20th Century Fox | 2009 | 107 mins. | Rated PG-13
A spin-off of the X-Men trilogy of films in which Hugh Jackman starred as the character Wolverine, Origins marks the start of something new. Apparently, the films about the whole cast of characters are over, and the filmmakers want to focus on the origins of the individuals.
Wolverine begins in Canada, circa 1845. As a young boy, James Howlett (Jackman) was sickly. Doted on by his doctor father, a tragedy sends him out into the world with only his half-brother Victor (Liev Schrieber). The opening credit sequence shows the two taking part in one hundred years of war, from the regimented lines of the Civil War, all the way through to the horrors of Vietnam. The purpose of this is two-fold; we realize that the brothers have stuck together for over a century, but it’s also clear they’re slowly growing apart.
After Vietnam, Logan and his brother are recruited by Colonel Stryker (Danny Huston) who has assembled a team of mutants to serve as mercenaries for whom no mission seems impossible: John Wraith (Will.i.am), Fred Dukes (Kevin Durand), Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), and Bradley (Dominic Monaghan). But Logan wants no part of missions that involve the loss of innocent lives, and he eventually quits the team in disgust. Six years later, Stryker and Victor find Logan, and ask him to participate in an experiment. Fusing his frame with an experimental alloy, Logan becomes Wolverine. Unfortunately, he soon after finds himself a pawn in a much larger crusade against his kind, with his murderous sibling in the middle of everything.
The script by David Benioff and Skip Woods, plays like several single events tied together and called a movie. There is little real dialogue (there’s a lot of snarling of threats, vows and laments). More character development happens during the opening credits then the rest of the film; in short, the whole project seems half-baked and over produced. The way the writer’s segue into what became the first X-Men movie, is clumsy at best. Aside from a thinly developed theme about sibling loyalty and rivalry, there’s little holding the film together on a conceptual level. All we get are big explosions and little plot development, plot. There are some action scenes, yet even those seem uninspired. Aside from a thrilling helicopter showdown—the film’s carefully crafted centerpiece—the action sequences are overused gimmicks we’ve all seen countless times before.
I have always felt that Hugh Jackman and Wolverine were the strongest part of the X-Men series, but it seems as though Fox rushed X-Men Origins: Wolverine out to quickly, likely in response to the massive success of a movie called The Dark Knight.
Wolverine comes to Blu-ray with a fairly impressive 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer. The color palette is nice and vibrant; with solid contrast overall and skin tones that are pleasingly warm. The picture clarity is exceedingly sharp in several scenes. There are a few soft moments, specifically some of the long landscapes and the occasional medium shot, but most of the film is crisp and detailed, with fine textures apparent throughout. The title doesn’t really exhibit the sense of depth that the best Blu-ray discs can offer, though, as the CGI can make the image look flat at times. The opening scene did seem a little dim to me, but it’s lit mostly by candlelight. Overall, Fox has provided a solid transfer.
Wolverine is packaged with a solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Expect your home theater set-up to be put through the paces with plenty of subwoofer engagement and surround use. There’s some great sound design during the big helicopter chase sequence, and you’ll also be drawn in by the audio during the adamantium injection scene. Wolverine’s claws provide plenty of shimmer and metal-on-metal schwing, and the track is filled with high-end detail. Dialogue is clean, full-bodied, and intelligible throughout.
Special features are presented in a mix of both High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD).
BD-Live is included on this release, which requires a “Profile 2.0” capable Blu-ray Disc Player and internet connectivity. A new unique feature FOX has here is something called “Live Lookup” powered by IMDb. Once you insert this disc on any player capable of doing BD-Live it will prompt you at a menu and ask for permission to install a 614KB file on your persistent storage device. Once you select “Yes” you are given a progress meter and it updates. Once you are in the main menu you select this feature and BD-J (BD-Java) and BD-Live combine to create a massive index for each scene. For instance, select an actor from a thumbnail and you get their name and then the past films or other works they have been in over the years — all of this via IMDb as if you are searching the site. This feature is very impressive and I hope to see it included on ALL of FOX’s future Blu-ray Disc releases.
• Ultimate X-Mode is a feature that uses Bonus View to deliver a Picture-In-Picture (PIP) experience as well as pop-up facts and trivia. Also featured are: “X-Connect“, “The Director’s Chair“, “Pre-Visualizing Wolverine” and “X-Facts Trivia Track” (as described earlier). Each mode runs while you watch the film and will pop-up on its own throughout your viewing experience.
• Audio Commentary by Director Gavin Hood: A rather rudimentary track pretty much describing what we’re seeing on screen as we’re watching.
• Audio Commentary by Producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter: They discuss the technical aspects of the film and give some personal thoughts on the filmmaking process.
• The Roots of Wolverine: A Conversation with Stan Lee and Lui Wein (16:18 – HD) comic book fans will love this.
• Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins (12:05 – HD ) serves as a typical “making of” sort of featurette.
• Weapon-X Mutant Files (53:57 – HD) has all the cast of names and character names indexed and individual files on each. These consist of the characters describing themselves to the viewer from various scary angles and they then introduce themselves. This is then followed by an out-of-character interview and so forth for each.
• The Thrill of the Chase: The Helicopter Sequence (5:53 – HD) serves as a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how this scene came to be how you see it in the film.
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (9:32 – HD) feature optional commentary by Director Gavin Hood. These all feature Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound @448kbps.
• FOX Movie Channel Presents: World Premiere (6:22 – SD)
• Digital Copy of the film is included on a 2nd DVD-ROM disc. This is compatible with both iTunes and Windows Media, both Mac & PC. As all digital copies are limited, it will expire on 9/15/10.
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