(Originally posted December 14th, 2017)
Alright, this was another tough one. I went into this movie expecting to hate it, as I'd heard a lot of bad things about this movie. So maybe that's why I didn't mind it? Because the bar was set so low? I'd like to think that's not why I found myself somewhat enjoying this movie but... I don't know. It's X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), starring Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, Liev Schrieber as Victor/Sabretooth, Danny Huston as William Stryker, Lynn Collins as Kayla/Silver Fox, Taylor Kitsch as Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Weapon XI/Deadpool and will.i.am as John/Kestrel.
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| X-Men Origins: Wolverine |
The easiest thing to like about this movie is Hugh Jackman's performance. I feel like I'm repeating myself with these X-Men movies, but Jackman's just so goddamn good. It's one of those performances that makes you think there could be no-one else who could play the role well. He just makes the character completely his own, and not a lot of actors can do that, no matter how good they are. He has a very believable conflict with his brother Victor, and Schrieber does a fantastic job playing off Jackman. I like how they made these two somewhat polar opposites, and you get the sense that Logan could have easily gone down the road that Victor ended up going down. His resolution was a little rushed, but I did enjoy the conflict between them.
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| Liev Schrieber as Sabretooth |
However, one of the film's biggest problems is that it is a prequel, and one that focuses on a character we all know is going to make it to the end, and we also know what that end entails, so much of the suspense goes out the window. But it goes beyond that. Since our protagonist is basically immortal and can't even really be injured, there goes another layer of suspense. There's only one way they can hurt him, and we already know it's coming, since they went into this in X2. It is fun watching Logan in action before he lost his memories, since we know what the endgame is here, it kind of lessens the impact when it actually does happen. The way they get around that, however, is adding implications for the love interest. I must say, for a film that I could basically predict the ending of right from the word go, they pull a lot of twists with Lynn Collins' character, and she does a great job here too. The ending had a lot more of an impact purely because of her, and I have to commend the film for that.
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| Lynn Collins as Silver Fox |
This movie introduces us to a lot of new characters and mutants. I mean a LOT of them. Unfortunately, we don't really get enough time with any of them to truly connect with any of them. There are about 6 or 7 people introduced right at the start of the movie, I could barely remember who they were when they got reintroduced later. And when they do come back in later, it's kind of a mixed bag. Will.i.am's character's really good, and I was surprised that Mr. i.am did such a great job here. Everyone else though? Not interested. Also, I just want it to be on record that I never wanted to devote an entire fight scene to a boxing match between Wolverine and some hideously fat guy. Moreover, I never wanted a fight like that to be somewhat evenly matched. That entire scene was just so pointless, and in an otherwise serious movie, it just ruined the tone.
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| will.i.am as Kestrel |
And Wade Wilson aka Deadpool? F*** you. F*** you, f*** you, f*** you, f*** you, f*** you. That's actually what I was saying to the screen the entire time 'Deadpool' was on screen, and most of you know that I don't tend to throw that around lightly. Having seen the glory and majesty of the Deadpool movie and then seeing how they handled him here? No. And you can tell me that it wasn't actually Deadpool, but Weapon XI? No. They outright call him Deadpool in the movie, they knew what they were doing. I couldn't even enjoy that final fight scene because I was just yelling "F*** you" at the screen. I don't understand how a studio could have signed off on that thinking the fans would be okay with it. Had they ever even read a Deadpool comic? I mean, I haven't, but I've seen the movie; I know what Deadpool is supposed to be. And that wasn't it. One more for the road. F*** you.
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| Ryan Reynolds as Weapon XI |
Okay, so aside from my blinding rage by the end there, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) is such a sloppy movie overall. I did enjoy it, at least until they brought in you-know-who, but it's not something I would put on again. 5/10.
Tomorrow: it's one of the big ones: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I don't think I'm ready yet.
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