Wolverine

The first of the X-Men Origins films, Wolverine is the epic prequel which traces the werewolf-like mutant’s life before his position as an X-man. It had been some time since I saw the last X-men film; therefore Wolverine’s storyline was almost entirely new to me, so the movie may sit differently with die-hard X-Men comic book fans.

The journey starts with young James/Logan/Wolverine’s (Hugh Jackman) dramatic discovery of his superhuman powers and explores briefly his and his equally powerful, but far more evil brother Victor Creed’s (Liev Schreiber) early life as soldiers in various wars, who are eventually recruited to join a special task force comprised of other mutants of equally cool and breath-taking powers. 

What sets Logan (who is Wolverine before he goes by that name) apart from the pack however, is his undeniable sense of morality and humility. Traits which eventually guide him down a different path of love and contentment. But just when he thinks he’s clawed his way into a life of blissful normality, of course we learn that fate had larger plans for Logan, who eventually choses, for heart wrenching reasons, to be known as….Wolverine.

His journey is one of hate, revenge, rivalry, tragedy, twists, redemption and loss – not to mention awesome, slashing fight and action sequences.

I considered Hugh Jackman a perfect portrayer of the troubled, witty and edgy Wolverine, and his internal and external struggles against his brutally violent animalistic instincts.

The fighting and action scenes were so grand and slick that I often caught myself picturing how cool my hands would look with giant, retractable, metallic knuckle claws – although the facial hair I could do without.

This film had everything I love in a movie including those loathsome manipulative villains, unique and enviable characters, and deliciaous plot twists which have you wondering who the true villain is to the very end.