Hugh Jackman may be People Magazine's choice for "Sexiest Man Alive," and he was just announced as this year's Oscars host, but for me and many other movie fans, he'll always just be Wolverine.
And like many fans of director Bryan Singer's first two "X-Men" movies, I was really disappointed by 2006's "X-Men: The Last Stand." And while many characters were treated poorly in that flick -- the way Cyclops' death was completely glossed over was fairly insulting -- Wolverine in particular was presented in a bad light. I mean, come on, he cries in that movie. Twice! Logan does not cry.
Needless to say, when it was announced that they were going to make a Wolverine-centered prequel, I was not sure it was such a good idea. But I watched the recently released trailer for "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," and I can say my outlook has shifted to "cautiously optimistic." If you haven't seen it yet, you can skip down the page to watch it.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one looking forward to the trailer. According to Yahoo! Buzz, web searches for "wolverine trailer" have spiked, with guys ages 13-54 making up 8 out of 10 searches. And reaction on fan sites has been mixed. Collider.com said the action "looks ridiculous" and predicts the movie to be a "crushing disappointment." But JoBlo.com said, "I'm a straight up Wolverine lover... and I'm just really excited about it."
I agree that some of the effects look a little iffy. The shot of him hanging from a helicopter stands out as being obviously green-screened. But I thought the fighting looked pretty good. In fact, I was just watching the first "X-Men" again last weekend and it dawned on me that in all three movies Wolverine's big fight at the end was against a woman: Mystique, Lady Deathstrike and Jean Grey. Good to see this one will have some guys tough enough to stand up to him. And, yes, there's the shot of Wolvie bellowing in heartbreak, but I didn't see tears, so that's a relief.
The most intriguing part of the trailer for me were the little glimpses of the other characters in the movie. The problem with prequels in general is that they cover ground everyone is already familiar with, but since Wolverine's backstory was mostly a mystery, it looks like there will be enough new information to keep it interesting. Here's a guide to all the fresh faces revealed in the trailer.
Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth: In the first movie, this character was a barely-verbal henchman, not the crafty arch-nemesis of the comics. Schreiber may not look much like the character from the books, but he does have the attitude.
Danny Huston as William Stryker: The younger version of the character played by Brian Cox in "X2" who led the Weapon X project that gave Wolverine his adamantium skeleton. Huston seems to have toned down Cox's Southern accent.
Lynn Collins as Silver Fox: The woman Logan was in love with before becoming Wolverine. She's not a mutant, but was given healing powers by the Weapon X program. Collins took the role when Michelle Monaghan dropped out.
Taylor Kitsch as Gambit: A favorite of many comic fans, the character was supposed to be in the previous films but never made it to the screen. He has the power to charge objects -- usually playing cards -- to make them explosive weapons.
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool: Reynolds took the small part as the wisecracking mutant mercenary as a potential launching point for a solo movie, something he's wanted to do for over five years. He won't always look that good, though.
Will.i.am as Kestrel: Here's the wildcard. This is the Black Eyed Peas frontman's first movie role (not counting "Madagascar 2.") Apparently he is a "X-Men" fan and went through rigorous training for the part, but it's still a big question if he can act or not.
And since this is a prequel, you'll not only see the younger version of Logan (check out the shot of him with his exposed bone claws), but also other mutants like Storm and Emma Frost. It's all part of the larger plan to do a whole "X-Men Origins" film series, with "Magneto" being next on the docket.
Of course, that depends on how well this movie does. But even with some not-so-positive reactions on the web to the first trailer, it will start off the summer movie season, which brought in huge numbers for "Spider-Man 3" and "Iron Man" in the past two years. I know I'll be there on May 1st. I just better not see any crying.
December 17, 2008
