X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 superhero film. It is the fourth entry in the series and it is a prequel centering on the backstory of this character. It is considered the worst of the franchise for good reasons.
It follows Wolverine through his childhood, then his involvement in various wars and afterwards through his gaining of the new skeleton. Yes, this is the basic origin story executed in the most uninspired way possible. However, it is not that bad as people say because the whole first half or so is genuinely solid and I wondered if it was going to be a pretty good movie. It starts in an interesting way and it is great to see Wolverine’s past explored for the first time. Also, I liked his family stuff with his brother and later their confrontation. All of the first act is pretty well done. But unfortunately, it just goes downhill from there on with stupid action after action and an overabundance of cliches.
It is a cliched script in the worst way possible. The villain is overly theatrical and way too typical, the fights become boring in the later sequences and it all just becomes one giant mess. The whole last act is the worst with just action, not properly developed characters and a weakly concluded story. But the villains are too annoying and the action sequences are not only overwhelming but also very uninspired and just plain boring.
Wolverine is nicely realized but he still did not need his whole movie as he is better as a supporting character. Victor Creed is an okay villain that posed some threat, but becomes uninspired later on. William Stryker is the worst and the whole arc with him is so predictable that it is frustrating to watch. Others are never properly developed with some like The Blob being just ridiculous. But Deadpool is okay and he genuinely provided some fine laughs in the first parts of the movie. And Kayla is an okay character but everything with her is also incredibly predictable. I saw everything coming from miles away.
The acting is okay but nothing particularly remarkable except Hugh Jackman who is always great and he here once again gave a terrific performance. The directing is weak and the action, although solid in the first parts, is pretty mediocre in the later parts. The pacing is all over the place with the first half being somewhat calmer while the second one is way too fast-paced. It just becomes too rushed, too convoluted and never properly explored whatsoever.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is stuffed with too many characters and that is the reason why it doesn’t work and why I dislike people bashing on X-Men: The Last Stand. That movie is crowded, but it has interesting characters who are at least somewhat explored which is why it is much better than this disappointing feature which has too many characters who are never explored at all and who are just never at all interesting despite maybe a few bright spots. It is without a doubt the worst of all the X-Men movies.
The photography is way too dark and uninspired and the visual effects are just so forgettable and at times even bad. This is visually a very mediocre film. It is also a forgettable film overall and way too predictable and rushed and just amateurishly directed and put together. The dialogue is also pretty unremarkable. The whole reason to see this movie is for Jackman’s performance and the first half which is pretty okay.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine is undoubtedly the worst entry in the X-Men franchise with uninspired script, bad villains and boring action sequences. It does have a solid first act and Jackman’s performance is excellent, but it is visually a weak film with uninspired dialogue and mediocre effects and it is crowded with too many characters who are mostly never explored or just plain uninteresting.
