X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009)

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"The best there is deserves better"

Ok so at the time of my writing of this review I count about forty two reviews for it after less then a month after its release, I count about less then half of those as "legit" reviews since most people on this site (not all) vocabulary expands to the extent of "this sucks, or don't see this piece of *****!"

Well my friends, if I may be so bold as to state I am a legitimate reviewer and self proclaimed Wolverine fan for over twenty years.

That being said, I cannot be bias in my review to let my better nature of a hardcore comic book fan and my love for movies contradict each other so im splitting this review in half. Fist part as a movie fan while the second as a comic fan.

To put it simply: this a comic movie not made for comic fans, (trust me it makes since) as you may have overheard from the comic dork with the x-men shirt two sizes to small hovering over a belly full of junior mints and mountain dew (my brethren) sitting next to you voicing his disgust of how they "messed up" allot of comic continuity.

The Movie begins as we meet a young James Howlett (Wolverine) sick in bed being cared for and teased by older half brother Victor. Before any chance of a full house family hug things turn bad very quickly as Victors father bursts in and murders James father, causing James first mutation exposing his bone claws to exact quick revenge for his father by impaling his killer only to realize that he in fact IS James father, after realizing this James and his brother run away as Victor explains that there all each other has now and must look out for one another. What follows is an eXciting l montage of the brothers as they fight in every American war from the civil war to Vietnam. Its here where we get the first glimpse of the difference in the two brothers as Victor is bloodthirsty and more violent then his reserved brother James, its this Bloodlust that lands the brothers into a firing squad that "tickled" due to the mutant healing abilities. Its here where they meet colonial Stryker who enlists him into his mutant task force Weapon x.

James doesn't do much in team x aside from looking cool in group shots and standing around (now calling himself Logan for some reason) realizes he wants nothing to do with the killing of innocents and sets off to start his life off anew with the beautiful silver fox, little does "Logan" know that Weapon x as well as brother Victor have different plans in store.

Overall the movie moves at a very fast pace, which is both good and bad as the Character introductions are brief and don't hold back the well choreographed action scenes but they do hold back on giving the story any weight. After meeting Logan's love for no more than ten minutes she's "killed off" so that we don't really feel any attachment to her when she's gone.

The Performances by Jackman and Scrieber are to be most note worthy as both put there souls into each others characters bringing a new depth to the fictional characters, also noted is Ryan Reynolds portrayal of "the merc with a mouth deadpool" who also plays the character to a tee but suffers as his character is silenced for most of the movie. Even WillIAM does a good job as John Wraith even though he sounds like he's giving his best Mr. T impression.

As my webbed counterpart (cbf) noted the action is well paced and exciting to watch as you get allot of bang for your buck, As Gavin Hood finds a unique balance between his two director predecessors Singer and Ratner of the first x movies as his action is paced but not drawn out like Singer nor over the top like Ratner, as in the climax we one of the best comic showdowns to date.

One of Hood's biggest faults lies in his use of special effects whether this was due to poor detail or "rushed" Wolverines claws look cartoony and almost take you out of the movie as they look like something out of a video game.

Overall this is in no way a "bad" movie its that watching it you cant help but feel like they could have added more to a character who has become a staple in pop culture alongside Spiderman. A rushed job to say the least but an entertaining one a good movie for action buffs who don't like a lot of plot getting between there eXplosions. Nuff said.

Second part Comic fan review: OMFG!!!!!! About the only thing the get right is that Wolverine has claws! Wow it's been awhile since ive seen a comic franchise butchered. Not since Ben Affleck as Daredevil have I seen this much Wrong in a comic franchise. While im not the most closed minded of critiques I understand the "liberties" of trying to bring a comic book superhero to real life. The mistakes in the movie are unforgivable. If last summers Blockbuster Iron man has taught us anything it's that you don't have to sacrifice a characters lineage to have a successful film. There are nearly too many flaws to name here but ill attempt to give you an understanding for one "The merc with a mouth" doesn't even have a mouth, but is replaced with more powers then the entire fantastic four. It doesn't stop there, Agent North an established German character is now Asian, the Blob is a depressed boxer, and worst of all silver fox and the white queen are sisters. (Wha?!) That's just scratching the surface.Wolverine fanatics should look elswhere in the awsome animated Hulk vs. Wolverine dvd or Video game adaption of the movie that realy shows Wolverine for the badass we all know and love.

The Good: For ounce Wolverine gets his time in the limelight. JK If you can bear all the ludicrous continuity you're treated to one of the greatest super hero battles on screen thus far.

The bad: Everything else

The Ugly: The world's coolest and deadliest mutant hero for over thirty years and this is the best they can come up with?