The Origin: What you need to know
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the prequel to the X-Men movie series as well as the 4th in this Marvel movie franchise. Scenes from Wolverine’s past are revisited, from his messed-up childhood and experiences fighting at the front lines of three major wars, (American Civil War, WWI, Vietnam War), to his past dealings with Team X, a secret operations CIA team, as well as the events leading up to his mysterious memory loss.

How we feel…
While the movie’s plot is essentially about revenge, it doesn’t descend into predictability thanks to eventual twists in the story which, when coupled with the engaging action sequences, (like the jumper-styled fight scene between Wolverine, Sabretooth and Deadpool on the top of a nuclear reactor), makes watching this show one worth the time and money.
This movie keeps you in your seat. It’s entertaining, and though the plot is average, the action makes up for everything. Especially considering Wolverine and Sabretooth’s regenerative capabilities, the fight choreography has its fill of lethal moves
You can definitely count on this spin-off trashing previous instalments of the series like X-men 3: The Last Stand. I would say that this movie delivers on a level comparable in performance to that of comic contemporary Spider-Man 3 but it still loses out in terms of level of suspense and emotional depth to The Dark Knight.

The Good
The numerous fight sequences are definitely a visual treat such as the stylish storming out of an African hideout by Team X.
The thrilling and dramatic opening scenes which featured half-brothers Logan and Victor (aka Wolverine and Sabretooth) can’t fail to impress. This is the part of the movie where you’ll witness them doing their rendition of Korea’s Brotherhood: Taegukgi. It was touching, adrenalin and testosterone pumping, giving you a high comparable to watching Rocky and listening to The Contender theme song at the same time.
Watching them made me want to sign up for national service immediately.

The movie also has its share of humour. Audiences will be treated to the sight of a butt-naked Hugh Jackman streaking across the countryside, drawing much giggling from the female audience. For the record, this UrbanWire reviewer felt more awkward than amused.

A plus side to this instalment is its deeper characterisation of its characters as compared to earlier films in the series, which had too many mutants and too little focus. The premiere of other characters not shown in the original X-Men movie series, including Agent Zero, Deadpool and John Wraith, Fred Dukes and Gambit, was also a plus point, making the movie that much more exciting.

Audio was decent, the sound effects and music in the background felt cleaner and more polished than that found in The Incredible Hulk, which was more ‘crish crash bam ka-bluey!’

But wait, this isn’t to say that X-men Origins: Wolverine is soft and safe like a nice little tea party. No.
There are satisfyingly loud explosions, the reverberating thump of flesh against metal. There was the familiar clattering of bricks piling into a heap. Indeed, the sound effects do convey the impact to the devastating hits taken by each character, and shaped the ambience in the film. Meaningless noise had no place in this movie.

The Bad
Just as things always go wrong in the life of superheroes, a movie made about them is no exception.
Jackman, who was also the movie’s producer, and Schreiber shared chemistry good enough to carry the film through. But, perhaps because of the genre, their repertoire of acting skills couldn’t be fully showcased. And personally, the show could have done with a better William Stryker, who was just too ‘cardboardy’, or how about a more expressive Emma Frost? Come to think of it, maybe even Lynn Collins could have done better in her role as Logan’s wife, Kayla Silver Fox, who just has perpetually ’stoned out’ expressions.

And I know I’m being picky but with the way Gambit was dressed, I was expecting him to break into some Willy Wonka-esque tap dance routine at some point in the show. But, then again, it’s an action flick, and who cares what’s being said when all you want is to see is something exploding?

However, what truly disappointed me was the poorly executed, CSI-styled explanation when it was revealed that Logan had been blindsided. It made the show feel cheap and half-hearted that instant.
While the plot is tied up pretty alright, I had to work my brains a little to settle the ‘who’s-in-it-for-what’ bit (I can see why Wolverine was shaking his head). The plot explanation left me feeling cheated, as if I just witnessed an epic journey that could’ve been resolved by a tiny on/off button.

The Conclusion

Enjoyable, but not particularly memorable

Rating: 7.2/ 10
Release Date: 29 Apr
Rating: PG
Genre/Type: Action/Adventure; Comic Book Adaptation
Running Time: 108 minutes
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston
Director: Gavin Hood (Rendition (2007))

Do remember to stay for the ‘post-credit ending’, as well as a ‘secret’ final scene after the final credits.