Eric Reviews X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Welcome to a very special edition of the Why I Love Comics column. It's been a while since I got the chance to do a film review so bare with me as we talk X-Men Origins: Wolverine!
In the film, we follow Logan through his earliest days and here the screenwriter seems to have spliced together the bigger plot points of the Origins comic series (the first 2 issues) and dropped it into a nice 5 minute package. It boils down to Victor and Logan being brothers and watching each other's backs. This ultimately ends up destroying their relationship in the future.
Leiv Schreiber is incredibly strong in his performance as Victor Creed and really personifies everything I used to love about the character. This is the Sabretooth we got towards the end of the first Deadpool series and during the Wolverine stuff when Marvel was really pushing Weapon X back in 2000-2001. He's dark, twisted and a murderous creature who doesn't seem to care about the innocent lives he takes. Some extremely great stuff out of the actor.
Hugh Jackman really has come into his own as Logan and Wolverine and here he gets to the very core of the character and it is always great to see on screen. Whether it's reflecting the pain of the admantium being laced into his skeleton or the loss of people close to him, it all shines through in his performance.
Ryan Reynolds definitely stole the show in the few scenes he was in as Wade Wilson, even including that ending. Small little details about Wade are shown in both the ending and the beginning and his unique sense of humor is still full in effect. One thing that all Deadpool fans should respect is the fact that Wade is shown as the true mercenary threat that he should be and even when he's muted, Ryan is still able to use a little humor, even in the face of a disturbing thing that happens to him within the story. Here's hoping the solo movie really does happen.
Will I Am actually shows some strong acting oas well in his role as John Wraith. This was definitely great to see as I honestly only knew his music career but he certainly succeeded in bringing the character to the big screen.
For anyone worrying that Gambit might not have his New Orleans Cajun accent, it's there and it's actually kind of deep. Sure, it's not the stereotypical one but it's an actual full fledged believable accent and Taylor Kitsch presents an extremely likable character as Gambit should be. We even get to see the start of the long friendship that the fans know and love between the characters.
Danny Huston as Stryker is a cold and calculating bastard who really would do anything to get his way and even when his humanity is shown, it's taken right back through the story. I loved what they did with him in the movie and was surprised at how dark things got thanks to him.
There are a few surprises for the fans as Logan gets a jacket that looks a lot like a certain bit of costume he likes to wear in the comics. Also, some of the clothing choices are straight out of the comics for him. But, honestly, it's not too hard to get some of that down pat.
Overall, I would have to say the movie is flawed. The story moves too fast at some points and a lot of the origin of the character himself has been left out and streamlined for an average viewing audience. In the movie's defense, I'm not quite sure how Alpha flight could fit in here or a certain couple that found Logan in the comics. Honestly, it's a fun movie overall and it's packed with plenty of fanboy moments to make almost an Wolverine reader happy.
Here's a bit of a hint... I'm telling you right now to stay after the credits. There are apparently three different endings. Sadly we missed the Deadpool one and got the Logan one instead.
In closing, it's a fun movie and most people will enjoy it. It's not perfect but it does treat Wolverine with respect.
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching dvd's, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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