X-Men Origins: Wolverine

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)

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)

Crap that cost a lot of money always piss me off the most, and with Wolverine's origin my anger is clear. It’s an incredibly unoriginal comic book movie that fails in everything. Really, one cliché after another, already during the first fifteen minutes or so there are two shots of a screaming kneeling figure with a camera flying upwards. At least it makes you retroactively appreciate Ratner’s third part. (07/14/2011)

Disappointment that is on a level higher than the final part of the trilogy. Even Jackman's unquestionable charisma cannot hold together a story which, after a fairly promising start, burst into disjointed fights, silly dialogues and terribly predictable twists. The unique magic of the X-Men series has somehow disappeared, and I'm really wondering what puts Wolverine above all other soulless comic book fight films. Instead of the neglected question of the mutants vs. people relationship, Hood's film was supposed to feature a troubled hero, but only those shiny claws and an angry expression really remain of Logan. Paradoxically, the biographical film contributes the least to the image of the Wolverine of all the films, and while it does benefit from the charisma of previous films, the new knowledge about the hero's past is very weak, contrived, exaggerated and sometimes almost embarrassingly calculated. The image concept has nothing with which to captivate, the music is ok, the actors ok, but the added value that the viewer is used to with Singer is simply missing here. Unfortunately, what I suspected with regard to X-Men: The Last Stand has been confirmed. Without Singer, this universe lacks any distinctive charm. [50%] (04/27/2009)

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)