Every actor is remembered for a specific role: Anthony Hopkins was Hannibal Lecter, Sean Connery was James Bond and, now, Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. Becoming the amnesia-stricken bad ass with an arm full of adamantium claws, Jackman has found a character that he has become synonymous with. In his fourth movie as Wolverine, he becomes the first actor to play a comic book hero in four consecutive movies since Christopher Reeve portrayal of Superman in the late 70s and 80s.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” tells the story of the mutant’s past. The film begins in Canada in the mid 1800’s where Logan (Wolverine) and his brother (Sabretooth), played by Liev Schreiber, are shunned as mutants and forced out on the run.
The audience is introduced to Logan and his brother fighting in all the major wars of the last century. Impaling confederate soldiers in the Civil War, Scaling the trenches of WWI, storming the beaches of Normandy in WII and blasting machine guns through tropical canopies in Vietnam; through all of which Wolverine chomps on his trademark cigars.
The brothers are convicted of misconduct during their Vietnam tour and are sentenced to death by firing squad. However, the brothers cannot be killed—due to their mutant powers of regeneration— and Colonel William Striker recruits the two for a special assignment as part of ‘Team X’.
The depiction of this team introduces several new mutants from the X-men franchise to the big screen.
These include Agent Zero, an expert marksman; Kestrel, a teleporter played by the Black Eyed Pea’s Will.I.Am; Blob, a mutant who can create a gravitational field under him; Bolt who can control electrical devices with him mind; and Deadpool, a martial arts master with a pension for swords.
In the film, Ryan Reynolds, who was only the second person ever to be cast in a Marvel Comics adaption role without an audition, played Deadpool. Though many hardcore fans may be disappointed in the character’s minor role, Reynolds took advantage of his time on the big screen with quick action and clever one-liners.
As the movie progresses, Sabretooth becomes uncontrollable with bloodlust, ultimately pitting Wolverine against him. Brotherly love turns to personal vendetta, and the movie ends with one of the most vertigo-inducing scenes in Hollywood.
Cameos were abound in this movie, featuring Emma Frost, Toad, Cyclops, Storm, and Quicksilver; most of which were hidden, being spotted hardcore fans.
The film was visually very pleasing and the special effects used made the action non-stop. At times it tried too hard to be epic; the fighting scenes were too drawn out in some places, but this lead to some very catchy, hilarious and quotable dialogue.
The other drawback, in the eyes of X-Men fans, might be the abuse of creative license. Blob was made to be a member of Team X, something he never was in the comics, and Agent Zero, a German, was made into a Korean.
The movie runs 107 minutes, is rated PG-13 and gets a solid four and a half stars. You will not be disappointed.