Movie Review
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This Week's PCR Movie Review |
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"X-Men Origins: Wolverine"
Movie review by: Movies are rated 0 to 4 stars
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| MOVIE REVIEW "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" by Mike Smith | |||
| RETRORAMA FX 2009: Another View by ED Tucker | |||
| STATE OF THE NATION State of the Nation by Brandon Jones | |||
| SPORTS TALK Priced Out Of The Business .... What The Hell Happened In One Year? .... Gruden Hasn’t Left .... Sprung! .... Can’t Get It Straight .... Nfl Draft Goes Primetime? .... It’s Not A National Championship .... by Chris Munger | |||
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Before the year 2000, I could count the number of well made “comic book” films on one hand: “Superman the Movie” and Tim Burton’s “Batman.” Then came “X-Men.” Suddenly, studios had learned that it took more than flashy costumes and special effects to attract an audience. It took a good story and, most importantly, great actors. Since then, we have been given the “Spiderman” trilogy, a couple of great “Batman” flicks and two more “X-Men” films, each more popular then the last. This week the people at Fox and Marvel Films bring us “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” and I’m happy to report it delivers the goods.
1845. In a northern territory of Canada, young James is sick. His brother, Victor, looks in on him, as does their father. A loud voice is heard downstairs and their father investigates. The boys hear a shot and come running. Seeing his father dead on the floor, James clenches his fist, revealing a series of claws, made from bone, protruding between his knuckles. Without thinking he stabs the intruder, killing him. His actions cause he and Victor to run out into the night. For the next century and more they continue to fight side by side. The Civil War. World War I. World War II. Vietnam. James (Jackman) and Victor (Schreiber) continue to fight, seemingly impervious to pain or, for that matter, death. When a firing squad fails to kill them, they are sought out by Colonel William Stryker (Danny Huston), whose team is comprised entirely of mutants. After a mission goes bad in Africa, Logan quits the team. Several years later Stryker confronts him and asks him to rejoin his unit. When he refuses, Stryker dispatches Victor, who kills Logan’s girlfriend. Seeking revenge, Logan allows Stryker to infuse his body with Adamantium , hopefully rendering him indestructible and ready to face those he once fought alongside.
Full of great action set pieces and general emotion, “Wolverine” delivers on all cylinders. Jackman inhabits the role, much like Christian Bale does Batman, to the point that it is almost impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. The supporting cast is just as good, especially Schreiber, whose Sabretooth is both mesmerizing and frightening. Along the way other mutants who have yet to appear in the series make appearances, including Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), Bolt (Dominic Monaghan) and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds). The special effects are top notch, especially a battle that pits our sideburned hero against a helicopter. The action flows smoothly with each set piece neatly set up quicker than you can say “snikity snikt!”
The first summer film is here and it doesn’t disappoint. On a scale of zero to four stars I give “X-Men
This week's movie review of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is ©2009 by Michael A. Smith. All graphics this page are creations of Nolan B. Canova, ©2009, all rights reserved. All contents of "Nolan's Pop Culture Review" are ©2009 by Nolan B. Canova.
