A poor cliché ridden storyline with plot holes galore, awful casting in the bit parts (such as Taylor Kitsch as Gambit and Lynn Collins as Kayla), underuse of the strongest cast members (i.e. Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds) and Crystal-Skulls-bad CG in parts made Wolverine a passable, average comic book movie. It wasn’t bad enough to sit alongside Catwoman, but it basically ignored the bar that was raised last year by The Dark Knight, Iron Man and even The Incredible Hulk. It will eventually find a place in my DVD press beside the first three X-Men films, but not until it goes on sale in the three for two offer in HMV.
Hugh Jackman is a talented man and he can definitely carry off the action scenes, but the scrappy script and poor dialogue left no room for him to escape the 2D character he was given. Wolverine was best used in the first two X-Men movies and though there was so much history that could have played out on screen, writers David Benioff and Skip Woods (who wrote 2001′s Swordfish) just didn’t pull it out of the bag.
Relying too much on gimmicks (the appearance of the young Cyclops and his future headmaster, the odd reference to other X-Men legends) and cheap laughs (naked Jackman jumping off a waterfall), there was little grit and only feeble attempts at drama - the brothers united and then torn apart, the brief and emotionless love story.
It’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed it and could definitely set aside many of the flaws. There are some excellent action scenes throughout and both Liev Schreiber and Ryan Reynolds are superb, if underused. Schreiber’s Victor Creed/Sabretooth is vicious, psychotic and incredible clever. It’s a frightening combination. While Reynolds (before he is all to quickly silenced) is funny and entertaining and then proves that he has long ago left Van Wilder behind in one of the films best action sequences.
Perhaps I went into this looking for too much? I have to remember this is just one step up from being a kids movie. It’s an easy on the eyes action movie, with enough bangs and bright lights to delight a young teen. Fan boys will be very disappointed though, I believe.
One of the pivotal points in the Wolverine saga, from a fanboy’s perspective, the moment Logan is injected with his adamantium bones (the metal that makes him so strong) should be scary, brutal and unforgiving. Unfortunately, in this film it is tame, weak even. Without sounding like a gore-monger, there isn’t even a drop of blood shed.
But then, I think that sums up what is wrong with this movie. It’s affraid to take risks, to push boundaries and be different. It’s just a moneymaking franchise piece. And it will make money. And the franchise will continue. Just a shame it was sold with such high expectations. I came away disappointed overall.
I had no issue with the casting on either Gambit or Kayla - Yes, I had Saywer from Lost cast as Gambit in my minds eye but Kitsh was fine.
Ryan Reynolds was just plucked straight out of Blade 3 (and almost every other movie he has been cast in) and the character slotted into this. But he is delicious and funny in the role so I won’t hear a bad word against him. He should have had a bigger part.
Hugh Jackman bores me. Always had. He’s just a bit “meh”. The real star of the movie Liev Schreiber . It should have been caleld Sabertooth.
Overall, I enjoyed the movie. There were some great action pieces and while the story was flawed, this was partly down to the earlier movies departing from the story/history and timeline of the comics. For the sake of continuity it had to continue in that fashion.
I always think people take these things too seriously and expect some epic Kane -like spectacular from a comic book adaptation. They can’t all be “Dark Knights”. Movie goers are far too serious - and need to learn to sit back relax and enjoy the kitsch (no pun intended there btw - although he too was purty). This really was one for the ladies.
And finally - Cotton Weary rocks!
So just in relation to the other X-Men movies were would it sit. Closer to the excellent X-Men and X2 or closer to the poor X-Men 3
@Mark I was a fan of all three X-Men movies. Granted The Last Stand didn’t impress as much as the others, but it was still enjoyable. Wolverine belongs at the end of the bunch. All 3 X-Men are better, in my opinion.
@Lottie I would love to see a Sabretooth film. Schreiber definitely stole the show.
My bubble has been burst…….
Ah well I still have Star Trek to think about!
I told you it was pants. Definitely not worth a tenner.
@Peter _ I think it’s still worth going to see -If only for a Shreiber.
I thought it was pretty good….certainly not as good as x1 or x2 , but definitely better than x3 in my opinion. Good action, and I thought they got Gambit and Sabretooth pretty right.. They royally screwed Deadpool though….hopefully they fix that in a solo movie. Then again x3 screwed up juggernaut, angel, dark phoenix, and killed off cyclops and prof x…..Grr hate Brett Ratner!!