Movie and Television Reviews

Another week, another comic book movie.

When I was a kid and watched superhero shows on television, I was always most interested in the "origin" episodes because I liked history and enjoyed thinking about why things were the way they were ("papi, why do people buy those ugly cars?" "That, son, is America at its best. I'd like to see the Japanese make a T-bird").

1976 Thunderbird. Take that, Toyota!

So, I entered the Krikorian X-Men Origins: Wolverine with more built-in enthusiasm than I had for the previous X-Men movies, where the characters pretty much come fully-formed, as they would have to seeing as how X-Men isn't an organic superhero group like the Fantastic 4, but an all-star team.

As a historical document, Wolverine doesn't disappoint. In fact, it made me realize how profoundly ignorant I was about things Wolverine. I must have said, "Oh, so that's why..." a dozen times (conversing with oneself out-loud, inside of a crowded theater is a sign of mental health). It turns out that Wolverine's a mutant's mutant. Like many of today's Hollywood starlets and some beauty queens, Wolverine feels the need to "enhance" his natural gifts: Wolverine is born with extra bones that protrude from his hands, super strength, and near-miraculous healing powers. To this already impressive array, the government adds an adamantium skeleton, which makes him that much better.

Almost harder than implanting adamantium

Something else that makes Wolverine an appealing movie is that Wolverine himself is by far the most dramatically compelling (Halle Berry's Storm has her charms) X-Man. His super-powers are closer to Batman-Spiderman "realistic" than Superman fantastic. One can understand Wolverine's powers, unlike those of Gambit, a superhero concept that makes no sense to me. Wolverine isn't Hulk-like unstoppable either and his vulnerabilities are interesting: One can sneak up on him, chop off his head off with any of the adamantium shovels available at Home Depot, and be done with him.

Storm isn't in Wolverine, but who cares?

Wolverine starts in the early 19th century with Wolverine and his super brother running away from home and then we see a montage where the brothers take part in every American war since the Civil War. A secret government group recruits Wolverine and his brother into a super commando group, Team X. After a fairly spectacular assault on a strong man's compound, Wolverine leaves the group because of some nasty treatment of African civilians. Wolverine's brother is then involved in a series of mutant killings and Wolverine must stop him and the people behind the mutant hate crimes. He falls in love, too.

Good stuff:

Some very clever superheroes and the effects that go along with them. I like the super-fast blade guy, the pistol dude, and the teleporting black cowboy. One girl has the ability to influence men through touch (actually, almost all women have this ability) and her sister is "solid as a rock."

Overall:

Wolverine lacks the semi-profundity of Dark Knight and Iron Man, and the closest it comes to Spiderman's sense of fun is some bathroom humor (literally), but it's good. I feel confident in saying that if you liked X-Men, you'll like Wolverine.

Politics/Message:

Wolverine has a mild anti-government message, which suits me fine at this point in history. We see, for example, the disaster that can result from government-run health care, "I just wanted my tonsils out and they gave me an indestructible metal skeleton. This wouldn't happen at Kaiser." Like in real life, Wolverine has to leave Canada to get timely medical care (imagine the savings if we can isolate the "healing factor" gene. It'd be better than banning trans-fats). Wolverine can't get any nasty government atrocity work in Canada either. Conclusion: Canada is not the place to be a budding superhero or evil government operative.

All of the X-Men-derived movies have a strong "noble social outcast"/anti-prejudice theme, "We needn't fear people with huge claws that can tear open a tank, nor those who can manipulate the weather or control magnetism. If we took some time to get to know them, we'd see that they're just like us (except for the aforementioned potential to cause mass destruction with the wave of an adamantium-cored finger).**

Many people associate the X-Men themes with the current controversies over homosexual stuff in society. The Charles Xavier would definitely disapprove of a society that shuns Christian beauty contestants just for expressing the idea that society should prefer opposite-sex marriage.

**No, I'm not saying all mutants are dangerous. Some of my best friends resemble Nightcrawler.

Iron Man (Single-Disc Edition)

X-Men Trilogy (X-Men/ X2 - X-Men United/ X-Men - The Last Stand)

Spider-Man - The Motion Picture DVD Trilogy (Spider-Man / Spider-Man 2 / Spider-Man 3)

Cast and credits below:

Follow up:

Directed by
Gavin Hood

Writing credits
(WGA)
David Benioff (screenplay) and
Skip Woods (screenplay)

Cast (in credits order)

Hugh Jackman ... Logan / Wolverine

Liev Schreiber ... Victor Creed / Sabretooth
Danny Huston ... William Stryker
Will i Am ... John Wraith
Lynn Collins ... Kayla Silverfox

Kevin Durand ... Frederick J. Dukes / The Blob

Dominic Monaghan ... Chris Bradley / Bolt

Taylor Kitsch ... Remy LeBeau / Gambit

Daniel Henney ... David North / Agent Zero

Ryan Reynolds ... Wade Wilson / Deadpool

Scott Adkins ... Weapon XI

Tim Pocock ... Scott Summers
Julia Blake ... Heather Hudson
Max Cullen ... Travis Hudson
Troye Sivan ... James

Michael-James Olsen ... Dog (Young Creed)
Peter O'Brien ... John Howlett

Aaron Jeffery ... Thomas Logan

Alice Parkinson ... Elizabeth Howlett
Philip A. Patterson ... Firing Squad Leader (as Phil Patterson)
Anthony Gee ... Carnival Guy
Adelaide Clemens ... Carnival Girl
Karl Beattie ... School Child
Tom O'Sullivan ... Logging Supervisor

Myles Pollard ... Phelan

Stephen Anderton ... Marcuse
Chris Sadrinna ... Van Mier
Septimus Caton ... Bartender

Matthew Dale ... Surgeon

Nathin Butler ... Male Nurse #1
Peter Barry ... Male Nurse #2
David Ritchie ... Dr. Cornelius
Asher Keddie ... Dr. Carol Frost
Socratis Otto ... Lead Technician –Alkali Lake

Stephen Leeder ... General Munson

James D. Dever ... Platoon Leader
Martin Obuga ... Muttering Man
Rita Affua Connell ... Nervous African Woman
John Shrimpton ... Stryker Aide
Henry Browne ... Curtis

Tahyna Tozzi ... Kayla's Sister / Emma
Daniel Negreanu ... Poker Player #1

Alexandra Davies ... Woman of the Night (as Alex Davies)
Don Battee ... Huge Doorman
Evan Sturrock ... Drunken Man In Alley

Rob Flanagan ... Driver #1

Hakeem Kae-Kazim ... African Businessman

Alison Araya ... Teacher
Eric Breker ... Special Forces Commander
Eileen Bui ... Vietnamese Child #1
Adrian Hughes ... Hunter #1
Byron Chief-Moon ... Hunter #2

Mike Dopud ... Vietnam Army Officer #1
Beatrice Ilg ... Waitress #1
Kanako Takegishi ... Waitress #2

Panou ... Tank Soldier

Johnson Phan ... Vietnamese Man

Elizabeth Thai ... Vietnamese Woman
Jade Tang ... Mutant Twin #1
Joelle Tang ... Mutant Twin #2
Create a character page for: John Howlett ?

Produced by
Richard Donner .... executive producer
Louis G. Friedman .... co-producer
Hugh Jackman .... producer
Stan Lee .... executive producer
John Palermo .... producer
Lauren Shuler Donner .... producer
Ralph Winter .... producer

Original Music by
Harry Gregson-Williams