SmartRemarks

While it’s not a film that was really crying out to be made, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is at least a better picture than was 2006’s muddled and disappointing X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Hugh Jackman returns to his breakout role with evident sincerity, bringing every bit of actorly dedication the story and the character can support (given the somewhat tiresome human-vs-beast personality cycle Wolverine’s always been trapped in). Jackman was reportedly also instrumental in bringing Oscar-winning director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) to the film, and he brought his dark and cynical sensibility with him. C0-screenwriter David Benioff, best known for writing the superbly unsettling 25th Hour, surely didn’t hurt either.

If Wolverine is not quite as ringing a success in terms of tone and dramatic impact as last year’s Dark Knight or Iron Man, neither is it as disappointing as one might have feared from its status as a prequel, burdened by the audience’s foreknowledge of where everyone ends up (I’ll just mention the name “George Lucas” in passing and leave the subject at that). It’s not as deliberately subversive and game-changing as Bryan Singer’s first two X-movies, but it’s entertaining in its own right.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schrieber, movies, super-heroes, Wolverine, X-Men