One of the first comic book super heroes with which I became became obsessed when I was a youth was Wolverine. There was a four set comic series released in the early nineteen eighties. I remember spending forty dollars for the first Wolverine comic in the series. I even have the first forty copies of the first Wolverine monthly series. At the age of eleven, I was obsessed with the character. However, as life went on, my interest in comic books faded, but my interest in the world of super heroes still remained.
When I was a kid, there were talks of an X-men movie. I remember talking with the clerk in the comic book store about it, debating who would make a good Wolverine, Storm or Cyclops. It was not until the year 2000 that it actually became a reality and, with three films now their belts, Fox and Marvel have decided to have spin-offs of the most popular characters. The first is Wolverine.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the story of how Logan became Wolverine. He was born with the power to heal very quickly. After seeing his father murdered, he kills the man who killed his father with bone-like claws that protrude from his fist. However, he learns that the man he has just killed is actually his real father. Knowing this, he runs away with his friend, Victor, who he soon learns is also his brother. The two have regenerative powers that keep them young and keep them from being killed. Having been born in 1845, the brothers decide that war is the way of life for them. Through the years, they serve their country though the American Civil War, World Wars I & II, the Korean War and Vietnam. After escaping death by firing squad, they are approached by Major William Stryker who asks them to join his special team of mutants known as the X team. But after the team commits a crime against humanity, Logan quit,. Years later, living in Canada with his girlfriend, Stryker finds Logan to let him know that someone from the team is killing former team members. It’s not until his girlfriend is murdered by his half brother, Victor, that Logan agrees to help Stryker. Logan agrees to become a weapon for Stryker and his skeletal system is reinforced with adamantium, an indestructible metal. As the film moves on, Logan soon learns the truth and he is not happy about it. This leads him to find his brother and learn the secrets behind Stryker’s weapon program.
The movie starts off very well with a lot of the characters’ origins and how they come to be the super mutants that they are. The first half is great, full of story and character development, however as the movie moves along, the story takes a back seat to scene after scene of non-stop action.
Speaking of special effects, this film has plenty of great visual and computer-animated effects. Its production values are top-notch, as is to be expected with a blockbuster Hollywood production. The acting is decent, but nothing great. Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber pretty much steal the show. The rest of the cast is full of some familiar comic book characters, but they don’t really have a lot of screen time to really make the audience care to much about them.
The Blu-ray Disc has a lot of special features, including commentary by director Gavin Hood, commentary by producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with X-Men creators Stan Lee and Len Wein, Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins, Wolverine Weapon X Mutant Files Featurette: 10 Character Chronicles, The Thrill of the Chase: The Helicopter Chase Sequence featurette, X Connect and On Set with Gavin Hood, X-Facts: Trivia Track, deleted scenes with commentary by director Gavin Hood, Alternate Memory Erase Sequence, Alternate Tag Scene: Japan, as well as a digital copy of the film. The Blu-ray disc looked great on the High Definition television on which I watched it. The picture and surround sound quality were great in 5.1 DTS. It’s a disc well worth buying and watching on your home theater system.
Overall, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is an entertaining, action-packed film. It is not a movie that will win an Academy Award for its story, because, honestly, after the first few scenes, it does not really have one. However, it is an amusing popcorn flick to watch with friends or family. The Blu-ray disc is packed with a lot of features that make it well worth the buy and the look and quality alone are well worth viewing the film a second time.
– Horror Bob
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