X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Director:

Gavin Hood

Writers (WGA):

David Benioff (screenplay) and
Skip Woods (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 May 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

After seeking to live a normal life, Logan sets out to avenge the death of his girlfriend by undergoing the mutant Weapon X program and becoming Wolverine.

Plot Keywords:

Mutant | Colonel | Brother | Revenge | Logger

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Hugh Jackman	...	Logan / Wolverine
Liev Schreiber	...	Victor Creed
Danny Huston	...	William Stryker
Will i Am	...	John Wraith (as Will.i.am)
Lynn Collins	...	Kayla Silverfox
Kevin Durand	...	Fred Dukes / Blob
Dominic Monaghan	...	Chris Bradley / Bolt
Taylor Kitsch	...	Remy LeBeau / Gambit
Daniel Henney	...	Agent Zero
Ryan Reynolds	...	Wade Wilson
Tim Pocock	...	Scott Summers
Julia Blake	...	Heather Hudson
Max Cullen	...	Travis Hudson
Troye Sivan	...	James Howlett
Michael-James Olsen	...	Young Victor

Also Known As:

Wolverine (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence, and some partial nudity.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12A | South Korea:12 | Ireland:12A | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:14 | Hong Kong:IIA | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44640) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Sweden:15 | Australia:M | Germany:16 (cut) (theatrical version) | Germany:16 (uncut) (home video version) | Peru:14 | Argentina:16 | Mexico:B | Iceland:14 | France:U | Japan:G | Taiwan:R-12 | Denmark:11 | South Africa:13V | Austria:16 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Arcadia Station, Glenorchy, Otago, New Zealand

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

This and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) are the first movies being produced by Hugh Jackman and John Palermo's new production company, Seed Productions.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Many of the residents of Canada have a heavy Southern drawl.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Young Victor Creed: You're always sick.
Young James Logan: You were sick when you were my age.

Movie Connections:

Spin off X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) (VG)

Soundtrack:

New Orleans Boogie

Far better than I expected

To tell you the truth I'm pretty surprised by all the negative reviews I've been reading on the IMDb and elsewhere on the net (AICN for example). I thought X-Men 1 and 2 came close to being masterpieces and that X-Men 3 sucked big time. The Wolverine movie however is well made, exciting and surprisingly effective. But that's an opinion from somebody who doesn't know anything about the comics. To me Wolverine is mainly a movie hero and maybe that can make a big difference.

Two elements make this movie really work. Liev Schreiber - a very underestimated actor - does a great job as Wolverine's brother Victor/Sabretooth. It's their love/hate relationship that is the main subject in this story and that really keeps it interesting. In the first minutes of the movie this is well established. The opening credits are really beautiful.

Second: the story. I really love the story. It has romance, betrayal, vengeance, action, a touch of immortality... All the good elements are there in the right doses.

Yes, I really love this movie. I hope to see more of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in the future, because there are a lot more adventures he can and should have. Maybe director Gavin Hood can repair some of the damage that Brett Ratner did with a X-Men 3. Because an X-Men 4 - with hopefully Josh Halloway as Gambit - would be a great spectacle indeed.

There's only one big thing that really puzzled me. So the Liev Schreiber character is actually the same Sabretooth we see in X-Men 1? Because the two characters really don't seem the same in the two movies. Everything they have "experienced together in the past" (in the prequel) seems forgotten in X-Men 1 (when they only fight each other).

Anyway, go see this!

8,5 / 10