With him being one of the most popular of the mutants in the X-Men movies, it seemed inevitable that Wolverine would get his own movie. And while some of X-Men Origins: Wolverine does in fact work, it’s sadly something of a missed opportunity in the long run and at times feel very forgettable.

We begin with a young boy named James who is suffering with sickness in .  He witnessed his father being killed by the groundskeeper. This is when his mutant powers arise , resulting in bony claws coming out of his knuckles and a healing factor. Scared, he kills the murderer, who in turns reveals he is the boy’s real father. Shocked by his powers and what he’s done, he runs away with his half brother Victor, who also has mutant powers , including a healing ability much like the future Wolverine. Over many wars across the century and now grown up ( played by Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber), including World War I and Vietnam, the two brothers fight , until Victor starts growing seriously out of control. This unnerves the now renamed Logan  and they are sentenced to death . Obviously with their healing mutation both possess, they survive the firing squad . That’s when shady Major William Stryker( Danny Huston) enters the frame and offers the brothers a place in his secret black ops mission team. The team compromises of other mutants , wise-cracking mercenary Wade Wilson(Ryan Reynolds), solid Fred Dukes( Kevin Durand) , teleporter Wraith(Will.i.am) , marksman Zero( Daniel Henney) and electric manipulator Bradley( Dominic Monaghan)   . After a questionable mission in which Logan witnesses their complete disregard for human life, he abandons the group. We then see the future Wolverine,  settled in Canada with the calm, accepting yet slightly mysterious Kayla Silverfox( Lynn Collins) . He’s taking life as easy as he can, but soon enough his past comes back to haunt him. Things take a tragic turn when a returning and more vicious than ever Victor kills Kayla, devastating Logan. Seeking revenge and now going by the name we all know him as, Wolverine realises he needs more strength in order to defeat his brother. That’s when the slithering Stryker tempt Wolverine with an offer to make him stronger in his quest. Although not exactly enthused with Stryker’s immortality and behaviour, Wolverine agrees. During the painful procedure, Adamantium is forged with Wolverine’s skeleton, causing the claws he has to turn metal and more dangerous . Before can wipe his memory, Wolverine escapes . He must then adjust to his new super strength and get his revenge on . But once more features as his plans play the siblings off one another for his own gain, resulting in much conflict for all involved. 

Gavin Hood is a very talented director, but his work here is far from his best. While he keeps action to a high standard, a lot of other areas aren’t that thought out and it shows. In idea, I can’t fault the film for what it’s attempting to do. And while it does flesh out the beginnings of the character we all know and love , it feels like a lot more could have been explored and better utilised. Some of the special effects are a bit ropy if I’m being totally honest, though the action is pretty much one saving grace to be gleaned. At least most of X-Men Origins: Wolverine delivers on the action front , sometimes making up for the scattershot story and pacing. Some inventive parts are the striking title sequence that shows Wolverine and Victor’s war journeys and Wolverine’s nifty revenge on those who have wronged him .The score of thundering drums and low, electronic pulse scores high points for me and really adds to the film; one of the saving graces that improves an extremely flawed movie.

Hugh Jackman is one of the best things in this movie as the title character  . Having played Wolverine for a long time, he knows exactly what to do, but still finds new ways to flesh out the character. Embodying the physicality, scowling demeanour and bruised angst of the part(complete with a collection of ace one-liners), Jackman is stellar as always having made the role truly his own. It’s a good thing we have him in this film it must be said. Also effective is Liev Schreiber as the opposing and vicious Victor; all sly menace and hulking movement  . Watching these two actors face off is entertaining and it awakens this largely forgettable film to somewhat watchable. Rounding out the main part of the positive acting moments is Danny Huston, who always excels playing a villain. Here he is suitably oily and creepy as the man pulling everyone’s strings. He’s a nasty piece of work, but Huston gets a lot of sneaky charm out of the part too. Ryan Reynolds is unfortunately wasted as a former friend who comes back as something a lot different due to experimentation. Reynolds has found better fame years later with the character in question, but here he doesn’t register much. Dominic Monaghan is also underused as a member of the team, much like Kevin Durand and Daniel Henney . Will.i.am , most famous for music, barely registers here because his part is so scarce and poorly written Out of the supporting parts it’s Lynn Collins and Taylor Kitsch who really stand out . The former adds an air of mystery and tragedy to her part , while the latter as the quick thinking Gambit , despite being only really in a few parts of the movie , is rather entertaining with what he’s given and adds flair to his scenes.

So while it has some flashes of brilliance to it as well as an always excellent Hugh Jackman, X Men Origins: Wolverine sadly stumbles with what it attempts to do. It’s not a complete failure, rather a film that could have been a whole lot better that what it ended up being.