The Review of X-Men Origins : Wolverine

Reviewing a movie based on a comic, video game, or animation is almost always going to receive different receptions, depending on which category of viewer you’re from. And it’s going to be all the more subjective when that particular movie is just one part of a bigger script, be it a sequel or a prequel. X-Men origins: Wolverine, is one such movie, so to be safe, let’s look at it from a few point of views. (Don’t worry… no spoilers are in this review if you haven’t already watched it…. Oh but Wade Wilson dies ;P…)

If you’re a regular movie-goer, X-Men origins: Wolverine is bang on as a “cure for your action flick” itch.
It’s got everything from short war scenes, epic fight sequences, mega explosions, super cool abilities, slicing and dicing and so on.
But it’s not short on substance either. The storyline depth isn’t Lord Of The Rings-ish, but the way it’s all been put together and directed (With Hugh Jackman playing a big role behind the camera) puts it up there with, although slightly short of, the new Batman movies.

In a nutshell, as the title suggests, this movie is about Wolverine, where he came from, his childhood, his years in many epic wars, his relationship with Sabretooth, his love life and everything that leads up to where the 1st X-Men movie left off.
Even if you’ve never watched the previously released X-Men trilogy, you won’t be left clueless as to who’s who and what’s what.
The producers haven’t relied on individual viewer’s knowledge of the X-Men to explain the characters featured in the movie. Most of the significant characters have at least a small introduction. (This movie is mainly about Wolverine anyway so don’t expect Gambit’s whole life story). So don’t worry, the characters aren’t as confusing to follow as the ones in Star Wars.

From an average X-Men comic and movie fan’s point of view, there’s a 50% chance that you may try to piece X-Men Origins with the first X-Men movie and find that some parts are questionable, but you’ll probably only realize this after watching the first
X-Men movie again. Fortunately, that’s the only thing to raise your eyebrows about because the rest of the show really is all good.
Each character’s ability in the movie are displayed in really cool visual styles, from the way Agent Zero the expert marksman fires and reloads his superbly accurate guns, to the way Wade Wilson the mercenary wields his sword.

Although not staying 100% true to the X-Men comics, the movie certainly has enough going for it for fans to look past that aspect. Besides, Wolverine wouldn’t look at all cool in a Yellow Tight Suit now would he?

Hardcore X-Men fans on the other hand might not be so easily convinced with the movies skewed approach from the original X-Men materials. Although inaccurate costumes are excusable, the characters backgrounds and abilities remain highly questionable.
Some examples:
-Agent Zero wasn’t originally an Asian but was from East Germany. He was also known as Maverick and had more abilities than just being a sharpshooter
- Adamantium was never from a meteorite, it was instead scientifically created
- Kayla Silverfox, who is supposed to have the ability of artificially healing herself, only has the ability to control minds in the movie. In the original X-Men, she is not related to Emma Frost.

It may sound minor, but it does affect the whole authenticity of the X-Men movie franchise slightly.

The hype generated prior to its release would have slightly overshadowed the actual show itself, which would mean it definitely will have a big opening impact on the big screens, but won’t be of much word of mouth buzz. It will probably just be seen as another “good” movie after a month or so, nothing more… nothing memorable.
However, fictional shows such as these should never be put under a microscope. And as long as it’s not watched with too much critical comparisons to the original X-Men series, it’s definitely worth the ticket price.