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May 6, 2009

This May is a wallet-buster at the theaters. I say cash money be damned; here's the master plan: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (May 1st), Star Trek (May 8th), Terminator: Salvation (May 22nd), Up (May 29th). Would've been rockin' a movie every single weekend, but Angels and Demons is the big draw for the 15th, and that looks to be a renter. Big Man Japan is also out that weekend, but I'm doubtin' it'll see a release wide enough to encapsulate any theaters in the Detroit area. Therefore, "renter" status by default.

Last night ($6 Tuesdays at local theaters - cash money be not totally damned) we kicked off the month with Wolverine.

The Good:

  • Hugh Jackman continues to absolutely shine in the role - guy was born to play Logan. He's clearly enjoying himself, which makes him fun to watch.
  • Completely fantastic opening credits (Wolverine and his bro fighting in various wars across time).
  • Strong first act.
  • Plenty of adamantium claw action.
The Bad:
  • Sabretooth's use of hands when "running" never looked right.
  • More than a bit too heavy with the dramatic posing and screaming at the sky. Those items should be capped at one each.
  • The script could be painfully clich?d at times. Example: "Are we having fun yet?" and "Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in."
The Ugly:
  • I assume they've been working on this movie for 20 years, because half the special effects looked as if they were made in 1989. Reminded me of one of those el cheapo Sci-Fi Channel original movies. Nobody saved the "AwesomeSteelClaws.fx" files after the other three X-movies?
  • They play it pretty loose with the origin. The comics don't actually fare much better in terms of a back-story for the character, though they manage a way better job with the memory loss issue than the lazy, clumsy device used in the movie.
Overall, Wolverine was right on par with X-Men 3. The character deserves better but as comic book movies go, while it failed to achieve Batman 2 or Iron Man heights, it wasn't nearly so bad as Ghost Rider or Elektra. io9 has a (spoiler filled) review that's pretty much on the mark.

Onward and upward to Star Trek.

See Also:
X-Men: Origins: Wolverine
Star Trek
Big Man Japan
Angels and Demons
Terminator Salvation
Up

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