At the weekend we went to the cinema see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I'd been looking forward to the film for quite a while and I wasn't disappointed, although I know the film hasn't been universally well received.
In its hour and three quarters running time the film covers a lot of ground - from Wolverine's childhood through to present day and his battles with various mutant assasins.
Along the way, we are introduced to a number of familiar characters from X-Men history: Cyclops, Gambit, Deadpool, Professor Xavier, Blob, Emma Frost ... and I'd like to see some of these characters origins explored further in future films.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film - it had a good story that was well paced, a good mix of action-packed and light-hearted moments and I don't think there was a bad performance from any of the cast - it left me wanting more: surely a good thing when it comes to films.
In some quarters the film has taken a bit of a knock - one commentator that I respect even said that he was 'embarrassed that was the best they could do' - but I can't help but feel that these people just have too high expectations. It must be a thankless task creating a film from a book or character that people really love, as is certainly the case with Wolverine, and perhaps try as the creators will such people will never be satisfied (and I don't mean that to sound a criticism of either party you understand).
I would say that maybe the film makers tried to cover too much material in the hundred or so minutes - or put another way, I'd have been happy for the film to run to another 30 mintues or so.
Would I recommend the film? I certainly would - in fact I'd like to go and see it again.
