Tease.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em

Remember Rock' Em Sock 'Em Robots? That old game where you would sit and bash the single button until one of the robots 'died'? That's what I imagine this movie to be. It looks quite cool and as long as there is a solid story and animation it could very well be one of those movies that could stand out as something a little different in this day and age of remakes, revamps and sequels. An interesting tid bit of trivia I have discovered this past week is that Pirates of the Caribbean was originally written with Hugh Jackman in mind for the role of Jack Sparrow. That would have made for a completely different film and I must say that I am glad that it did not head this way. The reason for this happening was that the big heads at Disney felt that Jackman didn't have the name to carry a potential blockbuster, having only recently broken in with X-Men. In that respect, they were wrong.

X-Men Origins Wolverine Review

**SPOILERS FOLLOW**

I’m going to say straight off that I really enjoyed this film and found it a great addition to the X-Men film franchise. In terms of the film’s content staying true to the comic it wasn’t so strong but personally that’s not something that I mind. If you want to be elitist and stick to the original text and be unable to see past it you are never going to enjoy any film that is an adaptation.

As an origin story for such a beloved character the film served quite well, I did feel that the time that Wolverine spent in Canada as a lumberjack in hiding could have been shortened in favour of lengthening the time spent during the Weapon X years. This would have allowed the audience to connect with the characters more and care a little more seeing as they were to be killed off throughout the duration of the film. On that note Ryan Reynolds and Dominic Monaghan deserved far more screen time than they were given, not because of the interesting powers that their characters had but the fact that they are actors of a certain calibre – Ryan Reynolds remains a sumwhat untapped action star.

I was looking forward to the war sequences but I did approve of the execution, it displayed what was necessary – Sabretooth’s growing passion for violence as well as the number of wars that they participated in. Liev Schreiber was outstanding as Victor Creed/Sabretooth and introduced an imposing presence without too much effort his bounding during the fight scenes was spectacular. And keeping his obsession with gaining Wolverine’s adamantium was well done. Schreiber and Jackman’s fight scenes whilst short were wonderfully viscous and brutal and most definitely some of the most exciting of the film. Hugh Jackman performed perfectly as he usually does – a result of playing the role for 10 years.

Weapon XI was somewhat of a downer to the film – made for a cool fight, but there was no real reason for its inclusion other than having a big final fight in the film. I feel this is the case with the inclusion of Emma Frost, Cyclops and Xavier – although it was cool to see Prof X in Wolverine. Not that a child Storm was shown in the trailer but excluded from the film. Gambit’s inclusion was odd, longer than expected and basically a fan service.

On level with the other X-Men films I would rate it above X-Men 3, below X-Men 2 and possibly on par with X-Men 1.

Origins.

It is only one week away today.

WOLVERINE!

I won’t lie and say that I’m not looking forward to this movie. Looking forward to it so much that I am refusing to go and download the leaked version that I know is out there. There are a few reasons including the fact that there is nothing to be gained from an incomplete version of the film and also the support that I have for Hugh Jackman and the Australian Film Industry – which has been supported through Mr Jackman’s efforts in the production of this film.

Mr. Jackman is a producer on the film through his film production company Seed Productions. He also opted for the majority of the filming to take place in Australia and New Zealand – which is something that Australia definitely need after the Justice League of America film’s debarkle.

Latest trailer

The film looks great,- everyone loves the character and Mr. Jackman’s portrayal of him, but I won’t say that I will be going into the film without reservations. Despite the story focusing on Wolverine’s origins and thus his involvement in the Weapon X program, from the trailers it feels as though they might be trying to force too many X-Men characters into the film. Considering that they have cut so many possible inclusions from the previous X-Men films it is on one hand surprising that they have decided to include so many, but on the other it isn’t. It’s half and half. Some inclusions are necessary to the story but others such as a teenaged Cyclops seem to be a bit of a stretch.

Gambit also falls into this category but the impression given from the trailer(s) is that his appearance will be more a fan-service than anything else – X-Men fans wanting Gambit included since X-2.

My impressions from the trailer[s] and clips that I have seen is that the better parts of the films will obviously be his least recent history; his childhood, the 3 or so wars he participated in and his inclusion in Weapon X. That is my
personal opinion, I am far more interested in everything prior to Weapon X and I am psyched that they are including his bone claws! Realistically it was unavoidable but it is nice to see that they look good!

And on a random note this film will be the first time that Wolverine's real name will be used; James Howlett. Fun fact.

I’ll post up a review of the film after I see it, probably not premiere night unfortunately, but the following Tuesday.