X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Theatrical Release Date: 2009 05 01 (USA)

UPC: 024543602859

Studio: 20th Century Fox

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Brief Nudity]

Summary: The gruff, adamantium-clawed Marvel superhero Wolverine strikes out on his own in this X-Men spin-off starring series regular Hugh Jackman. The story gets under way as the boy who will become Wolverine makes a shocking discovery about his family bloodline, and gains a brother in the process. Flash forward to find the mutant siblings battling side by side through two world wars and Vietnam -- where they are sentenced to death for killing a commanding officer -- and Logan (Hugh Jackman) and his brother, Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth, played by Liev Schreiber), have joined a top-secret government task force. When their targets begin to include innocent civilians, conscientious Logan escapes to the Canadian Rockies, where he builds a home with pretty schoolteacher Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). Informed by his old commanding officer William Stryker (Danny Huston) that the members of his old team are being targeted for death, Logan is heartbroken when Victor finds and kills Kayla. Vowing revenge, Logan agrees to take part in a dangerous experiment that will fuse his bones with a powerful metal alloy called adamantium, which makes him virtually indestructible and gives him the strength needed to defeat his powerful brother. Subsequently betrayed by Stryker, Logan (now Wolverine) sets out to find his blood-lusting brother and stop the cycle of violence once and for all. Along the way, the temperamental hero is joined by fellow mutants John Wraith (Will.i.Am) and Remy LeBeau (aka Gambit, played by Taylor Kitsch). But before Wolverine can seek vengeance against Striker and his brother, he'll have to do battle with Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) a formidable mutant instilled with many powers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Action

Features: cc
Wolverine Unleashed: The complete origins featurette

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Format: DVD

Release Date: 09/15/2009

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Cinemascope

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DS Dolby Surround (4.0)

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish,French

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Disc #1 -- X-Men Origins: Wolverine
1. My Son
2. Main Titles / Invincible Warriors
3. Recruitment
4. Special Team
5. Enough!
6. New Life
7. Show's Over
8. Powers of Persuasion
9. The Moon and Her Lover
10. Out for Blood
11. Weapon X
12. Kindness of Strangers
13. Blow Him to Bits
14. Our Own Kind
15. Boxing with the Blob
16. Mutant Capture
17. Gambit
18. Confronting Victor
19. Preemptive Action
20. Played for a Fool
21. Animal Rage
22. Weapon XI
23. Common Enemy
24. Always Brothers
25. Point Blank
26. What's My Name
27. End Titles / Arrest
28. End Titles / Back from the Dead

Jason Buchanan

On a scale of aluminum foil to adamantium, X-Men Origins: Wolverine rates a mid-gauge sheet metal. Sturdy as an early-summer tent pole yet fragile enough to snap once the heavy fronts roll in, Fox's notoriously leaked actioner should stand strong against the gentle breeze of Battle for Terra, though it's likely to be blown away by the blustery winds of Star Trek and Terminator Salvation a few weeks out. From a non-fanboy perspective, it has some exciting action and colorful characters; unfortunately, the special effects vary from impressive to embarrassing, and some additional trimming at the story level might have helped elevate the metallurgical rating to steel status. If the plot sounds a bit operatic, well, it is. This being an origins story, screenwriters David Benioff and Skip Woods work to strike a careful balance between plot and action, and while they largely succeed, the results aren't always satisfying. After the frenetic opening credits scene and an action-packed intro, it takes a while for the action to pick up again; when it finally does, it comes only in brief bursts that get progressively more intense leading toward the final confrontation -- an exciting, occasionally dizzying fight against a single genetically engineered mutant that possesses the power of many. It's in this scene that Nicolas de Toth and Megan Gill's editing truly shines, and Gavin Hood's talents as an action director are fully realized. As anyone who saw Tsotsi can attest, Hood does have a talent for staging coherent action scenes, and moviegoers tiring of the Bourne school of ADD action filmmaking will appreciate the fact that Hood always gives us a solid sense of spatial relations. Not only does this help to ensure that we lose ourselves in the action, but also that every blow carries actual impact rather than just devolving into an ineffective montage of flying fists and bone-crunching sound effects. It likely goes without saying that Liev Schreiber possesses more than enough talent to take over the role of Sabretooth from Tyler Mane, and while the latter made a formidable impression with his brief but memorable appearance in X-Men, the former has the dramatic chops to lend the monstrous character a much-needed human dimension. Humans and monsters merge in the character of William Stryker, a snake in human's skin instilled with reptilian verve by Danny Huston, but the real showstopper here is Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), a frightening Frankenstein-like mutant of few words. His disturbing appearance gives the final showdown a much-needed gruesome edge after a series of conspicuously bloodless action sequences. Perhaps the trick to enjoying X-Men Origins: Wolverine is to not ask too many daunting questions, and to keep in mind that, like any comic-to-screen adaptation, these aren't the "official" origins of the character, but his comic-book genesis as filtered though a Hollywood lens. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Scott Adkins  Actor 
Julia Blake  Actor 
Max Cullen  Actor 
Kevin Durand  Actor 
Tim Pocock  Actor 
Gavin Hood  Director 
Lauren Shuler-Donner  Producer 
Richard Donner  Executive Producer 
Stan Lee  Executive Producer 
Ralph Winter  Producer 
Harry Gregson-Williams  Composer (Music Score) 
Skip Woods  Screenwriter 
Hugh Jackman  Producer 
Kevin Feige  Executive Producer 
David Benioff  Screenwriter 
John Palermo  Producer 
Hugh Jackman  Actor 
Liev Schreiber  Actor 
Danny Huston  Actor 
Lynn Collins  Actor 
Ryan Reynolds  Actor 
Taylor Kitsch  Actor 
will.i.am  Actor 
Dominic Monaghan  Actor 
Daniel Henney  Actor 

Country: USA