X-MEN ORIGINS
WOLVERINE

Starring:
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Will i Am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durand, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, Tim Pocock Ryan Reynolds and Danny Huston

Director:
Gavin Hood

Running Time:
107 mins

Out to buy on Blu-Ray/DVD 19/10/09

"This is going to hurt"

Fighting in the Civil War, The Great War, World War II, it wasn't until the Vietnam War when James Logan (Jackson) finally had enough of fighting. His half-brother, Victor Creed (Schreiber) revelled in death however and it was the war in Asia that pushed him over the edge. Their killing spree didn't go unnoticed however, as William Stryker (Huston) frees the brothers from their military prison and offers them the chance to join a special team, a team made up of people with special abilities just like them. When their missions just become part of Stryker's own agenda however, Logan walks away. Six years later, a crazed Victor comes looking for Logan, killing the woman he loves in the process. Riddled by revenge and drowning in emotion, Logan returns to Stryker who offers him the tool to kill his brother, an experimental metal called Adamantium.

With three uber-successful 'X-Men' movies, fans were crying out for a fourth instalment but instead we have the origin story of the X-Men's most famous character, 'Wolverine' but will this keep the fans of the series happy?

After the slightly disappointing end to the third X-Men movie, fans wanted to see a fourth film to correct some of the mistakes and maybe even draw director Bryan Singer to the series. Instead it was announced that we would have a collection of 'Origin' stories, with Magneto and Professor Charles Xavier's First Class rumoured to be in development, it was to be the series most popular character 'Wolverine' who would first have his backstory told. This seemed like a strange decision, as most of this had been revealed in flashback during the trilogy and fans wondered if it would contradict what the films had shown. The answer is yes and no.

From watching the original trilogy of 'X-Men' movies, we already knew that Logan has lost his memory but had regained some knowledge of how he became Weapon X and how his skeleton became covered in strongest and most indestructible metal known to man, Adamantium. This, of course, is the key element to his origin story and the main plot point to this film but the good news is that it is expanded to explain why he received the metal injection, his animalistic motivations and most importantly, why he lost his memory. We are also introduced to a character that was only in the background in the first X-Men movie, Logan's half-brother and nemesis Victor Creed/Sabretooth. This is a more true reflection of the character, unlike the almost silent character played by Tyler Mane in the first film. Played this time by Liev Schreiber, the actor brings much more to the character and shows that Creed doesn't have the control that Jackman's Logan has, revelling in killing. The character of William Stryker also returns, this time in the guise of Danny Huston, playing a much younger version of the character that Brian Cox introduced in 'X-Men 2'. With it was covered as to why he wanted to develop the Weapon X programme in the first sequel, we see him putting together his team of mutants to serve the US Military as a Black Ops unit, completing missions that ordinary soldiers couldn't. The movie also introduces some new characters into the X-Men movie universe but none of them really get enough screen time to make a decent enough impact.

Here we see for the first time some firm Marvel favourite that deserved much bigger roles and screen time than they received. We have Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson, the fast talking assassin who would later become Dead Pool. Fan favourite Remy LeBeau/Gambit is brought to life by Taylor Kitsch. Ex-Hobbit Dominic Monaghan is Chris Bradley/Bolt, Korean star Daniel Henney plays David North/Agent Zero, Frederick J. Dukes/The Blob is brought to life by Kevin Durand and rapper-turned-actor Will i Am is teleporter John Wraith. We also have the beautiful Lynn Collins as Logan's love interest Kayla and Tim Pocock as a young Scott Summers/Cyclops. None of these characters really get enough screen time to make a real impact, which is a shame as the actors clearly have fun with their characters.

While we may have already have seen most of the story in flashback and the visual affects are some of the worst seen in a big budget movie in a long time, there is still much to enjoy here. Hugh Jackman revels in the role of Wolverine and he alone makes the movie much better than it is. Throw in a good supporting cast and a premise that sets up a series of 'Wolverine' movies, then you have another X-Men movie that fans will enjoy more than the third film in the series.

PICTURE & SOUND

The Blu-Ray disc presents the movie in High Definition wide screen 2:40 up to 1080p, with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround sound. The release also includes the DVD and Digital version of the film, covering all of the formats for Wolverine fans.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary by director Gavin Wood
The man at the helm provides an informative commentary for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’. He reveals the elements from the comic book history of the character that have made it into the film and what they have changed from this and the original ‘X-Men’ movies. This is a decent commentary from a man who clearly had fun making the movie.

Commentary by producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter
The producers behind the movie and the X-Men franchise talk about producing their first ‘Origins’ film. With insights into the production, casting, sets, costumes, editing, the Australian and New Zealand shots and the development of the bone claws, this is an interesting commentary for fans of the film and the character.

The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein (16.18 mins/HD)
The man who invented the X-Men and the creator of Wolverine talk about the origin of the character, the creation of mutants, the great Jack Kirby’s influence and the evolution of the characters over the decades. This is a must watch for all Marvel fans.

Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins (12.05 mins/HD)
Director Gavin Hood, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, stunt coordinator J J Perry and stars Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Daniel Henny and Dominic Monaghan talk about bringing the origin story of Wolverine to the big screen. Looking at the key characters, the production and the changes made from the original X-Men movies, this is a decent featurette.

Weapon X Mutant Files (53.57 mins/HD)
Watch individual featurettes on Victor Creed/Sabretooth, William Stryker, John Wraith, Kayla Sliverfox, Fred Dukes/Blob, Bradley, Remy LeBeau/Gambit, Agent Zero, Wade Wilson/Dead Pool and Emma (Kayla’s sister).

The Thrill of the Chase: The Helicopter Sequence (5.53 mins/HD)
Director Gavin Hood, producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, visual effects supervisor Patrick McClung, stunt coordinator J J Perry and star Hugh Jackman talk about the FX filled helicopter sequence.

Ultimate X Mode
Watch the movie in four different ways. X Connect, The Director’s Chair, Pre-visualising Wolverine and X Facts, allow you to watch the movie and also watch facts, trivia and behind the scenes footage about the movie.

Deleted & Alternate Scenes
Entitled ‘Young Storm’, ‘Victor at the Boxing Ring’, ‘Alternate Memory Erase Sequence’ and ‘Japanese Bar Scene’, these deleted and alternative scenes are accompanied by commentary by director Gavin Hood

Fox Movie Channel Presents: World Premier (6.22 mins/SD)
Watch the footage from the World Premier of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which took place at the winner of an Internet competition Tempe, Arizona.

Trailers
Previews of ‘X-Men Trilogy’ and ‘Night at the Museum 2’

Live Lookup
A new BD Live feature that allows you to look up facts on the film and the actors involved via IMDB (The Internet Movie Database)

OVERALL

The Blu-Ray treatment for ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ is one that fans are going to love. The featurettes are very good, as are the commentaries but it is the ‘Triple Play’ that makes this great value. The HD release includes the DVD and digital versions of the film, making this the ultimate package.

BLU-RAY

X-Men

X-Men 2

X-Men: The Last Stand


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