Hugh Jackman is great returning as Wolverine, the character that put him on the movie map, but “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is not  the best movie in this franchise.

I waited to write this review, because as a fairly die hard fan of X-Men, I have to say this prequel has me going back and forth on how great it is… or isn’t, mostly because some of the things I thought I knew about the characters in the X-Men universe were quite different in this movie.

After walking out of the theater when the end credit clip was finished (you should stay to the very end), I had the movie rated an 8.5… but I’ve decided that’s too high.

The action is great, the fighting sequences are solid, the story is well crafted, the special effects and editing and photography are good and most of the casting is spot-on.

For the fanboys: Ryan Reynolds was a great choice as the wisecracking Wade Wilson (Deadpool), Liev Schreiber is good as Victor Creed (Sabretooth), Danny Huston does well as the younger Col. William Stryker, Daniel Henney was good as David North (Agent Zero), Kevin Durand does well as Frederick J. Dukes (The Blob), and Will i Am does well as John Wraith.

I’m not saying Taylor Kitsch was bad as Remy LeBeau (Gambit), he just wasn’t the loner with a cajun accent and rebel attitude that I’m used to.

There’s a lot of creative licenses the filmmakers took with several storylines (and obviously timelines) that had me puzzled… and will have other fans scratching their heads.  For example the relationship between Wolverine and Sabretooth, the progression of Wade Wilson’s character, the physical difference between Sabretooth in this movie and the less intelligent, more feral one played by Tyler Mane in the original “X-Men”, etc.

It was cool to see some fun cameos by characters from the other “X-Men” movies.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

Because of some of the character confusion and too many characters jumping and flying around… I give it 7.5 out of 10 … its a good entry into the series, its slightly better than “X-Men 3″, but not as solid as 1 and 2.   The “X-Men” franchise is built on characters with unique and individual abilities, this one seems to suffer somewhat from an identity crisis.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

(2009) (rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity.) (1 hr, 47 min)

Starring: Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Liev Schreiber (Sabretooth), Dominic Monaghan (Bolt), Lynn Collins (Silver Fox), Danny Huston (Col. William Stryker), Daniel Henney was good as David North (Agent Zero), Taylor Kitsch (Gambit), Kevin Durand (The Blob), Tim Pocock (Scott Summers), Tahyna Tozzi (Emma Frost),
Scott Adkins (Weapon XI), Will i Am (John Wraith)

Director: Gavin Hood

Genre: Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Comic Book/Superhero

The Plot: Wolverine lives a mutant life, seeks revenge against Victor Creed (who will later become Sabertooth) for the death of his girlfriend, and ultimately ends up going through the mutant Weapon X program.

So what did you think?  Please post a comment!

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” poster courtesy 20th Century Fox

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