X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Shtink! Has any character shot right to the top as a fan favorite like Wolverine did, since his first appearance in Incredible Hulk #181 in late 1974? He’s just one of those characters, neither good or bad, just treading the waters of uncertainty. He’s filled with uncontrollable rage, flaws, and remorse; a complex character of perfection, a Superman-like hero (dare I say that?) with indestructible bones and a healing factor that makes him hard to kill. Add a cigar, and a wise-ass attitude, and what’s not to like, bub?

His popularity almost overshadows the X-Men themselves, ever since writer Chris Claremont added him to the team in the late 1970s and he’s been the staple of every adaptation in any medium since. It wasn’t rocket science to see why he was the focal point in the three X-Men films and he was due for solo adventure. So here we get the oddly titled X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the chance to see Wolvie do what he does best…unfortunately, its not the best the filmmakers could do with him.

It’s frustrating to watch this picture for a handful of reasons including some uber-comic geek stuff and some just for the sake of entertainment, but this almost feels like a thrown together effort. What doesn’t work is the fact that the film wants to tie this film into the first X-Men film. That is its biggest problem, and since it does, it opens up its shortcomings. Oh sure, it takes place 15 or so years prior so we’ll get more solo adventures to keep this franchise going, but it really hinders this film with its need to tie everything up towards Singer’s film.

That might have been forgivable if the film didn’t feel like a montage of Wolverine’s life. The film is wildly predictable; first ten minutes in we get his discovery of the claws, a while later we start to set up Sabretooth (here Victor) as the villain, start of the Weapon X program, Wolverine breaks loose, big fight with Victor, end movie. The problem is that they felt the need to show everything in his early life, with little effort to show how it leads up to anything. It’s hollow and paint-by-numbers. I think everyone wanted to see the Weapon X program and how it pertains to Wolverine’s life. It’s treated as an after thought like much of everything else in the film. For my money, the handling of Weapon X and Wolverine’s past was handled well better, even in its brevity, in X2: X-Men United.

Remember how awful it was to see in Spider-Man 3, the handling of Venom and how they shat him out on screen, while tying Sandman’s character into the development of Spider-Man’s origin? It happens in this film with Deadpool and Cyclops. Deadpool is one of those characters where people either love him or don’t understand why he’s a fan favorite. He’s handled worse than Venom was in Spider-Man 3, sadly, because you know Fox is dying to franchise this character. He’s nothing like the fans loved and the casting of Ryan Reynolds seemed ideal for his physique and attitude, but he’s given jack and shit to do, and jack left town. Plus, he has an ability that is so cringe-worthy, I automatically feel sorry for his fans. Cyclops is pointlessly here, except for one aspect that it relates to what I’m complaining about. Don’t get me started on Blob. Its corny, and he’s in the film’s worse sequence. In fact, the scene is so bad, I wished I could have run into the projection booth and trimmed his scenes from harming future audiences.

One of the few things they did get right is Sabretooth, nicely played by Mr. Schrieber, an actor I thoroughly enjoy every time I see in a film. He captures the right level of good friend, enemy to Wolverine, as well as the right amount of menace and villainy. It’s almost a shame to think how weakly Sabretooth was handled in the first X-Men film, since Schrieber gives a fun, deep performance. Of course, Hugh Jackman is great, although the script never gives him the rage or the beast he needs. He seems to mellow for what happens to him. Gambit is cool here too, even though his character is a plot device.

I think there was a few nice ideas within this mess, to hopefully build into the eventual sequel. The script is so generically written from dialogue to set-up to themes of the character, that it leads to immediate disapproval from the true fans, and offers little on what non-fans knew from the previous X-Men films. The movie leaves us with two laughable scenarios: one I cannot reveal since its a spoiler but it doesn’t work as well as it should have, and the second is they almost forgot that Wolverine loses his memory. How they answer to how he does, well, let’s just say, they put a bullet into this reviewer’s head instead.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: As expected, Fox’s transfer here is stunning. A thick level of ink-like blacks, vibrant colors, deep contrast, and a high level of clarity, make this a great looking disc. There is no issues here, and rather why would they be? But I’ll make note of how good this transfer looks, it does do a disservice to the film’s weak CG effects.

Boom! That’s what you’re living room with do, with this stellar DTS track. The film is heavy on bass and action, and of course, it is well reproduced here. The better your home theater system is, the better the audio experience will be.

There are no issues with this section. A standout demo disc for home theater enthusiasts.

Commentaries: We get two tracks here, one by director Gavin Hood solo, and the other by the producers. Hood’s track is the better of the two, as he is full of insights into the making of the film, but I couldn’t help to be a bit bored during it. The producer’s track is a fun listen, but not too film-making centric. Decent tracks, but it would’ve been nice to have some of the actors in here.

All extras are in high definition.

Roots of Wolverine: Here’s a 16 minute interview with the great Stan Lee and Len Wein. This piece has the two almost interviewing each other, with Wein the creator of the character. This is a fun featurette fans will dig.

Wolverine Unleashed: Complete Origins: This piece has discussions on the much loved Wolverine Japan story arc and why it was dismissed by the studio, Jackman talking about the character and how he bulked up, and while short, is a good primer to the mature of the film’s genesis, even if I didn’t like it (the film, I mean).

Weapon X Mutant Files: Each of the film’s mutants are covered here in a fun, but slightly cheesy manner. We’re offered characteristics, mutant abilities, all of the stuff most die-hard Marvel fans will know already. But also included is interviews with the actors on their characters, as well as the stunt and FX team in crafting their mutant powers. You can play them individually or all together; runs an hour.

Thrill of the Chase: This talks about the helicopter sequence, the effort put into it, the FX and whatnot.

Deleted Scenes: I bet most fans will run to these first. I don’t blame them, because we have a Storm cameo, a Japan sequence, and some other worth while alternate scenes. I think while these are all interesting, also proves why this film doesn’t work. Interesting nonetheless.

Fox Movie Channel Presents: World Premiere: Shot in standard def, Tempe AZ won a contest to host the premiere of the film, and here’s highlights of that night.

Trailers and Ultimate X-Mode BonusView round out the extras.

Bonus View: Ultimate X-Mode is an awesome feature that provides an entertaining look at the film through the eyes of director Gavin Hood and producer Lauren Shuler Donner, who appear in the bottom right corner of the screen and explain the connections between the previous X-Men movies and this one. The Director’s Chair feature has Gavin Hood reviewing behind the scenes work that went into the film, and the X-Facts feature provides the viewer with an ongoing stream of trivia. These features are a lot of fun and a smart move on the studio’s part because they encourage multiple viewings.

Live Lookup: This is a really cool feature that allows the viewer to click on visible avatars that appear during the flick in order to access character biographies via IMDB. I had a lot of fun with this feature, and it’s really easy to use. If your a fan of the X-Men characters, then you probably already know a lot of the information provided here, but it’s still a load of fun to play with the evolving technology.

Conclusion: Fox’s Blu-ray of X-Men Origins: Wolverine is top notch with decent extras. Sadly, the film is a mess. Fans will be pleased though.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: