Just about every superhero franchise seems to be following in the wake of Batman Begins lately. Since 2005’s brilliant reboot of the series, more and more of our big-screen heroes are taking a leaf out of the Caped Crusader’s book in an attempt to reinvent themselves. Casino Royale introduced a grittier, colder Bond. The Incredible Hulk saw Edward Norton attempt to restart the franchise after the disaster that was Ang Lee’s Hulk just five years prior. And there’s more on the horizon; McG’s upcoming Terminator Salvation, (which goes as far as actually having the Batman himself, Chrstian Bale, as John Connor), and J.J. Abrams’ blockbuster-isation of cult hit Star Trek. Unfortunately, these reboots don’t always work as intended, hence where X-Men Origins: Wolverine comes into the frame.
Realistically, you could probably work out the story for yourself if I told you that it follows the generic franchise reboot formula we’re now all too familiar with. Without spoiling the story completely, especially with the movie only receiving a public launch in around three weeks time, the exposition of X-Men Origins: Wolverine sees a young Logan growing up with Victor Creed (or Sabretooth), and struggling to deal with his companion’s violent animalistic streaks of rage. After joining, then leaving a special project led by William Stryker (Danny Houston), Victor and Logan go their separate ways, until an unfortunate chain of events and a betrayal sees the duo reunited… only this time out to slay one another.
Already, it’s clear that X-Men Origins: Wolverine is one thing: unoriginal. Not that anything genre-bending was expected, but I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed at the lack of inspiration prominent in the narrative. It follows such a predictable structure that Fantastic 4 all of a sudden appears complex in comparison, relying on a weak series of twists in the climax in an attempt to try and salvage some sort of emotion from the viewer. Fair enough, a linear narrative written and realised successfully can prove rewarding (see the Gran Torino review), but David Beioff, who also wrote the screenplay for The Kite Runner, has suffered a misfire of sorts here. There are just far too many cliché’s prominent in the dialogue, with “Fight to protect America”, “But I’m Canadian now” proving just one example of uninspiring scripting. It may garner some cinema-based laughs, but being realistic, we’ve heard it all before.
Furthermore, the general delivery of these lines is poor on a whole, with sub-standard performances from the majority of the cast. Hugh Jackman, seeking a return to form after 2008’s failed awards hunter, Australia, fails to inject any sentiment into his character, which is a shame since scenes such as the resolution could’ve been a great deal more emotionally fuelled if Jackman just showed a little more human instinct. For a film so obsessed with defining the difference between humanity and animalism, a plethora of the performances do little to convince you of any sort of difference. Liev Schreiber is equally as disappointing as the ruthless Victor, but to be fair, it’s once again lacklustre scripting that contributes to his downfall. Perhaps the only notable performance throughout is Danny Huston’s depiction of William Stryker, and although his wavering motives are far too bipolar to be believable, he remains solid throughout as a despicable control-freak.
Moreover, X-Men Origins: Wolverine once again stumbles in terms of its use of cinematography and film language. The action sequences are exceedingly poorly edited, with non-sensical jump-cuts and the like making the movie feel like some sort of failed art-house flick. Other than the action sequences, it’s all very formulaic, with establishing shots connoting a change in scenery, close-ups in conversations, and the like. There’s just no room for experimentation here, and although seeing a still-shot, tracking shot, then rear-still during a chase sequence is gratifying the first time round, it becomes glaringly obvious as lazy filmmaking to even the least film-articulate of viewers after being repeated six or seven times.
On a whole, X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a bitter disappointment, especially considering 2000’s X-Men made superhero movies cool again. It’s just such a shame that X-Men Origins: Wolverine can’t do the same for the franchise reboot, Batman Begins still deservedly holding onto its righteous crown in that respect.
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X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a hugely disappointing franchise reboot that relies on poorly edited action sequences and sloppy dialogue to drive the underwhelming narrative, bringing not one new idea to the tried and tested rebirth genre. A massive letdown.
2/5
