by admin - May 4, 2009 - - Comment Now »
I give it two popsicle sticks for now (I used to put popsicle sticks between my fingers to pretend I was Wolverine…sometimes I still do). I will have to see it again before I give my final rating but there are a lot of things that bother me.
For starters it doesn’t feel like the filmmakers have respect for the source material. I am not one of those nerds who thinks you have to be completely faithful to the comics because you have to change things to adapt to the medium. I view the movies as an alternate version of the characters and its own continuity altogether. However, in this one, it feels like they changed stuff just for the hell of it. And the studio obviously just tossed in some characters (Cyclops, Gambit, Emma Frost) to pander to fans and milk the X-Men franchise for every last penny. The problem with that is Wolverine’s story is strong enough to deserve sole focus and his fan base is big enough to bring in the box office results without a smorgasbord of plot twists and cameos.
The second big issue is that the film is soul-less, for lack of better words. We should feel Wolverine’s pain. Hugh Jackman’s Wolvie has always been strong but in this film he seems to depart from the rough, anti-hero that he introduced in the first X-Men film and venture more toward I am a leading man, give me money territory. Perhaps I am being unfair here but the image that is imprinted in my mind is a naked Hugh gingerly plunging down a waterfall. He then sheepishly takes refuge in a barn. In the comics Wolverine’s escape from Weapon-X featured a ferocious animal unleashed. In the movie it felt like an excuse to show Hugh Jackman’s ass.
I could see my rating going up or down in the future. There are some really cool action scenes, Sabretooth is infinitely better than in the original X-Men film and despite my criticism there are many instances where Jackman IS Wolverine. I also don’t have a problem with how Deadpool was handled, as many people do, and Ryan Reynolds was fantastic in the role. Maybe on second viewing I will just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Or maybe the things that bother me will take over. I might not ever get over the fact that they treated this like a disposable flick rather than an actual movie. I didn’t want a sprawling epic like Dark Knight or Watchmen. But I didn’t want to hate Wolverine either and I fear that could be the case.
Hopefully they do the sequel in Japan justice (maybe the best solo Wolverine story) so I don’t have to wish for my memories to be wiped out by adamantium bullets. Adamantium frickin’ bullets?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Tags: blog, comic books, movies, reviews, Wolverine
