Wolverine has always been my favorite X-Man. The graphic novel by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller hit me at a particularly opportune moment in my life while I was going to high school in Utah.
I always imagined Wolverine as a psychological case study on internal conflict. Wolverine is powerful because he is a killer and wrapped up in rage. Wolverine is weak because these same attributes put him at odds with the rest of humanity. His typical foil, Sabretooth, is what happens when the natural predatory instinct is not tempered by friendship, responsibility, and love. The aforementioned Miller/Claremont graphic novel is a great example. Wolverine is in love with a Japanese woman, but her father reveals him to be an uncontrollable beast. Stuff happens, and Wolverine has to mete out some rough justice. Problem is, he can only do so by being an uncontrollable beast. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t. As such, it always makes me nervous when I see Wolverine depicted in the movies. The first two X-Men did a good job of depicting him as trapped between his loner nature and his desire to be part of something bigger. By the third movie it was all about action, and the next thing you know we have the X-Men: Origins movie starring my good friend Logan.
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD
Watch this and then come back. I’ll still be here.
Is this “Wolverine Meets the Transporter?” The whole thing degenerates into a flashy action movie halfway through the trailer. The part where he slides to a stop on the motorcycle with his claws on the ground? Ridiculous. But this is what really worries me:
WTF?
Wolverine should be waist-deep in dead ninja, covered in blood — mostly his own. Launching off of an exploding Hummer at a helicopter? Who the fuck did this, Uwe Bowl?
I really hope the trailer just highlights the more explosive bits and the rest of the film is more of a character study. Yes, I want to hear Logan say “bub” and his claws go “snkt,” but I also want to see that struggle between man and beast.
Here’s to hoping May 1st isn’t a disappointment.
I admit I had to look up Uwe Boll. Had never heard of him, but yes…dude’s a hack. I also learned that they are making a WoW movie?? That deserves a huge WTF? Anyway, back to your post.
Great post!
May I offer these thoughts:
#1 The movie has Hugh Jackman half-way naked and flexing through most of the movie. Right there it’s worth seeing it on the big screen…well at least for me.
#2 Did you see the last Indiana Jones movie?? Aliens and herds of flying monkeys. Sequels never get better.
#3 pssst…hugh jackman==luscious
#4 it may be the only opportunity other interesting Marvel characters get introduced into the mix…that’s a bit of a stretch, I know.
#5 It doesn’t look any worse than the Spirit trailer. THAT looks like a watered down version of Sin City.
So your post has opened up a more important issue for me: is Frank Miller slipping?
Great! Now I can’t sleep!! ;)
Also, there is a brief clip of what appears to be a flashback of when Wolverine was a kid and his blades come out of his hands. I thought that those were introduced later in his life and he was injected with adamantium. Am I wrong about that?
I wanna see it only because it has Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. Deadpool is to me as Wolverine is to you. I have seen a Wolverine storyline though where he had bone claws before they were infused with adamantium so that might be how they explain them in his childhood….
Wolverine, pshhaw. Nightcrawler was the man. YOu can take your convoluted tarzan/clint eastwood/ninja parody and…
Well, actually Wolverine isn’t that bad. It is just that Nightcrawler is much cooler…
Ryan Reynolds is in it? Blah! Half naked Hugh Jackman nearly makes up for it, though.