 You'll go "berserker" for this pulse-pounding action thriller that sinks razor-sharp adamantium claws into the mysterious origins of Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). Discover his epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed/Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), his encounters with new, legendary X-Men, and the ominous Weapon X program that unleashes his primal fury! Storyline: Two mutant brothers, Logan and Victor, born 200 years ago, suffer childhood trauma and have only each other to depend on. Basically, they're fighters and killers, living from war to war through U.S. history. In modern times, a U.S. colonel, Stryker, recruits them and other mutants as commandos. Logan quits and becomes a logger, falling in love with a local teacher. When Logan refuses to rejoin Stryker's crew, the colonel sends the murderous Victor. Logan now wants revenge. Written by Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Casey Broadwater, September 16, 2009 -- No matter how great Wolverine could've/should've been, it would've inevitably come as a disappointment to both the blockbuster-loving public and the veritable legion of more discerning comic book connoisseurs. Why? Because 2008 was something of a banner year for superheroes. Batman seethed and growled though the epic arc of The Dark Knight—the Godfather: Part II of comic book movies—and Heath Ledger's tragic presence, not to mention his brilliant A Clockwork Orange-inspired performance, gave the film a gravity not usually associated with the crowded capes 'n underoos genre. Then there was Iron Man, which upped the intelligence quotient of big, dumb fun with an injection of snarky smart-juice, courtesy of Robert Downey, Jr, whose resurrected career was skyrocketing just as high as his metal-clad character. Toss Watchmen into the mix in early '09, and you can see how Wolverine simply couldn't compete. I was one of those guys who totally avoided the film in theaters—too many friends and critics told me not to bother—so I was anxious to review Wolverine once it hit Blu-ray. And while I found that the film is not quite as bad as I had expected it to be, it offers little new to both the character of Wolverine and the comic book film genre in general. As Marvel's first in a planned line of "origin" stories, Wolverine appropriately starts back in 1845, when our hero is but a sickly pup in the wilds of Canada. Young James Howlett—get it, Howlett—unexpectedly sprouts spiny, bone-like claws in rage when the man he thinks is his father is killed by the man who actually is his father. It makes sense on screen, I promise. After murdering his real dad with a fist-first bum-rush, James runs off with his similarly mutated half-brother Victor Creed. The credit sequence shows the two taking part in one hundred years of conflict, from the regimented lines of the Civil War, all the way through to the horrors of Vietnam. The purpose of this is two-fold; we realize that the brothers have stuck together for over a century, but we also see them subtly growing apart. Played by Hugh Jackman for the fourth time now, James—now known as Logan—tries to rein in his animal nature, while his bro Victor (Liev Schreiber) lets loose with his primal instincts. The story begins in earnest when the two face the firing squad and, not unexpectedly, live to tell the tale. In hindsight, there's more character development in this opening sequence than there is in the rest of the film, and I found myself wanting a movie that was solely about Wolverine facing down Confederates at Gettysburg, slogging through the trenches of WWI, or storming the beaches of Normandy. Instead, what follows is a fairly bland storyline that hits all the expected plot points. After being recruited by Major William Stryker (Danny Huston, taking over for X2's Brian Cox), Logan and Victor join Team X, a mutant paramilitary unit that includes sharpshooter Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), "Merc with a Mouth" Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), teleporter John Wraith (will.i.am), hefty brawler Fred Dukes (Kevin Duran), and technopath Chris Bradley (Dominic Monaghan). When things get a little too heavy in a Nigerian village, Logan splits for Canada, where he takes up with Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) and begins a stress-free life as a lumberjack. The peace is short-lived, of course, and when Victor murders Kayla to get his brother's attention, Logan agrees to become a test subject for now-Colonel Stryker's experimental weapon's program. Infused with indestructible adamantium, Logan is reborn as Wolverine and goes questing for his half-brother's blood. Naturally, loyalties flip flop like newly caught fish on a dock, and after some help from fan-favorite Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), a betrayal or two, and a stand-off with mutant-killer Deadpool, we arrive at a somewhat clumsily executed segue into the first X-Men movie. While a marketing blitz hyped up Wolverine as the first big blockbuster of the summer, rumors simultaneously circulated about conflicts between director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) and Fox execs. The word is that Hood wanted to explore Logan's post-traumatic stress disorder—an understandable side-effect of a century at war—but the suits upstairs thought broad audiences might be bored. Hence, a story that is about, well, nothing really. The character offers so many thematic possibilities, but the film's cluttered narrative never allows Jackman the opportunity to really explore the beast within. Aside from a thinly developed thread about sibling loyalty and rivalry, there's really nothing holding the film together on a conceptual level. All we get are big explosions and little character development, tangles of mutants slicing and dicing one another over the 107-minute span of a strait-shot plot. Yet, even the action is uninspired. Aside from a thrilling helicopter showdown—the film's carefully crafted centerpiece—the action sequences are empty displays of wire-fu wizardry and overly choreographed claw-blocking. Certainly nothing we haven't seen before. The performances are much better, but with a more focused script these characters could have had a lot more dramatic heft. Though it would be tempting to slip lazily back into the role like a comfy old shoe, Hugh Jackman keeps his ferocity up as Wolverine, putting more growl into it than ever. Having bulked up significantly from 2006's The Last Stand, Jackman is a staggering physical presence here, and it's impressive to see him go from the song 'n dance showmanship of a night at the Oscars to a burly, barroom brawler who isn't afraid to fight dirty. The man definitely has versatility. Liev Schreiber is the perfect foil as the nascent Sabretooth, and the two men have a genuine brotherly chemistry. As an older brother myself, I totally empathized when Sabretooth pulls Deadpool off of Wolverine and says, "No one kills you but me." And, of course, I'm interested in seeing what Ryan Reynolds does with the in-development Deadpool spin-off. I hesitate to give Wolverine too brutal a thrashing—it's entertaining, if never inventive—but not even a hulking Hugh Jackman can heave the film out of the shadow of the previous year's cinematic comic book accomplishments. I'll be the first to admit that Wolverine got a tough break. Between studio interventions and a not-quite-finished work print being leaked online a month before release, the film got a thorough critical lambasting before it even arrived in theaters. Hopefully, the inevitable sequel—reportedly set during Logan's time in Japan—will learn from the movie's mistakes, and maybe even take a few lessons from The Dark Knight and Iron Man about how to tell a riveting comic book story. Until then, Wolverine is a flawed but occasionally fun watch that looks fantastic in high definition, sounds great with lossless audio, and fills out a 50-GB Blu-ray disc with enough special features to keep fans occupied for several hours, at least. The overall quality of the total package definitely warrants a recommendation. Cast Notes: Hugh Jackman (Logan / Wolverine), Liev Schreiber (Victor Creed), Danny Huston (Stryker), Will i Am (John Wraith [as Will.i.am]), Lynn Collins (Kayla Silverfox), Kevin Durand (Fred Dukes), Dominic Monaghan (Bradley), Taylor Kitsch (Remy LeBeau), Daniel Henney (Agent Zero), Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson), Tim Pocock (Scott Summers), Julia Blake (Heather Hudson), Max Cullen (Travis Hudson), Troye Sivan (James), Michael-James Olsen (Dog [Young Creed]). User Comment: Krazyzark from United States, 3 May 2009 • This film was slated to be a blockbuster film, and it really is. This is the type of movie that is made to eat popcorn to and watch the flashy graphics. With that in mind, the movie delivers, perhaps not as well as the ultra flashy Iron Man, but well enough. Outside of the popcorn munching action and special effects, the film drops off of the cliff faster than Wile E. Coyote. Many viewers, myself included, will complain about how most of the characters were severely altered, but that only makes the film a poor adaptation, not a poor film. This film is unsatisfactory for other reasons. The makers focused more on making it appealing to the eye than they did to the mind. The characters that have been long awaited and promoted are reduced to 4-scene cameos. The main characters of Wolverine, Victor Creed (never called Sabertooth in the film) and Colonel Stryker are well developed. I was pleasantly surprised by Liev Schriber's performance. The rest of the characters are tossed to the wayside to make way for the all important eye-candy. Wolverine's character is fully developed after 30-minutes, as is Sabertooth, though Victor does pull off some surprises late in the film. The "final boss" of the film is a twisted and perverse adaptation of the original character and barely gets any development to show just why he is the way he is. The filmmakers obviously felt that all they really needed to do was create a bad ass character who could do anything they wanted and slapped on the name of a popular character. Very disappointing... Summary: Underdeveloped and Overproduced. (Based on Comic Book) IMDb Rating (09/13/09): 6.8/10 from 57,140 users
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