X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (2009). Hardly a lazy sequel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine contains a couple of nifty narrative surprises as well as some memorable tensions between its mutant players. Overall, though, its hard to view this as an integral entry in the X-Men franchise. Thats not to say its as irrelevant as, say, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, but part of Wolverines appeal has always been his aura of mystery, and an origin piece only works to strip him of that secrecy. Besides, the movies occasional clumsiness in laying out the expository groundwork ends up batting against its own intentions, which makes the picture seem even more trifling. Having said that, its apparent that this isnt the disaster many speculated it would be, especially on the heels of bad Internet buzz and that infamous download that left FOX executives outfoxed. As expected, the pictures chief selling point is Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine, even if the story line largely harnesses his considerable talents: Hes an excellent brooder, but broodings about all that the film requires him to do. As Victor Creed (later Sabretooth), Liev Schreiber is believable as both Logans brother and his tormentor, while Danny Huston, as Stryker, proves to be as fascistic a villain as Brian Cox when he tackled the role in X2. Ryan Reynolds adds some necessary sparkle as the wisecracking Deadpool, and I just wish he had been handed the more sizable role of Gambit instead (as the latter, mediocre Taylor Kitsch lives up to his surname). Other actors express whats required of them its often rage or regret, although mostly its just frozen stares at the blue-screen areas where the special effects were inserted at a later time.
DVD extras include audio commentary by director Gavin Hood; separate audio commentary by producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter; an interesting 16-minute conversation between X-Men co-creator Len Wein and the legendary Stan Lee; a 12-minute behind-the-scenes featurette; and 10 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes.
Movie: **1/2
Extras: ***
Read the full-length review of the film here.