Hollywood Product: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (1)

GENRE: Vengeful action flick with mutant powers

THE PITCH: This X-Men prequel fills in the backstory of Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett (Hugh Jackman), revealing a glimpse of his 19th-century Canadian childhood, his similarly powered psychotic brother Victor, aka Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), and the 1970s-era government conspiracy that gives him both a metal skeleton and a bloody-minded vendetta. Snikt!

MONEY SHOTS: The opening credits show Logan and Victor fighting in the Civil War, World Wars I and II and Vietnam. Logan and a team of Nam-era mutant commandos wreak havoc on an African diamond-smuggling compound. Wolverine takes on a helicopter in an appropriately big, dumb action scene. Louisianan mutant Gambit (Taylor Kitsch) channels his cool explosive powers through a walking stick and playing cards. The outlandish final fight takes place along the rim of a nuclear reactor coolant tower.

Continue reading “Hollywood Product: X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

(Photo by James Fisher)