Director: Gavin HoodStarring: Hugh Jackman, Danny Huston, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Collins, Ryan Reynolds, Will.i.am, Dominic Monaghan
Genre: Action/Sci-fi
Points: 40 out of 100
Rating: Teen (violence, horrific images)
Comment: "This Wolverine movie is a great idea poorly executed..."
Ask any casual X-Men fan out there who is their favourite character from the movie versions of X-Men and chances are it would be the gritty, bad to the adamantium-reinforced bone Wolverine (it's either him or that nothing-but-blue-paint-Mystique). Plus, with the success of the previous three X-Men movies, where the main appeal had always come from Wolverine's antics, it only seems right for him to have a movie of his own. Sadly, what sounds really good on paper turned out to be mediocre at best on the silver screen.
Just like the title would suggest, this movie takes place prior to the events from the X-Men trilogy with sole focus on the development of the character Wolverine, or Logan. It tells the tale of how Wolverine first discovered his mutant powers up to the time when he loses his memory. I won't give away too much here, but it turns out that Wolverine is actually a battle-hardened soldier who fought in iconic battles in human history; from the American Civil War to World War I, World War II and finally the Vietnam War.
As I have mentioned earlier, a Wolverine movie is a good idea because people would want to know more about him because, well... After three movies of being unsure of Wolverine's past, now we get a definitive answer. Unfortunately, it appears that this might go down the same road as other atrocious superhero movies in the past such as Batman & Robin [1997]. It's not nearly there yet, but if they keep this up, it could very well be. It appears as though they are more concerned about merchandising opportunities rather than telling a good story.
Sure, it's an action movie and the special effects are nothing short of spectacular. But really, that is all there is to it; eye-candy... and a mediocre one at that too. While it is all very entertaining, they bring nothing new to the table either. We've seen it all before; hero walking away from an explosion, unconvincing plot twists, predictable one-liners, hero screaming "NOOO!!!" at the death of his *spoiler* (although it is easy to take a wild guess) and pretty much everything else made popular by action movies back in the 80's.
The only good thing about it is perhaps having Hugh Jackman in the lead role. After this one, I bet no one could imagine having anyone else to play Wolverine in his stead. Akin to how people will always think of Christopher Reeve as the "real" Superman. You really should see how Hugh Jackman beefed himself up and the amount of heart he put into the role.
It's not all bad. Just go ahead and see it, may it be on DVD or the silver screen. Either way, you will find that while it is indeed an entertaining movie, it is extremely forgettable.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Hugh Jackman
- Spectacular special effects
The Bad [-60]
- Weak plot
- Unconvincing plot twist
- Lacks "heart"
- Too many cliches
100 - 60 = 40 points
Just like the title would suggest, this movie takes place prior to the events from the X-Men trilogy with sole focus on the development of the character Wolverine, or Logan. It tells the tale of how Wolverine first discovered his mutant powers up to the time when he loses his memory. I won't give away too much here, but it turns out that Wolverine is actually a battle-hardened soldier who fought in iconic battles in human history; from the American Civil War to World War I, World War II and finally the Vietnam War.
As I have mentioned earlier, a Wolverine movie is a good idea because people would want to know more about him because, well... After three movies of being unsure of Wolverine's past, now we get a definitive answer. Unfortunately, it appears that this might go down the same road as other atrocious superhero movies in the past such as Batman & Robin [1997]. It's not nearly there yet, but if they keep this up, it could very well be. It appears as though they are more concerned about merchandising opportunities rather than telling a good story.
Sure, it's an action movie and the special effects are nothing short of spectacular. But really, that is all there is to it; eye-candy... and a mediocre one at that too. While it is all very entertaining, they bring nothing new to the table either. We've seen it all before; hero walking away from an explosion, unconvincing plot twists, predictable one-liners, hero screaming "NOOO!!!" at the death of his *spoiler* (although it is easy to take a wild guess) and pretty much everything else made popular by action movies back in the 80's.
The only good thing about it is perhaps having Hugh Jackman in the lead role. After this one, I bet no one could imagine having anyone else to play Wolverine in his stead. Akin to how people will always think of Christopher Reeve as the "real" Superman. You really should see how Hugh Jackman beefed himself up and the amount of heart he put into the role.
It's not all bad. Just go ahead and see it, may it be on DVD or the silver screen. Either way, you will find that while it is indeed an entertaining movie, it is extremely forgettable.
Points Calculation
The Good [+100]
- Hugh Jackman
- Spectacular special effects
The Bad [-60]
- Weak plot
- Unconvincing plot twist
- Lacks "heart"
- Too many cliches
100 - 60 = 40 points
