite work for me.

In spite of the negatives, the movie is still very good for a single watch. I also have a feeling that the video game is going to be quite a hit with the fans of the series. Director Gavin Hood has made a decent attempt at the movie, the action being the highlight in the movie. Also, there is enough oh Hugh Jackman in the movie for the ladies to ogle :-) This should make it easy for guys to drag their gals to watch the movie. Just throw in the words "bare chest" and "Hugh Jackman" at 'em and surprise surprise, they might even get ready before you :-)

I give the movie 6.5 / 10 for its slick action, the other mutants and a weakish plot. Enjoyable fare this one is.

This revu is dedicated to Mumble - who does not have a link to his blog on his profile! Can you please update it buddy? We'd like to read what you have to write...

PS: This started out as a double feature, but the Star Trek review got the better of me as I started penning it... Sorry to have made you endure me twice :-)