"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" Review

Twenty-four hours after seeing "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," I had to construct a basic outline just to recollect the constituent scenes of this aimless, inconsequential prequel.

For a movie purportedly about Wolverine, the character isn't given very much to do, and the story is driven throughout by what happens to him, not what he does. We open on the young mutant's nineteenth century childhood, we find out his father is a drunkard, but we're never given information that makes us particularly care about the character that was compelling enough to warrant his own spin-off movie.

The film is not a story so much as it is a sequence of events, and narratively flatlines as a result. Traditional cause and effect is largely ignored, as "Wolverine" seems content to jump from cameo to cameo, giving each of the mutants a three-minute fight scene with the protagonist that will somehow, ludicrously, progress the plot. Decision-making is also stilted, especially during the film's final act (if the term even applies), which takes place on a secret nuclear power plant island /government mutant testing facility/prison.

Direction is somewhat solid and the performances are passable throughout, but they don't come close to amending the incredibly weak screenplay. "Wolverine" does little to bolster the ailing X-Men franchise and, as evidenced by my outline, is immediately forgettable.

2/5