"‘I'm coming for blood, no code of conduct, no law.’"
THE CAST AND DIRECTION:
With this film, Hugh Jackman becomes the first actor to portray a comic book hero in four films since Christopher Reeve as Superman. He was perfectly chosen for the part and flawless in his performance. I look forward to him reprising his role in a sequel.
Liev Schreiber is a good friend of Hugh Jackman and is the reason he became a part of the film. Liev was originally going to play Stryker, but he was more interested in Sabertooth (Victor Creed). Not wanting to wear a 'muscle suit' under his clothing, Schreiber put on 35 pounds of muscle for the role. Liev gave a great performance and excelled in displaying Victor's animalistic side.
The other cast members, which deserved far more screen time, include; Danny Huston, Will i Am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kirsch, Daniel Henney, and Ryan Reynolds.
Director Gavin Hood does have some excellent credentials, but some of the camera work in this film appears rather shaky. I do not know if it was for effect, but it does not work and just makes it hard to tell what is going on.
THE GOOD:
The best things about X-Men Origins: Wolverine are the action, pace, acting, writing and of course the characters. Having never read any of the comics I did not have any expectations in mind for the other characters in the film so I was not disappointed whatsoever. I do wish however the film had been longer so they could have been more development of some of the new characters.
THE BAD:
My main complaint about the film is the length, it should have been at least 20 minutes longer. There were too many things or stories that were barely touched upon and could have used a lot more development. The only other thing is a couple of the special effects should have been done better. While neither made the film any less entertaining, it could have been a perfect film had they changed just a few things. I am hoping the DVD will have an extended cut resulting in a little more character development.
THE STORY (may contain spoilers):
James Logan realizes at a young age that he is not like other kids his age. After watching the man that has raised him die, he runs away with his brother, Victor Creed.
After many, many years together the two brothers are approached by William Stryker. He wants to recruit them into a special unit made up of all mutant men. On their first mission Logan realizes the unit will not be doing 'good works' but instead Stryker expects them to murder innocent people to get what they want. Logan wants no part of it and leaves the group.
Six years later Logan is working as a logger in Canada and is involved with a local school teacher. Then Stryker finds him and informs him someone is killing all the members of the original unit. He offers Logan a new deal, but Logan still does not want any part of it, yet.
Who is killing mutants and will they come after Logan? Will Logan reconsider and join Stryker again? Will he ever reunite with his brother or has Victor become too much of an animal?
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND SPECIAL EFFECTS:
This film was a pleasure to watch from the standpoint of photography and special effects, at some points it was absolutely stunning. While the special effects were very well done, in a couple of scenes I found them inadequate. Most notably was the helicopter scene. Don't get me wrong, it was not bad, I just feel with today's technology it could have been done better resulting in a more realism.
BOTTOM LINE:
I have been looking forward to this film since it was announced over two years ago. So while I try to watch all movies without any expectations, I found that hard to do with this one. But fortunately, it surpassed all my expectations. I will admit the film is not without a few flaws, but overall it was an excellent film. I have been a fan of Hugh Jackman for a long time, but trust me when I say I would admit if the film is bad regardless if he is in it or not, case in point, Scoop.
I highly recommend this film, especially if you are a fan of Wolverine. It is 100% entertainment and filled with action. I have never read the comics, but I really do not feel a movie should be compared to its written work whether it is a comic or novel. This is not a film that should be overanalyzed or to be overcritical about, it is entertainment and it fully succeeds in that department.
I also recommend that you see this film finished and in the theater, not the downloaded or leaked unfinished work. See it the way it was meant to be seen!
Thanks for reading.
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