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X-Men Origins: Wolverine
by Scott Firestone IV
After recent smart, complex, and well-made superhero movies, such as Iron Man and The Dark Knight, I couldn’t help but go into X-Men Origins: Wolverine with high expectations. Alas, those expectations were ripped to shreds by Wolverine’s poorly rendered claws.
I saw an interview with screenwriter David Benioff where he admitted he felt pressure to please all of the fans of this most-beloved of X-Men characters. Unfortunately, this pressure caused him to write a by-the-book superhero movie that takes zero chances, shows us zero character growth, and has zero chance of making me want to see any further films in the franchise.
Hugh Jackman plays Logan, who, as a young boy, discovers he can make long bone claws erupt from his skin when he’s angry, loses two fathers, and gains a half-brother—all on the same day! The half-brother is Victor—aka Sabretooth—a bloodthirsty mutant with animal tendencies, long teeth, and killer fingernails This is supposed to be his Origin film, so let’s explore these aspects of his life! It might make him seem…real.
Their mutant abilities make them age more slowly, so we see the brothers fighting their way through America’s great wars. Until Vietnam, when Logan can’t take his brother’s kill-‘em-all attitude any longer, and heads out for a peaceful life.
Then we get 90 minutes of wall-to-wall mutants, action sequences, shadowy government agencies, murders, double-crosses, betrayals, revenge, and a final showdown. Sounds awesome, right? It’s not.
First, it’s a movie about mutants, so you expect some to pop up. But the mutants here fall into two camps: the “Who in the world is that guy?” camp and the “Hey, look it’s three minutes of ___” camp. Hollywood, if you’re only putting The Blob into the movie so that people who read comics will be happy, but he doesn’t actually add anything to the film, please just leave him out next time. Thanks.
I also like to see characters grow and evolve—especially ones who have been around for hundreds of years. Here’s a guy who has a strong feral, animal side to him—something the comics explore at length—but other than a couple scenes where he hears or smells something a normal person wouldn’t be able to, the filmmakers don’t explore that side of him at all. And how does he feel about his mutant abilities? Are they a blessing? A curse? Both? And he’s in love with a woman who will probably die long before he does. Has he loved other women, only to see them grow old, while he remains practically unchanged? This is supposed to be his Origin film, so let’s explore these aspects of his life! It might make him seem…real.
It seems that the filmmakers wanted so hard to please the comic book fanboys, that they created a list of mish-mashed storylines and clichés that “ought” to be in the movie, and put a check by them as they appeared. Mutant protagonist who is likable—and never does a single thing that’s unlikable? Check. Tragic love story? Check. Obligatory mutants who are on-screen for a short time and for no good reason? Check. Enormous explosions? Check. Final, predictable battle? Check. Amnesia as a clichéd bandage to cover up lazy writing? Check. They even had Wolverine nonchalantly walking away from a helicopter as it blows up behind him! It doesn’t get much more clichéd than that.
There are some larger themes you can explore with teenagers. Logan becomes Wolverine—complete with a metal skeleton and metal claws—because he wants revenge on Sabretooth. His obsession only leads to more destruction and heartache. One character utters the prophetic line: “Men looking for blood…find it.” Discuss the biblical view of revenge. The film also hints that Wolverine is constantly fighting the animal that’s inside him. We can certainly sympathize with someone trying to keep their baser instincts at bay, while fighting to do what’s right. Finally, Logan isn’t sure what he thinks of his powers. When his girlfriend tells him it’s a gift, he says, “You can return a gift.” This could be a great launching point for a discussion about whether people are using the gifts they’ve been given, or whether they’re essentially “returning” God’s gift if it’s going unused.
The movie made over 80 million dollars this weekend, so people certainly turned out in droves. I just wish the filmmakers had taken some chances. It’s possible to write a good, gripping superhero movie while maintaining the fights and explosions. Oh well. Next stop: Star Trek.
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity.
Discussion Questions:
Scott Firestone IV is the associate editor for Group Magazine, online editor for youthministry.com, and a huge fan of music and movies.
This review first appeared on ministryandmedia.com. Go there. Take the tour. Sign up.
No i think Hugh is a pretty versatile actor and in the past (after his starring role in the first x-men) he has proven to effortlessly make other roles in his movies a success. I do enjoy his work and admire his talents...he's got more than acting up his sleeve so although he's been made popular over the past few years for this role, I don't think it's going to box him into one particular genre.
Evina 10:05:48pm on 5/19/2009
OffensiveI wonder if Hugh (Huge) Jackman will be able to be anything but Wolverine now that so much of his career has been consumed by this role
Nomad 1:05:32pm on 5/09/2009
Offensive
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