Let me begin by explaining the concept of this movie. Following on from the immense success (and brilliance) of the X-Men franchise, based on the comic book of the same name, Wolverine is the story of one of the most beloved and well known protagonists of the original movies and comic books. Wolverine is the star of the show, the tortured yet heroic battler, with the iconic steel claws, and quippy one liners.
This movie set out to answer some of the questions that many fans of the X-Men series had - where did he come from? Why is he called Wolverine? Why on earth does he have an alien metal fused to his bones? Why is he so damn hairy?
If that was the whole purpose of this movie, then it succeeded. However, this is also the ultimate failing of the movie, as the story jumps from one segment to another, each doggedly explaining Wolverine's eternal youth and healing ability, his relationship with his brother (the always excellent Liev Schrieber - more on him later), the lost love of his life who gave him his name etc etc.... It felt almost episodic at times, and only served to slow the movie down between the fight scenes and explosions. It also made it very very loooooooonnnnng.
However, the movie did have some successes, mostly from the supporting cast. Ryan Reynolds is at his mouthiest best (and therefore completely underused in his five minute screen time), Dominic Monaghan does a creepy turn as "Bolt", flickering lightbulbs with his mind, and Will I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas makes a decent acting effort. Lynn Collins, best known for dire Vampire series True Blood, provides the love interest character with a doomed future.
However, it is Liev Schreiber, playing Victor Creed (Logan / Wolverine's half brother who later on will become - gasp! - Sabretooth) that really steps up to the plate. Althoug
h the script is pretty bad throughout, Schreiber seems to manage to make it almost bearable, injecting an animalistic menace into every snarl. He bounds through the film, providing some of the most memorable scenes, and some genuinely scary / gruesome moments.And of course, the cries of joy upon discovering that - finally! - Gambit will be introduced in this movie were voiced by fanboys all over the world. Relative unknown Taylor Kitsch lives up to the hype, with a sexy New Orleans drawl and a laid back cool that the movie desperately needed - although once again, completely underused - one can only hope that Gambit will be getting an origins movie of his own, as aside from Wolverine, the Gambit character is perhaps one of the most well loved.
It is such a shame then, that even with a wealth of characters and new mutant abilities to play around with, the movie seems to plod along, assisted with a lumbering plot, and an awful lot of stopping and starting. Yes, the special effects are great, and Hugh Jackman still looks very good in a vest, but the rest is just ... filler. Lets hope that the Japan-set sequel (hinted at after the credits - stay 'til the end people!) will have a bit more substance.
Cast - 3/5 - Schreiber basically earned these points on his own.
Special Effects 4/5 - Look out for Motorbike vs Helicopter, and Gambit showing off his kinetic tricks
Dialogue 2/5 - Not Catwoman awful, but still not very good.
OVERALL 3/5 - It's long and plodding, but with a good turn from Liev Schreiber and the introduction of Gambit into the franchise, there is hope for the future.
