Seen on: May 1, 2009

The players: Director: Gavin Hood, Writers: David Benioff, Scott Silver, James Vanderbilt, Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Collins, Danny Huston, Ryan Reynolds

Facts of interest: Gavin Hood also directed "Tsotsi" and "Rendition."

The plot: The film traces the origin of Logan aka. Wolverine, who hunts down Victor Creed and William Stryker after they screw him over big time.

Our thoughts: What you’ve seen in the trailers for Gavin Hood’s “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is exactly what you get: fast-paced action sequences with massive explosions, but barely any story. I can’t say the first big blockbuster of the summer season at the movies totally disappointed me, but I admit I left the theater dissatisfied.

Maybe I didn’t love “Wolverine” as much as I thought because I walked into the film expecting the same kind of genuine depth I so much enjoyed in “X-Men” and its absolutely brilliant sequel “X2.” Or maybe I was just hoping to find out more about the origin of Wolverine instead of watching him spend 107 minutes chasing after his biggest enemies.

Whatever the reason, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” falls victim to a shallow script that clearly fails to deliver a story line intriguing and unique enough to turn this prequel into a memorable experience. Alas, Hood’s film, though filled with decent action and nice visual effects, is nothing but a forgettable installment in a great series (not counting “The Last Stand”).

What this film is really missing is character, a flaw that kept bugging me all throughout the movie. Sure, we do catch a good glimpse at what happened to Logan during his childhood and how he came to be so powerful and consumed by revenge, but other than that, the film clearly refuses to offer viewers a complex character they should really care about.

Sophisticated superhero flicks such as “Spider-Man,” “Iron Man,” and the past two “Batman” movies devoted considerable time exploring flawed heroes who wrestled with the dark sides of life, but not so much “Wolverine.” No, Logan is pretty much an indestructible mutant who rarely faces a tricky challenge, and the film’s analysis of his psyche just doesn’t cut it.

As I said before, Wolverine spends most of the movie trying to seek revenge against his brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) and William Stryker (Danny Huston), and although the plot lacks both suspense and surprises, I still admit the large amount of loud, brainless action sequences manage to deliver decent big-screen entertainment.

Sure, many of the battles you get to see in “Wolverine” lack intensity and simply can’t measure up to some of the awesome action moments we’ve seen in other recent superhero films, but all in all, they did a pretty good job of keeping the movie out of the boredom zone. In other words, “Wolverine” could have been a lot worse.

Poor character development is certainly one of Hood’s film’s main weaknesses, but much to my surprise, I still ended up enjoying Hugh Jackman’s performance as the aggressive mutant who gets screwed many times and won’t rest until he’s kicked some major butt. The same goes for Huston, Schreiber and even the beautiful Lynn Collins.

Freaky quote: “I'm coming for blood, no code of conduct, no law." – Hugh Jackman

The final word: “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is not a waste of time or money, but it’s not exactly a marvelous action blockbuster either. The film has enough potential and superficial energy to keep folks entertained for 107 minutes, but don’t dare expect more. Logan’s claws may be shiny and sharp, but they don’t cut deep enough.

Article by Franck Tabouring