The X-Men film franchise wouldn't be were it is without Wolverine/Logan/James Howlett/Hugh Jackman/Another Australian Demigod, but the guy has definitely hogged the screen for a long time. So much so that 20th Century Fox thought it was necessary to give him his own origin movie. Well, today I bring you folks a Rant & Recommend between "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "The Wolverine". Snikt!
Following another crappy X-Men film-"X-Men: The Last (Not Really) Stand"-the 2009 Wolverine origin film was a movie nobody but Fox thought was necessary. "X2" did a well enough job spelling out Logan's past. Not only that, but Wolverine's whole appeal in the original comics was that he had no backstory. He was amnesiac with a misplaced memory and an animalistic nature. Simple and to the point, much like how The Joker had no real backstory. Regardless, Fox thought people needed a definitive Wolverine backstory and they aimed to give them one, no matter awfully written it was! The only parts of the movie that can be forgiven are the scenes of Logan and his half-brother Victor (Sabretooth) fighting in America's many wars and joining Weapon X. Weapon X-a team of mutant mercenaries-is what the movie should have been, you could've ended it on Logan getting the Adamantium skeleton and running away with no memory, but that'd be easy, wouldn't it? Better to punch holes in story and film chronology, replace practical claws with CGI kitchen knives, and botch cool characters like Gambit and Deadpool. The film has a simple enough revenge plot, but the villain's end goal is just preposterous. He wants to copy the powers of mutants and put them into one controllable mutant abomination. And they have the nerve to call it "The Deadpool". I get the mutant weapon thing, they're called Weapon X for crying out loud, but with only Sabretooth left fighting your battles, what hope do you have containing all the mutants you've caught? Hell, if Wolverine hadn't shown up at the end to free those kids, Professor X would've still shown up and just mind-whammied every bad guy on the island, right? The film's story has more holes than my sock drawer! Again, the Weapon X/military stuff was cool, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool was cool, and Hugh Jackman gives that movie his all, but even all that can't correct the mistakes this movies makes.
In 2013, a new Wolverine solo movie was made to simply give Hugh Jackman's character the spotlight he'd always be taking, also so people who didn't like "X-Men: First Class" could shut up. "The Wolverine" took place after "X-Men: The Far From Last Stand" and only depends on the previous movies in one small instance. All you-the viewer-needs to be aware of is that Wolverine was forced to kill the woman he loved, ran off to live in the woods, has retired from the X-Men, and is haunted by nightmares of his dead lover. Even though she was supposed to be with Cyclops, but whatever. The rest of the film takes us to the far off land of Japan! Neat, right? A new location, new characters, a new problem for Wolverine in the shape of the Yakuza organization. His love interest Mariko is very likable and I truly believed their relationship, more so than Logan and Jean Grey, or whoever that chick in Origins was. The film has a plot convenient way of removing Logan's healing factor, which makes it easier for us to see Logan's struggle. While his "final boss" isn't comic accurate, the backstory for the villain is very entertaining. Rather than piece together an important story from scraps, this movie takes inspiration from Chris Claremont and Frank Millar's Wolverine series from back in the day. The film allows viewers to get the best of Wolverine's character, it also allows Hugh Jackman to be at his best without overshadowing his co-stars. A straight forward story with no crutch on the films that surround it, a proper introduction into the character of Wolverine.
With an eight movie streak, Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine more times than any actor has played any superhero, it's hard to imagine anyone else taking the role, even if that day will come. Hopefully, when that day comes, the no-name actor will be allowed to wear Wolverine's iconic yellow costume. With Old Man Logan and The All-New Wolverine X-23 taking the spotlight in Marvel Comics, the coming X-Men movies will be the last source presenting the Wolverine we know best, I'm sure after seeing people's responses Fox is absolutely taking more notes from "The Wolverine" than from the movie I hate naming. Can't wait to see how they dance around Old Man Logan for the third Wolverine movie, or second if you deny the existence of Origins. Thanks for reading!
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