Wolverine

I like going to the movies. This can get me in trouble. I have seen some bad ones. Enter Wolverine. Or whatever souped up title it has been given. It was watchable in the sense that I wasn't in my house and I had some popcorn and Natsuki, who knows nothing of X-Men liked it.

The failing of this movie, however, was built into the X-Men movie franchise from the beginning. That fundamental flaw is that Hugh Jackman, who seems like quite a likable guy, is an awful choice for the part. I am sure it is not because he is a bad actor, although I can't recall anything I thought he was good in. His main difficulty, which he doesn't seem to have the chops to overcome, is that he is a talented, good-looking, well adjusted, successful guy. Wolverine's appeal is that he is none of those things. He is an honestly rotten person. Not rotten in the clever rebel since. Or the redeemable loner. The first X-Men I remember reading, Wolverine was drunk in an alleyway, smoking and trying to talk Jean Grey into giving him one on the side.

I don't want to come off like an otkau stickler. The Master and Commander books are my favorite things in the world, yet I have no problems with the movie which takes great liberties. I can get over Wolverine being a little more tall than he is short. A tall, blond, Stephen Maturin didn't put me completely off for God's sake. I thought Watchmen was alright and it contained a fundamental plot difference. Jackman's problem is Hayden Christiansan's problem from My Life as a House, all the way through the Star Wars travesty, he is so obviously the prom king, being anything less seems like he is taking the piss. Of course, there are actors who can pull this transition off. Sean Penn and Harvey Keitel come to mind. Jackman in the Wolverine role only illustrates the talent gap.

I understand that Hollywood's motivations and my taste run divergent courses, but Batman, in its various forms, has been fairly good. Spiderman surprisingly so. The directing and writing in Wolverine seemed especially sloppy and it cried out for a consistent tone and voice. But really, what is another 100 million thrown down onto something that could have been so much better.