As yet another film in the sprawling X-Men franchise, what X-Men Origins: Wolverine really delivers is nothing but the emperor’s new clothes. Dressed up with some fancy CGI and an overdramatic score, all Wolverine has to showcase is a couple decent fight scenes and a typically assured performance from Hugh Jackman (Australia).
Beyond that, the film is just a wasted opportunity.
The opening scene sets up both Wolverine’s plot and one of its main problems: It’s melodramatic to the point of silliness. Opening in Canada circa 1845, Wolverine introduces its protagonist as a sickly child named James (newcomer Troye Sivan), who is kept company by friend Victor (fellow newcomer Michael-James Olsen) and cared for by his father. After hearing a gunshot, James rushes downstairs to discover his father dying (melodramatically) and cries to the heavens (melodramatically) before sprouting claws made of bone and skewering the gunman … who explains before dying that he is Wolverine’s real father. James is left to run off with Victor.
Nothing is necessarily wrong with most of the ideas behind this scene, but the execution is problematic. And all of the actors are performing at such an intense level that it feels overdone.
This problem recurs as the movie moves forward to the present, with grown-up Wolverine (Jackman), who is now going by the alias Logan, estranged from Victor a.k.a. Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber, Defiance). Schreiber tries a bit too hard with the whole snarling thing and does not come off as menacing. Similarly, as shady government figure William Stryker, Danny Huston (How to Lose Friends & Alienate People) either performs strangely over intensely or too low-key.
The dialogue certainly doesn’t help, sometimes clanging noticeably with groan-inducing clichés or unbelievably faux-badass lines. For example, a bartender asks Sabretooth, who is carving a smiley-face into the bar with his claws, “You’re not from around here, are you?” And even Jackman can’t save tough-guy lines like “I come with you, I’m coming for blood.”
In the original X-Men, half the fun was seeing Wolverine’s grumpy personality bump up against the strait-laced X-Men team. With him taking center stage this time (and surrounded by similarly prickly characters), that pleasure is gone.
Many fans may be able to get past the film’s silly tone but might have a harder time forgiving the unimaginative fight scenes. Your average audience has seen hundreds of fight scenes, so simply punching and jumping on each other is not enough.
The only part of Wolverine that really works within the overarching taking-itself-too-seriously vibe is Ryan Reynolds (Definitely, Maybe) as the mercenary Wade Wilson/Deadpool. Constantly joking, Reynolds delivers his quips with such casual wit you get the sense he’s the only one who realizes what kind of movie he’s in.
It would be unfair to completely dismiss Wolverine, though. The movie’s final fight, set atop a nuclear silo, is actually quite thrilling. And even though Tayler Kitsch’s (TV’s Friday Night Lights) Gambit doesn’t have the oversexed personality and heavy accent that made him a fan favorite, it’s an undeniably giddy moment when he shoots his cards for the first time.
Wolverine is trying to position itself as the first blockbuster of the increasingly early-starting summer season with its massive theater count (4,000) and heavy marketing push. It remains to be seen how damaging the film’s leaked workprint will be to the final box office tally, but financial performance aside, the film just doesn’t have the claws its titular character deserves.
dan.benamor@gmail.com
RATING: 2 out of 5 stars
