I'm just a sucker for those X-Men, so on opening weekend I'm uncharacteristically off to a big budget, F/X heavy chapter in the ongoing mutant saga. The delectable Hugh Jackman stars as Wolverine, one of the most appealing mutants of the series. We encounter him this time as Logan, before those infamous shiny steel claws became part of his persona. Unfortunately there's nothing especially original about this story. We have an evil government man (played with relish by Danny Huston) performing secret, nasty experiments on imprisoned mutants; a lovely, loyal, boring love interest (Lynn Collins) for Wolverine; a creepy nemesis named Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber); mutant-on-mutant slashing. Although the story reveals the origin of Wolverine's talons and his history of fighting off various enemies, it remains a bit of a mystery how he really started out in life or how his mutant state has effected him.
There's an interesting cast of characters who keep the action moving, including Ryan Reynolds (having a lot of fun with the wise cracking, chatterbox Wade Wilson), Dominic Monaghan as Bolt, Will i Am as John Wraith and Kevin Durand as The Blob. Taylor Kitsch is also a good addition as Remy LeBeau, a nefarious but charming New Orleans gambler I would expect to make another appearance in a later X-Men movie. Director Gavin Hood gets good performances from his eclectic mix of actors but it's pretty challenging to really bring much to these parts except cartoon level portrayals. It's not quite enough to make the movie thrilling or involving in the way the first X-Men film was for me, but it's just enough to make things entertaining. Wolverine does a lot of roaring and knashing of his teeth and claws, maybe a little too much, but he sure looks good doing it. The big reveal about Wolverine's origins was somewhat of a disappointment with a so-so ending.
Things to love about this movie: Hugh Jackman is terrific; some cool F/X
Things to hate about this movie: The movie is mostly action with very little time spent getting to know any of the mutants
Pleasant surprises: Wolverine running around buck naked in one scene (though I'm sure it's a body double)
Unpleasant surprises: A supporting character I enjoyed was killed off earlier than I expected
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