X-Men Week Part 4

Today we get to the first prequel in this series, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” released in 2009. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was said by many to be even worse than “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and like that film, it received a lot of hate. Like with “The Last Stand,” it is completely unfair. It is one of those really underrated sequels/prequels. Luckily, it did make a lot of money at the box office.

Some people complained we didn`t need to know Wolverine’s origins, but they built this up so much in the first two films, that we needed the pay off. Not everyone reads the comics. This film became more of a character piece then the original 3, which very much focused on political and social subtext, and teamwork. This film, however, focuses mainly on Wolverine and delves very much in detail into his past. We see he was raised by the wrong parents, his adoptive father was killed, and he killed his father in revenge, starting his slide on a path of violence. We see his brother, Victor was all that he had, and they dedicated themselves to being soldiers. His brother went too far, however, and they are to be executed, but obviously survived because Victor, like Wolverine, has healing abilities. Because of this, they are recruited by Colonel William Stryker, who was introduced in “X2,” and we finally find out that Wolverine was a member of a mutant assassin team, but didn`t want to go too far. He leaves when they are ordered to kill civilians, hurting his brother, and for a while he seems to develop a warm romance with Kayla. However, his brother seems to have killed her, causing him to become violent again, and wish for revenge. He volunteers to receive an adamantium skeleton. Many fans complained he volunteers, unlike in the comics, but Stryker said he did in “X2.” Some said revenge isn`t a compelling motive, but Wolverine grew up in a world where that was all that he knew. We see a lot more sides to Wolverine. People complain he wasn`t violent enough, but he left a pilot to die in an explosion, and kills his father, as well as many people in the opening. He just doesn`t hurt civilians, showing he, at the core, always had a heart. Like with Rocky in “Rocky II,” we also see him happy, as well as compassionate and peaceful, and we see a more spiritual side to him. We also see his obsessions, stubbornness and love for his brother. Hugh Jackman really plays all these sides very well. Also, the film has a number of interesting side characters. Some reviewers called them pointless, but they tie into Wolverines past. His brother, Victor shows both his family struggles as well as his compassionate side. We see Stryker abused their conflicts. Victor was always jealous of Logan, and felt he held him back. He also felt abandoned when he left, he wants to feel like he can’t be better then Wolverine. People called their rivalry underdeveloped, but I strongly disagree.

Also Logan’s romance with Kayla is excellent as well. She really is sweet, understanding of his post traumatic stress disorder, she is romantic, playful, and the twist where it turns out she is still alive was really clever. It was interesting that she could manipulate people’s feelings, but that she actually didn`t do that to Wolverine. Also, she dies again at the end, which is really tragic, and Wolverine cannot remember her. It is also interesting when we find out how he lost his memory: through adamantium bullets, as Stryker wanted to make sure he was no longer a threat, and he and his brother made amends. Also, people called the script cliché ridden, but it’s just Star Wars style, where they take inspiration from past stories. “Thor” was also borrowed from, as was “Lord Of The Rings” and Shakespearian dramas. Also, the film can be dark, but has lighter touches as well, and a lot of exciting action. The music is haunting as well. People have called the CGI bad, but I think it looks excellent. We also see more of Stryker, his desperation, manipulation, secrecy, and corrupt form of mentoring.

Also all of the actors are excellent in their roles:

Liev Schreiber is really menacing and intense as Victor Creed, but he also can be subtle, ambiguous and emotional.

Danny Huston really fills the shoes of a young Stryker, being just as sophisticated, menacing, subtle, and authentic as Brian Cox.

Lynn Collins is also charming, sweet and sensitive as Kayla Silverfox, and has excellent chemistry with Hugh Jackman. Tahyna Tozzi plays Kayla's sister, Emma.

Daniel Henney is also intense, emotional and detailed as Agent Zero.

Taylor Kitsch is also friendly, adventurous and witty as Gambit.

Kevin Durand is over the top, funny and creative as Fred Dukes aka The Blob.

Also the set design is excellent, the direction subtle, yet emotional, and the cinematography fittingly bleak.

The film also does have a complex mystery plot and nicely sets up the original trilogy, showing how Stryker started kidnapping mutants and escaped, being censored by his superiors, how Cyclops (played here by Tim Pocock) was executed, and how mutants were treated decades earlier.

I understand everyone’s frustration with Deadpool, played by the beloved Ryan Reynolds and later by Scott Adkins. Now that I can fully get why everyone gets furious at, because that doesn’t look like Deadpool at all, and I’ve never read any of the comics. Aside from that, there isn’t anything wrong with this film, so as reviewreviewer1 and I say, give this film a chance and watch it.

Spolier alert: in the mid-credits scene, Stryker is detained for questioning by some MPs connected to the death of his superior, General Munson, who Stryker did kill when he found out that Munson was going to shut down his project. In the post-credits scene, Wolverine tells a Japanese barmaid that he is drinking to remember.

So “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was a really underrated and in fact a brilliant film. It was even more underrated then “X-Men: The Last Stand,” and it is in fact one of the best films in the series. I give it a 10+.

They came out with another prequel centering on Professor X and Magneto, “X-Men: First Class,” which we will deal with next time.