Review of X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) by Timothy S — 15 Aug 2016

Enjoyable and fun, but pretty dumb. It was a decent kickoff for the summer season when it came out, and stands as a celebration of false physics, comic book and movie clichés, unnecessary (and pretty poor) CG / special effects, and of course, Hugh Jackman's awesomeness, which certainly elevates this movie above the insufferable tripe that it was well on its way to being.

He really puts a lot into Wolverine, and really does the character justice... again! All this despite the fact that all of the cool stuff he did throughout the earlier part (i.e. the first 100 years) of his long life are given only a couple of minutes of attention during the opening credits.

The romance story is tedious, but doggone it, they tried. Gambit is a highlight, but his screen time is way too brief. Liev Schreiber is okay as Sabertooth, but what is it with Liev Schreiber always playing parts that other people have already played (Manchurian Candidate, The Omen, and now this)? Oh well, he's definitely welcome in this role compared to the actor in the first one (that guy was two steps away from being a pro wrestler), and he seems to be enjoying himself.

Overall, I had a good time and was pleasantly surprised once or twice, given my low expectations going in.