X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The first half an hour of Wolverine is very promising, with its spectacular action, very nice work with mountain locations, a likable Hugh Jackman, a believable relationship with a hot girl, cool catchphrases (“I’m Canadian”) and Liev Schreiber’s badass super villain (he’ll have to fight off offers to play more villains with a stick). Wolverine starts off as a tastefully balanced mix of dynamic action and pleasant family adventure with some romance thrown in for a good measure... That’s why it’s a pity that the talented Gavin Hood must gradually submit to more and more stupid screenplay twists, which want to astonish the action-craving audience at any cost. The movie thus ends up being something between Doom and X-Men: The Last Stand. I’m neither angry nor disappointed, as this was to be expected already from the trailer. I’m just saying it’s a pity. These characters and the hard-working actors playing them deserve something more clever. Something like Bryan Singer. (04/27/2009)

The real superheroes here aren’t Wolverine and Sabretooth, but Jackman and Schreiber. Both of their performances, overcoming the clichéd action scenes and almost making you forget about the stupidity of the screen-writing, are nothing short of superhuman. Other than that it’s just a full feature Tide Pod infomercial (Logan’s whitest than white shirt would put John McClane to shame) mixed with 80s B movie classics resulting in an imbalanced cocktail, and even having seen the whole the movie I still can’t tell whether it was taking itself seriously or not. (05/02/2009)

A boring mix of romance and breathtaking mountain scenery (more interesting first part) with a disjointed action adventure (boring second part) and a typically grandiose climax. As a prequel to a famous franchise, it's decent, but as a standalone action piece, it's very mishandled. Hugh Jackman has charisma, but his character is not sufficiently well-written, the action is confusing, computer-generated, and dull. The antagonists are solid, but the final over-the-top action set-piece follows a beaten path that no longer entertains me. (08/30/2009)

Adrenaline, excitement, fascinating action, and Jackman. Although Gavin Hood doesn't go through complicated storylines or delve into deep psychological exploration, it's beyond me how the creator of the desperately average Rendition could create such an amazing tribute to Logan. I simply rejoiced in everything, from the warrior Wolverine, to the lone Wolverine, to the expectedly raging Wolverine. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that this five-star review is probably highly personal. (05/24/2009)

I have only seen the first two films of the X-Men series so far and they made a very solid impression on me. Wolverine takes a completely different direction and is not what I am looking for. It is more action-packed and visually impressive, but somehow immature in a teenage way. Even Liev Schreiber, one of my favorite actors, in the role of the main antagonist, did not improve my feelings. It is likely a generational matter because as a teenager I would give it at least one more star. Overall impression: 45%. (12/16/2009)