Even before premiering at the box office, X-Men Origins: Wolverine has had a controversial life to say the least.

Its troubled past includes rumors of ‘creative differences’ between Gavin Hood (director) and Thomas Rothman (20^th Century Fox Executive and head honcho) throughout production, hardly making for a nurturing creative environment.

Then, but a month from the theatrical release date, an unauthorised work print of the unpolished film found its way onto the internet to be downloaded by any novice computer user. This left a lot of people wondering how the film would stand up, especially compared to the hugely successful X-Men, the first in the franchise.

When the first X-Men movie hit our screens in the year 2000, it was extremely well received by both moviegoers and critics alike. Based on the popular (and extremely large) Marvel comic book series, it told the story of a group of misfits forced to form their own community and live outside of mainstream society, simply because they were different. This doesn’t sound like a huge blockbuster, except for the fact that these people are known as “mutants” due to being born with the ‘X-gene’ – a genetic mutation that empowers each individual with different super-human abilities. 

X-Men was one of the rare ‘comic book’ movies that managed to stay faithful to its source material without alienating those viewers who wouldn’t know the difference between the characters Wolverine and Storm. It could also be argued that the first X film was the catalyst for the large number of superhero movies that followed – a wave which was helped along by Spiderman in 2002. Praised director Brian Singer (Usual Suspects) returned to direct the sequel X2, which received similar praise from fans and critics and displayed huge numbers at the box office.

The franchise took somewhat of a dip in quality with X3: The Last Stand. It still pulled impressive numbers financially but the general consensus seemed to be that the story was rushed, full of too many characters and lacking in overall polish. This was also hampered by Singer’s decision not to direct, with Brett Ratner taking the reins instead. It seemed that fans were left with a slightly bitter taste in their mouths and were eager to rinse their cinema palettes clean with a good addition to the franchise – enter Wolverine.

Personally, I’m a fan of Hugh Jackman, I’m a fan of Liev Schrieber, I love the character of Wolverine (although I’m not a big reader of the comic) and I was pumped to see this movie.

But X-Men Origins: Wolverine is not the film fans were waiting for, nor will it do much for the average moviegoer. It’s pretty much disappointing all around. I hate to say it, but in a post Iron Man and Dark Knight world, a ‘comic book’ film – simple fun, or gritty and dramatic – has a lot to live up to, and Wolverine doesn’t step up to the plate.

As the title suggests, the story is focused on the character of Wolverine or Logan (Jackman), and the relationship he has with his brother Sabretooth or Victor Creed (Schreiber). Both brothers possess similar powers; the ability to heal almost instantly and heightened, animal-like senses.  Where they differ, however, is in their ‘weapon’ mutations. Wolverine has retractable bone claws, while Sabretooth is able to increase the size of his…fingernails.

The film opens in 1845, with the reveal that Victor and Logan are brothers. It’s a first minute twist that feels out of place. Why not begin with them already knowing they’re related? Especially since this information is revealed literally within the first five minutes.

We’re then shown a credit sequence that details their long lives, as they fight through the American Civil War, WWI, WWII and the Vietnam War. Due to their healing abilities, their aging process is very slow.  It’s a pretty entertaining introduction to the film, which is a shame because everything that follows falls short of the mark.

Victor and Logan are recruited into a special military unit, Team X, which apparently exists solely to help the exploits of the shady Colonel William Stryker (Huston). Suffice to say, the brothers have a falling out, Victor kills Logan’s girlfriend, Logan wants revenge. Col Stryker offers to turn Logan into an indestructible beast, Logan accepts, a procedure takes place in which Logan’s skeletal structure is covered in a metal called adamantium. Col Stryker, having conducted his experiment, attempts to kill Logan (who now calls himself Wolverine). Wolverine escapes, continues to hunt down his brother whilst on the run from Col Stryker and his crew.

Phew…make sense?

The biggest problem with Wolverine is the writing, and having passed through the hands of so many writers, it’s not too much of a surprise that it is lacking. The story jumps from one point to another with such a fast pace that you have no idea what the hell is going on. The same applies to the characters introduced; they’re given extremely little screen time to establish themselves, so that when they appear later in the film you’re scratching your head thinking who is he again?

It’s all well and good for me to dislike the story (or not understand it), but Wolverine has been marketed as an action film, and it does have a lot of explosive set pieces. The problem is that none of them stand out. They all seem to pass by without consequence, and you never get the impression that Logan/Wolverine is in danger because each sequence seems more absurd than the last. I understand that’s a formula for the genre, but unless it’s pulled of effectively (such as in Transformers), it can ruin any investment you have in the character.

Likewise, the effects don’t quite have the polish you would expect. Some of the green-screen work is quite obvious (forgivable) and a lot of the time Wolverine’s claws look incredibly computer generated (unforgivable). I’d go so far as to say that they looked better in the first X film. Why use computer generated imagery when you can easily apply a physical effect?

That said, I didn’t go into the cinema wanting to dislike this movie and I don’t want to come across as overly critical. But being a fan of the character and the first two movies, I was hoping for a fun action film that delivered a little of an insight into the mind of Wolverine. Perhaps I was fooled by the marketing or sucked into the hype machine, but I was extremely disappointed in this film. It is quite ambitious at times, and both Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber deliver solid performances, especially considering what they were working with – yet it doesn’t quite deliver on everything it promises.

With such a large number of action films coming out this summer movie season – or winter for the Aussies – I think you’d be better off saving your money and renting this one on DVD.

One out of five stars.

Because it’s a prequel, the majority of characters from the previous X-Men films are either too young or not part of Wolverine’s story at this stage of his life. So don’t bother re-watching X-Men: The Last Stand, apart from being the weakest in the X-Men trilogy, it won’t prepare you for Wolverine.

Instead, read our hassle-free character guide to X-Men Origins: Wolverine before you see it at the cinemas tomorrow!

Mutant Name: Wolverine
Real Name: James Howlett or Logan
Actor: Hugh Jackman and Troye Sivan
Mutant Powers: Instant healing powers, retractable adamantium claws

Being his origin story, Wolverine’s long life is played out in this film. We see how he got his mysterious bone claws, what his life was like as a child and find out why he has a long-standing grudge against Sabretooth.


Mutant Name: Deadpool
Real Name: Wade Wilson
Actor: Ryan Reynolds
Mutant Powers: Awesome sword skills, fast comebacks

Deadpool is a member of the government’s all-mutant Team X with twin swords and a mouth that delivers a running commentary as he fights his rivals. Also known as the “Merc with a Mouth”, Deadpool is a high-tech mercenary and isn’t scarred like his character in the comic version.

Mutant Name: Gambit
Real Name: Remy LeBeau
Actor: Taylor Kitsch
Mutant Powers: Energy transference, good shot Known for being on both sides of the law, Gambit is not a member of Team X but uses his powers for personal gain rather than human/mutant peace. Gambit’s ability to charge objects with explosive energy makes him the kind of mutant you want on your side.


Mutant Name: Sabretooth
Real Name: Victor Creed
Actor: Liev Schrieber
Mutant Powers: Healing powers, animal claws, animal-like running

Although not made clear in the first X-Men film, Sabretooth is Wolverine’s “brother” in this movie. Not exactly in the literal sense, but both have been alive for over a century. Accordng to the comics, they are not directly related and have no real brotherly affiliations – i.e., would your brother try to kill you?

Mutant Name: Silverfox
Real Name: Kayla Silverfox
Actor: Lynn Collins (True Blood)
Mutant Powers: Survival

Judging by the trailers and the comics, Silverfox has been killed more than once but tends to come back to life. In the comics she was Wolverine’s girlfriend, but ends up being killed by Sabretooth.

Mutant Name: Agent Zero
Real Name: David North
Actor: Daniel Henney
Mutant Powers: Finding other Mutants

In the comics, Agent Zero is known as Maverick. He is a lethal tracker and expert marksman so it makes him an asset to the evil Team X as he can help track down Wolverine when he goes AWOL.

Mutant Name: Wraith
Real Name: John Wraith
Actor: Will. I. Am.
Mutant Powers: Teleportation

Wraith was an original member of Team X in both the movies and the comics with the special ability to teleport. Also known as Kestrel, Wraith has virtually the same abilities as Nightcrawler in the second film.

Mutant Name: Blob
Real Name: Fred Dukes
Actor: Kevin Durand
Mutant Powers: Physically immovable

As a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the comics, the Blob is a hypothetical “immovable object” – that is, he cannot be physically moved unless he wishes it. The Blob can be seen boxing in the trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Mutant Name: Stryker
Real Name: William Stryker
Actor: Danny Huston
Mutant Powers: Nada

An older Stryker was introduced to us back in X-Men 2: X-Men United as the crazy colonel who uses mutants as tools to achieve his own success, even using his own son. In X2, he claims to have the answers to Logan’s past so here we will see him first turn Logan into a living weapon as the leader of the Weapon X project.

Mutant Name: Cyclops
Real Name: Scott Summers
Actor: Tim Pocock
Mutant Powers: Laser beam eyes

Before being killed by Jean in X3, Cyclops was a young mutant freed from Stryker’s Weapon X compound. It will be interesting to see what the younger Cyclops has to do with Wolverine’s origins, given their future antagonism.

Mutant Name: Emma Frost
Real Name: Emma Frost
Actor: Tahyna Tozzi
Mutant Powers: Turning into crystal

Like Cyclops, Emma Frost was also freed from Stryker’s Weapon X compound back in her mutant youth. As a grown-up, Emma didn’t feature in the X-Men movies whereas Cyclops did, but she has a long comic book history as both an X-Man and a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood.