SectionsMediocre script, effects in 'Wolverine'
Adam Waldowski
Issue date: 5/5/09 Section: Features
If "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is trying to prove it can be an unimpressive addition to the X-Men film series and still make a heap of money, it's three years too late. "X-Men: The Last Stand" beat it to the punch in 2006. Yet, "Wolverine," making big money in the face of widespread Internet piracy of a long-circulating, working print of the film, proves a masochistic public is just begging for more mediocre X-Men movies. Oh, and what a lot of mediocrity plagues this bland mutation of a once-enjoyable film franchise.
It's really not that "Wolverine" is uniformly awful. There are bits and pieces that work well, including an array of supporting characters just begging for "Origins" movies of their own. Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool actually has his more or less set up in a scene following the end credits.
Amid all this sequel-baiting, there's a massive ensemble at work. The charming Taylor Kitsch of television's "Friday Night Lights" embodies Gambit, a popular mutant absent from the films until now. Dominic Monaghan turns on light bulbs with his mind, Daniel Henney is a brilliant marksman, and well, you get the idea. Lots of moderately famous actors have lots of powers, and there's not a lot of time to tell a story, but there is lots of time to show off how much they can do with the help of special effects. Of course, that's what we all bought tickets to see.
What makes "Wolverine" such a letdown is the special effects range from subpar to downright awful. When Wolverine gets dropped into the water surrounding Three Mile Island, the shot looks like something on your Nintendo 64 circa 1997. With a reported budget of $150 million, you have to wonder how big the supporting actors' paychecks were.
Maybe all that money deservedly went into Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber's bank accounts. They certainly work harder than the special effects folks did.
Jackman's brooding Wolverine and Schreiber's fiendish Sabertooth are less comic book characters than something even more larger than life. They both showcase serious acting chops and emote more than is ever required by the lazy scripting.
These actors seem to think they're in a much more dramatic movie, perhaps a wacky adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Wackier still, their over-the-top approaches don't seem terribly out of place in a film whose tone never once feels consistent. Jackman and Schreiber have earned accolades for their work on Broadway stages, so they accordingly contribute a lively theatrical element to an otherwise stagnant film.
With all the supporting characters, two interesting lead performers and one action sequence after another, there's a little bit of everything for everyone here. I'm a bit befuddled that I was most enthused by Jackman and Shreiber. But I guess I'm better off than the people impressed by the visual effects or those clamoring for the inevitable Deadpool spin-off.
It's really not that "Wolverine" is uniformly awful. There are bits and pieces that work well, including an array of supporting characters just begging for "Origins" movies of their own. Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool actually has his more or less set up in a scene following the end credits.
Amid all this sequel-baiting, there's a massive ensemble at work. The charming Taylor Kitsch of television's "Friday Night Lights" embodies Gambit, a popular mutant absent from the films until now. Dominic Monaghan turns on light bulbs with his mind, Daniel Henney is a brilliant marksman, and well, you get the idea. Lots of moderately famous actors have lots of powers, and there's not a lot of time to tell a story, but there is lots of time to show off how much they can do with the help of special effects. Of course, that's what we all bought tickets to see.
What makes "Wolverine" such a letdown is the special effects range from subpar to downright awful. When Wolverine gets dropped into the water surrounding Three Mile Island, the shot looks like something on your Nintendo 64 circa 1997. With a reported budget of $150 million, you have to wonder how big the supporting actors' paychecks were.
Maybe all that money deservedly went into Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber's bank accounts. They certainly work harder than the special effects folks did.
Jackman's brooding Wolverine and Schreiber's fiendish Sabertooth are less comic book characters than something even more larger than life. They both showcase serious acting chops and emote more than is ever required by the lazy scripting.
These actors seem to think they're in a much more dramatic movie, perhaps a wacky adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Wackier still, their over-the-top approaches don't seem terribly out of place in a film whose tone never once feels consistent. Jackman and Schreiber have earned accolades for their work on Broadway stages, so they accordingly contribute a lively theatrical element to an otherwise stagnant film.
With all the supporting characters, two interesting lead performers and one action sequence after another, there's a little bit of everything for everyone here. I'm a bit befuddled that I was most enthused by Jackman and Shreiber. But I guess I'm better off than the people impressed by the visual effects or those clamoring for the inevitable Deadpool spin-off.
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