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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Review: X-Men Origins - Wolverine


X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Genre: Action
Format: Theatrical Release
Director: Gavin Hood

As if the first three X-Men movies were not bad enough, now we are given another horrible and pathetic use of the Marvel license. There is no doubt that the mega-heartthrob Hugh Jackman is an undeniably talented actor whose portrayal of the title's character is nothing short of perfection but his dedication to the role as well as the continuation of this franchise is somewhat tragic because of how much inferior these movies have been compared to the comic books they were based on. The transition process between the two mediums has been just so atrocious, I am baffled that the X-Men fans haven't burn down 2oth Century Fox's studios yet.

The idea of an "origin" story in superhero movies is just so overused that I am beginning to get sick and tired of it. Even after three movies, Hollywood is still going after the lowest common denominators but the funny thing is those target audience surely at this point already know who Wolverine is. All that people really need to know about him is this - he is a mutant who has sharp claws that come out of his fists that he can use to cause serious damage. That's it! The back story and character development can be added in while he is fighting serious threats like Mr. Sinister or better yet, Apocalypse and not this obnoxious, depressingly shallow excursions into Logan's childhood and his first love. Strangely, this back story is also mercilessly altered compared to its comic book origin so not only do you get to watch a terrible movie that focuses on just one of the X-Men but you are also forced to watch a badly re-imagined version of it in the process. Lovely.

Just like the previous movies, the mutants who are unfortunate enough to get some screen time in the film are so under-utilized, you would think that these mutants do not know how to use their own special power... at all! It's apparently easier for the filmmakers to make the Wolverine action scenes serviceable because they just have to worry about the claws and the regenerative healing but once the more complex mutants like Gambit and Spectre enter the ring, the wide-range of hot mutant action that could have happen on screen just fizzles out into nothingness. The movie even has the audacity to use one of the most well-known characters in the X-Men universe - Emma Frost - in the worst possible way. I was really disgusted by the scene and felt like I just witnessed a totally shameless exploitation of her character. Very degrading. This movie just misses the mark constantly when it comes to delivering to us what these mutants are truly capable of.

I am going to save you the trouble: Don't bother watching this film. It is a waste of your time and it is an indication that Hollywood still sees its audience as clueless and dumb. If you really want to see some great X-Men action, Walt Disney Video has just recently released the DVD collection of the X-Men cartoon shows that were aired in the 1990s. I watched these back then and they still hold the high standards that the X-Men movies could only dream of accomplishing. You can check them out by clicking on the links below. If these filmmakers are serious about making a good X-Men movie, all they have to do is just simply translate this collection into real live action, scene-by-scene.

RATING: 1 out of 5


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are pretty accurate since I don't want a copy of it or to watch it when it comes out in DVD/Blue-Ray. I can say that the Marvel Iron Man was much better and was a real story and shot well!
S!

Blake said...

well, lets give the game a try and see how that fares??

We all know how movie to games translations go. I bet it will be awesome,..right..awesome....or just awe?!