A few More Scratches
It took me long enough to see the movie “Wolverine.”
There were enough people telling me how awful the film was. And that I shouldn’t see it. But I did. It’s not bad. Not bad at all.
I probably like it more than most people have who are revered fans of the comics and the self-appointed critics of the whole comic genre. So I can’t blame them for being slightly disappointed in it. But it’s not as bad as it is made out to be. Though no movie is worth $8.50 a pop to see. It feels like the prices get higher every time I go see a movie at the local theater. I might consider just going to the second run theaters from now on. Saves a little on the spare coins.
The film begins with the flashbacks of the younger Wolverine, before the dawning of his powers, in the middle of his family conflict. And he still has the bones protruding from his hands to resemble sharpened claws. Much of the first part of the storyline looks into the sibling rivalry between the Wolverine character and the other brother Victor. Also known as Sabertooth.
He'll get his metal claws later in the film.
It’s interesting to see how Wolverine is shaped and molded throughout the entire film… little details that may not matter to some. It is the small details that seems to make me leap with, “So that’s how he got that jacket.” There are tiny things that paints a nice picture. Wolverine developed his heavy smoking habits from hanging around a bunch of lumberjacks. You get to see how he received his adamantium claws. And you get to see how he became a reluctant member of an elite government group working from the inside.
But Wolverine also develops a very keen moral side. This splits him from the rest of the group, the government and his own brother as well.
There are a lot of good points for the film. First and foremost is the always dependable performance made by Hugh Jackman. It’s tailor-made for him. The role that he’s the most identified with. And it’s nice to see, despite having received plenty of notoriety for the part, he doesn’t simply walk away from the role he's known for. Jackman embraces the role. You can tell he loves the part. And he gets into it.
His performance is one of the best things about the film. I really do like him a lot in the role.
There are a lot of nice cameos that seem to work well into the film. Not just cameos for the sake of appeasing the fans. Not just little bits of characters thrown into the recipe just for added taste.
The appearance of a younger Cyclops is great and he’s treated much better here in the film than he was in the third (and awful) X-Men 3. Fact is, I don’t even acknowledge the third X-Men film.
Another nice cameo is the character of the card-throwing and lady chasing Gambit who helps Wolverine find the Island where William Stryker performs his military operations on missing mutants to create a powerful weapon against his most hated kind, the mutants. Gambit as portrayed by Taylor Kitsch makes him a formidable supporting character. Not just a throwaway character.
I’ve always been fascinated with the William Stryker character. Though it’s very unfortunate that the same actor could not be used here. Brian Cox was not cast again in the part. This may have been a mishap for the film. So the film feels like it’s missing an excellent actor here. Danny Huston tries his best and does a commendable job. But Brian Cox projects far more evil under the thin layer of humanity in his part… and they could have used Cox once more in the film to help bring a more serviceable evildoer wearing a sharp military suit.
There’s a great funny bit with Wolverine boxing it out with the Fred J. Dukes aka the Blob (well played by Kevin Durand) and it gives an added fun to the film.
I believe the film simply needs to establish the Wolverine character before it could focus on a more solid storyline such as the one in Japan where he will have to fend himself against a ninja organization called the Hand. Wolverine against ninjas? That I would like to see. Jackman did say in an interview that he loved the Japan storyline and is willing to portray it on film. I think it’s a very good idea as it gives a picturesque view into the Eastern world while using one of the most well known comic characters.
It’s not a bad movie. That might not be saying much. But it’s off to a good start and might be very strong introduction to the character. Perhaps, with even less character cameos, it might be a good battlefield for Wolverine to wrestle with his savage side in the lurid heights of the Tokyo skyscraper outline. It’s leaning that way. And it’s always the beast that lives inside a man, yet has a sensitive side. Perhaps it will take the beauty of an eastern princess to tame his soul.
There were enough people telling me how awful the film was. And that I shouldn’t see it. But I did. It’s not bad. Not bad at all.
I probably like it more than most people have who are revered fans of the comics and the self-appointed critics of the whole comic genre. So I can’t blame them for being slightly disappointed in it. But it’s not as bad as it is made out to be. Though no movie is worth $8.50 a pop to see. It feels like the prices get higher every time I go see a movie at the local theater. I might consider just going to the second run theaters from now on. Saves a little on the spare coins.
The film begins with the flashbacks of the younger Wolverine, before the dawning of his powers, in the middle of his family conflict. And he still has the bones protruding from his hands to resemble sharpened claws. Much of the first part of the storyline looks into the sibling rivalry between the Wolverine character and the other brother Victor. Also known as Sabertooth.
He'll get his metal claws later in the film.
It’s interesting to see how Wolverine is shaped and molded throughout the entire film… little details that may not matter to some. It is the small details that seems to make me leap with, “So that’s how he got that jacket.” There are tiny things that paints a nice picture. Wolverine developed his heavy smoking habits from hanging around a bunch of lumberjacks. You get to see how he received his adamantium claws. And you get to see how he became a reluctant member of an elite government group working from the inside.
But Wolverine also develops a very keen moral side. This splits him from the rest of the group, the government and his own brother as well.
There are a lot of good points for the film. First and foremost is the always dependable performance made by Hugh Jackman. It’s tailor-made for him. The role that he’s the most identified with. And it’s nice to see, despite having received plenty of notoriety for the part, he doesn’t simply walk away from the role he's known for. Jackman embraces the role. You can tell he loves the part. And he gets into it.
His performance is one of the best things about the film. I really do like him a lot in the role.
There are a lot of nice cameos that seem to work well into the film. Not just cameos for the sake of appeasing the fans. Not just little bits of characters thrown into the recipe just for added taste.
The appearance of a younger Cyclops is great and he’s treated much better here in the film than he was in the third (and awful) X-Men 3. Fact is, I don’t even acknowledge the third X-Men film.
Another nice cameo is the character of the card-throwing and lady chasing Gambit who helps Wolverine find the Island where William Stryker performs his military operations on missing mutants to create a powerful weapon against his most hated kind, the mutants. Gambit as portrayed by Taylor Kitsch makes him a formidable supporting character. Not just a throwaway character.
I’ve always been fascinated with the William Stryker character. Though it’s very unfortunate that the same actor could not be used here. Brian Cox was not cast again in the part. This may have been a mishap for the film. So the film feels like it’s missing an excellent actor here. Danny Huston tries his best and does a commendable job. But Brian Cox projects far more evil under the thin layer of humanity in his part… and they could have used Cox once more in the film to help bring a more serviceable evildoer wearing a sharp military suit.
There’s a great funny bit with Wolverine boxing it out with the Fred J. Dukes aka the Blob (well played by Kevin Durand) and it gives an added fun to the film.
I believe the film simply needs to establish the Wolverine character before it could focus on a more solid storyline such as the one in Japan where he will have to fend himself against a ninja organization called the Hand. Wolverine against ninjas? That I would like to see. Jackman did say in an interview that he loved the Japan storyline and is willing to portray it on film. I think it’s a very good idea as it gives a picturesque view into the Eastern world while using one of the most well known comic characters.
It’s not a bad movie. That might not be saying much. But it’s off to a good start and might be very strong introduction to the character. Perhaps, with even less character cameos, it might be a good battlefield for Wolverine to wrestle with his savage side in the lurid heights of the Tokyo skyscraper outline. It’s leaning that way. And it’s always the beast that lives inside a man, yet has a sensitive side. Perhaps it will take the beauty of an eastern princess to tame his soul.
posted by K.M. Paters at 12:17 PM
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