Tuesday 12 May 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine...

I never saw any of the X-Men movies when they came out, but what with having a consistent posse of mates to go on frequent cinema trips with, there's so many movies to go and see - two of the group were really looking forward to Wolverine - and I thought it looked like fun, so off we went.

In the end, the two who were really looking forward to it came away a bit disappointed (I figured they would, the way they were banging on about it everytime the trailer was shown).

This said, it's not trash, it's a good bit of fun and I had fun watching it - despite not being someone who read the comic books, nor watched the kids cartoon (although I do remember the themetune, recently heard for the first time in years at a birthday party), and - when I saw Wolverine in the cinema - I had not seen the X-Men movies either.

Mind you, this being an origin story, it's not necessary - and indeed, I can view it in chronological order - Origins first, then the X-Men movies - and indeed, I've now seen the first X-Men movie (I got the 6-disc box set for a few quid, probably like a lot of other folk who love a bargain in a recession).

Action wise, Wolverine was packing heat - I've seen hotter action, but I've also seen far colder action ... if I dare draw that dodgy metaphor any further ... but I did think that in the last 30 minutes plot mostly went out of the window and was replaced by punching. Enjoyable punching, but also a little bit lacking.

Also, I would have very much liked the 'Wolverine through the ages' war montage (Civil War through Vietnam) to have been it's own 15 minute segment. I felt like the point where Wolverine 'goes solo' came far too quickly - we were there inside 15 minutes, when it really should have been at the 30 minute marker.

Or am I just seeking indulgence - the sight of Logan, chomping on a cigar, Thompson machine gun in hand, stepping off a troop transport onto the Normandy beaches was made of "pure win", quite frankly. More of that please, a little bit of indulgence now and then is a good thing after all.

For someone, such as I, who hasn't seen anything X-Men before (but was aware of it), Origins fills in all the right blank spots at the same time as acting as good fodder for the fans. Hugh Jackman is an absolute joy to watch as Wolverine (heck, the man just has the X factor ... and I don't mean having that shitty tv show taped on his DVR), it never truly stumbles (but it never truly thrills your pants off) and generally, well, it's a solid effort.

That whole bit where Logan was charging about on the motorbike was awesome though, as was the whole war montage.

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