X-Men Origins: Wolverine
2009
**½
Director: Gavin Hood
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, Ryan Reynolds, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Kevin Durant, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney
Three movies into the X-Men franchise, I don't really need an origin story for Wolverine, but here we are. It all starts in 1845, when James "Logan" Howlett discovers his mutant powers. Some 130 years and four major wars later, Logan and his blood-hungry half-brother Victor Creed (Sabretooth) join Major Stryker's Team X. Logan eventually leaves the team, but a few years later the past comes back to haunt him. X-Men 2 hinted at it, but now we see how the adamantium was actually fused into the hero's bones. However, this one scene does not justify a poorly scripted and frankly unnecessary movie. The silly action scenes mostly follow the same formula: Wolverine and mutant #2 face each other, they scream, they run towards one another, they fight, and then walk away unscathed. The hero returns in The Wolverine (2013).
