SYNOPSIS: Hugh Jackman reprises the role that made him a superstar - as the fierce fighting machine who possesses amazing healing powers, retractable claws and a primal fury. Leading up to the events of X-Men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine tells the story of Wolverine's epically violent and romantic past, his complex relationship with Victor Creed, and the ominous Weapon X program. Along the way, Wolverine encounters many mutants, both familiar and new, including surprise appearances by several legends of the X-Men universe whose appearances in the film series have long been anticipated.
 

REVIEW: Logan: [is shown his dog tags] I want new ones.
William Stryker: And what do you want them to say?
Logan: Wolverine.

Ah yes, May is here once again. Ever hear that expression, April showers bring May flowers? Well how about April commercials bring May blockbusters . . . and we are off to the races. YES! I am a major fan of mainstream good ol’ fashioned summertime action movies and this year is going to be out of this world. I am more than excited. A couple of years ago it was Spiderman 3 and last year it was Iron Man which proved to be a tremendous hit. This year we’ve got the next installment (and hopefully far from the last) in the X-Men series to start out this year’s summer movie season. The moviemakers were wise in changing it up by going back instead of just cranking out an X-Men 4. I’ll admit I was very skeptical when I first heard of this production thinking that it wouldn’t work to just focus on one of the X-Men when we have been accustomed to seeing a whole collection of them. It would be boring, I thought . . . until I saw the first preview and I was hooked. And believe me, the movie lives up to the hype. It was dramatic, action packed, sexy, touching, and funny at times.  There was an interesting little love story going on in there too that almost seemed out of place, but it was the reason for a good amount of the plot. Speaking of plot, yeah, there are some twists in this thing that left my jaw open. Overall the story telling aspect of this movie was really good and I was impressed on how well it all tied with the rest of the movie series, especially the first two. Many of you probably didn’t like X-Men 3 too much (I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I understand). I assure you, this one makes up for it.

Kayla Silverfox: You're not an animal, Logan.
Victor Creed: Yes you are.

I know of a few ladies that are huge Hugh Jackman fans. Yes I’m talking to you. Don’t miss this. I’m sure you’ll enjoy his “physical” performance. I was enjoying his acting performance. He was right on! And surprise, surprise, so was Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed / Sabretooth. I’m being sarcastic of course because Liev has a knack for nailing these cold, intimidating, unwavering characters so it is not surprising at all that he gave another sharp performance. Actually, now that I think about it, there is a slight flaw in the connection between this movie and the others. The Sabretooth in this one has very little or no connection with the one in the first X-Men. It’s like they are two different characters. In this movie, Sabretooth and Wolverine have a history and yet in the first X-Men they don’t even seem to know each other. But we can get past that. Getting back to Wolverine, he always seems to have such internal conflict going on all the time and this movie is no exception. Is he an animal or a compassionate person looking for justice and reason? Hugh delivers one of his best performances playing this role. The overall cast is pretty well composed. Two of the more interesting cast members are Will i Am and Ryan Reynolds. They both had small roles and Will was actually okay. Ryan, as he does best, was doing his thing with his quick wit and line delivery. He had me cracking up just like he did in Blade Trinity. He is awesome, unexpected comic relief in the middle of a hard core action movie . . . I love it.

Visually, as you would expect, this film is top notch. It has excellent cinematography with the use of incredible sets and filming locations (beautiful mountain scenes). The special effects are as good as always with this franchise. One of my particular focus areas is the use of mutant powers . . . the more the merrier. Well, this film passes that test. Another interesting aspect of this film is that neither Bryan Singer (Director of the first two) nor Brett Ratner (Director of the third) directed this one. The honor went to Gavin Hood (Rendition) and he did it right. Thanks Gavin for keeping the “mystique” and the power of the X-Men franchise alive and well.
 

Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

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