Logan's Run is X-cellent (X-Men Origins: Wolverine (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	X-Men Origins: Wolverine (DVD)
Date:	22/09/09 (157 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb action scenes, Jackman is outstanding again and Gambit is cool

Disadvantages: Not keen on Sabretooth and Deadpool is waaaaay overdone

A review of just the film, the region 2 DVD will be released on October 19th.

Two young brothers witness the death of their father, realising that they both share unusual 'powers'. It draws them closer, and for the decades that follow they fight side by side in one terrible war after another. Circumstances conspire, and the two brothers find themselves on trial for the murder of a senior officer. Their only hope of salvation comes from a mysterious stranger named Stryker, who enlists the two men in his team of mercenaries. For older brother Victor, it is the dream job, but his younger brother Logan doesn't share his brother's lust for blood and the siblings eventually part company. Almost forgetting his violent past, Logan finds a new life amidst the Canadian forests, but it's not long before that past comes back to haunt him.....

Despite its enormous popularity at the box office (and with the fan base) I thought the original X Men trilogy was generally a wasted effort. The first one was too cheap, the second one was too glitzy and the third too random, all three of them spoilt by one of the worst casting decisions in history (Ian McKellen's Magneto) and a rather sanitised, teen movie tone. You can imagine my surprise, and maybe just a bit of delight therefore, when director Gavin Hood finally brought me the X Men movie I was waiting for. Let's be quite clear about this - X Men Origins: Wolverine kicks butt.

The decision to cast Wolverine in his own movie may not have been difficult to come up with (he is, by far, the most popular and successful X Man in his own right) but, based on casting experience alone, it was still entirely the right thing to do. It helps that Hugh Jackman was almost born to play the role and whilst the studios would almost certainly never permit the kind of feral bloodlust that we see in the comics, in Origins we do, at least, come a little closer. Jackman is not shy in admitting his affection for the character, and it's clear from origins that it's a bond that's just getting stronger and stronger. Written as a prequel to the previous three movies, this is an excellent tale of beginnings that manages to avoid some of the narrative drug from which such stories often suffer. Balancing suitably-scaled action scenes with quieter dramatic moments, writers David Benioff and Skip Woods do enough with the subject matter to create a film strong enough to stand in its own right without completely disregarding the things that worked in the previous three films (or should that be the three films that follow...)

Without being an expert in such things, it's difficult to comment on overall continuity here but it feels as though the writers have taken a number of different chapters in Marvel continuity and have combined them in a way we haven't really seen before. We learn where Wolverine's name came from, how he got those sexy claws and other such details, but the presence of newer characters such as Deadpool and Gambit seems to be an attempt to appeal to as wide a market as possible. It's an entirely successful move. Branching out from traditional Wolverine continuity provides enormous opportunities for bigger, better action scenes and prevents this being an entirely solo tale.

The characterisation and casting are both often extremely successful. Jackman's Wolverine aside (resoundingly the greatest triumph), Kevin Durand's Blob is excellent (and quite unexpected), perfectly balancing the menace and humour often associated with the character. Taylor Kitsch's imagining of Gambit is (oh the relief) spot on, bringing to life the Cajun trickster perfectly in every way I could have expected, even if the continuity seems flawed. New characters are necessary if Wolverine is to get to cut loose and Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), Bolt (Dominic Monaghan) and Wraith (Will I Am) are relevant, if not slightly underused. Ryan Reynolds's Deadpool is ultimately rather more menacing than I'd expect, but Reynolds looks excellent throughout. Liev Schreiber's Sabretooth is less successful, not quite feral enough and suffers terribly from being put through some dodgy wirework.

The action and combat scenes are consistently excellent from start to finish. An early scene setting Stryker's task force up against a band of mercenaries is sporadically breath taking stuff, notably when Reynolds cuts loose with a couple of blades. Likewise, climactic scenes amidst Stryker's secret island hideaway up the scale and the excitement and the combat pushes the necessary certificate as far as it can. For sure, there's an uncanny lack of blood (despite an awful lot of blade and claw action) but this is a forgivable move to keep it suitable for younger viewers and, crucially (and unlike X2), this doesn't feel like High School Musical with superheroes in it.

The special effects are certainly up to the job too (although strangely, it's when Wolverine's claws come out that the CGI are most obvious) and Hood seems to have the necessary vision to create much-needed spectacle. A fight atop a power station cooling station certainly proves this, along with a young Cyclops inadvertently slicing his high school in two. Indeed, it's in the action that Hood really proves his mettle. Never forgetting the source material, Hood keeps it punchy and lightning-paced, resulting in a running time of nearly two hours that just seems to hurtle past. His tricks aren't entirely new; he's no stranger to slow motion, but, crucially, he uses it when it works and not just for the sake of it. Hood is good with detail too. When a helicopter is brought down unexpectedly, you'll really believe that's the pilot's body flailing hopelessly out the cockpit window and when Wraith momentarily disappears before you, look out for the ghoulish visage that briefly occupies the place in which he was last seen standing.

It's not perfect, of course. Realistically, the story probably tries to cram too much in and occasionally bloats at the seams. The writers don't seem to have a particularly strong grasp of history either, with weapons and technology appearing at a time in which they probably wouldn't have been invented. Deadpool is massively over-exaggerated here too and despite rumour of his own spin-off, the writers have created a continuity nightmare here. Most of all, and in spite of Jackman's excellent performance, the fact remains that Wolverine is still 'hero-ified' a little too much here. Clearly intended to be an unambiguously good guy, Jackman and his creative team can't really give him that edge that fans know and love. There's still an 18-certificate Wolverine movie waiting to be made.

Overall, these are, however, minor criticisms of a great action movie and fantastic comic book adaptation. Freed from the shackles of an old man playing an uber-powerful villain (that's you Sir Ian) the material really thrives here, and proves that the Origin concept has legs AND can walk. Next up? Oh, it's Magneto. Sigh.

Summary: At last - a great X Men movie!