By Linda Winsh-Bolard
A long time ago a sickly boy saw murder of a man he thought was his father. Enraged, he ran after the killer and while running saw set of long blades shoot out of his hands. Before the night ended, the boy lost his family and found his brother. They swore allegiance to one another for ever.
Centuries later James Logan(Hugh Jackman) and Victor Creed are still fighting, this time for the US government, until Logan, repelled by cruelty and endless killing, leaves the company and retires to work in remote Canadian forest.
Six years later his former commander, William Stryker (Danny Huston), finds Logan because he needs his help. Victor is apparently killing the old team of mutants. Logan refuses, suspicious of the motives behind the asking, and Victor kills Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), his lover.
The old rage returns and Logan subject himself to painful experiment in Weapon X Program that gives him special powers enabling him to kill Victor.
But his journey of discovery and deceit had only just started. Before it ends, he will be forever changed.
It’s beautifully shot, what is there to find in the landscapes and sets has been found and used. The fights are competently staged even though repetitive broken glass and falls get somewhat boring.
The story, once unwrapped from the cinematic glitz, is as ordinary as you’d expect. There are obvious clichés as the forest village, the killed beauty, the supposedly Native American tale of the moon and the wolverine (Logan takes the name of Wolverine in honor of the tricked animal who forever lost his Moon) as well as those of the ultimatel weapon-a mutant human. The remote island is overused but Three Mile Island's nuclear reactors is a nice touch. The mutant themselves are pleasant variety, well acted and unpretentious.
Somehow the film manages not to get really boring, even after you leave the cinema you are not dissatisfied. Partially it is Hugh Jackman who does his best as an immortal mutant with human soul. Partially it is Liev Schreiber as Victor (later Victor will become Sabertooth), substantially more selfish, cynical and yet devoted to his brother. And partially it is, I suspect, our newly re-discovered distrust to all things governmental; we no longer perceive these tales as completely irrational. Lies, deceits and deadly experiments became part of our life along with thieving CEO and corrupt congressmen. When it all comes together, we are inclined to like what we see on the big screen.
It helps that the story has number of small human episodes worked into it, some with comical aspects. The visuals and acting help as well. So does the message that the unusual, or those who are unusual, might not find any acceptance, or place, in the society and therefore are sentenced to be misused. Old message, to be sure, but still valid.
It is a prequel to fast action film with unnatural aspects, power and lots of killings, the X –Men. As such it does acceptable job of the genre.
Following the lead of others, it also has a tag after the credits run through.The tag could be summed up by Wade’s comment: “Great, stuck in an elevator with 5 guys on a high protein diet.” Substitute movies and many in the appropriate places.
In a true life twist, the premiere in Mexico City was delayed due to outbreak of swine fever. But a bootleg copy, still without final music score and missing some effects as well as some footage, had been leaked online about a month before the première. Fox studios became frantic, going as far as asking the FBI to help, but the movie was downloaded anyway.
Directed by Gavin Hood, Camera: Donald McAlpine, Music: Harry Gregson-Williams, Hugh Jackman, Live Schreiber, Dominic Monaghan and others.
