‘Origin’ series begins with a favored X-Men character
”
X-men Origns: Wolverine
”
is one of those movies where viewers know how it will turn out
before they enter the theater
– at least anyone who has seen
”
X-Men,
”
”
X2,
”
”
X-Men: The Final Stand,
”
read the comic books or grew up watching the Saturday morning
cartoon, knows how it all ends.
‘Origin’ series begins with a favored X-Men character
“X-men Origns: Wolverine” is one of those movies where viewers know how it will turn out before they enter the theater – at least anyone who has seen “X-Men,” “X2,” “X-Men: The Final Stand,” read the comic books or grew up watching the Saturday morning cartoon, knows how it all ends.
Logan, aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), is a mutant who can’t die. His skeleton is bound with some metal alloy, though he doesn’t know how it got that way. He has military dog tags, but he doesn’t know where they came from. In short, he knows nothing about himself or how he got to be the way he is. Logan’s story is one of many that is woven through the three movies that deal with a battle between good mutants and bad ones, and between humans who want to destroy them.
The first three movies deal with a variety of characters, and more are introduced in the subsequent movies. The core of the good group is lead by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), a mutant who has created a school where young people who find themselves with extraordinary powers can learn to control them and hone them. Logan wants nothing to do with any of the mutants, good or bad. He only meets Xavier after he comes across a young girl, Rogue (Anna Paquin), who finds that she sucks the life out of anyone who touches her or whom she touches. Logan is a loner, but he feels some responsibility to get the girl to a safe place.
The latest film is the first of several “X-Men Origins” that are in the works. The movies are supposed to be prequels to the trilogy that focus on one character and explain how they got to be the way they are. Rumor has it that one will be made about Magneto (Ian McKellen), who plays the leader of the evil mutants and who believes the only way mutants can survive is to destroy the human race before it destroys them. I suspect that the film will introduce us to the mental-bender before he lost his way.
It’s no surprise that the filmmakers decided to start the Origins series with Wolverine. He’s independent and tough enough to appeal to male audiences, but played by Jackman, he is good looking enough to draw a female crowd as well. The latest film fills in the gaps about Wolverine’s past, and though we know how things will end, the movie delivers a good comic book battle.
It turns out Logan, aka Wolverine, is really James Logan, and he was born in Northwest Canada before the Revolutionary War. He has a half-brother, Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), and they both share a trait with their father of being able to expand and retract razor-sharp claws. They also appear to be indestructible, as shown in an opening montage of the two brothers fighting in war after war for the American military, starting with the Revolutionary War and through to the Vietnam War.
When the two brothers survive a firing squad, they come to the attention of William Stryker (Danny Huston), a name that will be familiar to all who have watched the X-Men triology. Stryker is a military man who has assembled a special ops team of mutants who have very unique powers, but Logan turns away from military service when Stryker wants them to hurt civilians. He tries to persuade his brother to leave with him, but Victor, aka Sabertooth, has a taste for killing that Logan has always tried to suppress.
Logan chooses to live a quiet life back in Canada, working as a logger and living with a gorgeous school teacher, Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), who seems to have a knack for calming people with a touch of her hand. When Stryker shows up at his job site one day and tells him that members of the old crew have been killed off one by one, and someone is stalking them, Logan refuses to help.
Soon everything Logan cares about is gone, and he sets his sights on revenge.
From there, the movie plays out in typical comic-book fashion. The good guys are good, and if they act bad it’s only because they are trying to save a loved one. The bad guys are bad, and they don’t get away with the most heinous acts, but they do get away as they need to be alive to continue their work in the movies that have already been made. There are quite a few loose ends that aren’t tied up – like how Wolverine and Sabertooth even got their weird power in the first place, or where Remy Le Beau, aka Gambit, will fit in for the future of the series – but the movie is good enough to overlook the plot holes. It is a must-see for fans of the “X-Men”
