X-Men Origins: Wolverine

[docm]

<b>Release:</b> May 1, 2009<br /><br /><b>Shoot start:</b> January 18, 2008<br /><br /><b>Director:</b> Gavin Hood (Rendition)<br /><br /><b>Synopsis:</b> Logan struggles to find the secrets to his past. After learning little information through the help of Charles Xavier, Logan takes his search even further by learning the full truth of his origin, while also heading in a bold, new direction. <br /><br /><b>Cast</b><br /><br /><b>Logan/Wolverine:</b> Hugh Jackman<br /><b>Silver Fox (Logans Blackfoot lover):</b> Michelle Monaghan (approached/agreed if scheduling permits)<br /><b>Remy LeBeau/Gambit:</b> Bailey Chase (Buffy, Ugly Betty, Saving Grace)<br /><b>Victor Creed/Sabertooth:</b> Liev Schreiber<br /><b>William Stryker:</b> Michael C. Hall (aka: Dexter)<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Kalstang]

I wouldn't mind seeing this one. I always wondered what Wolverines past was like. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#ffff00"><p><font color="#3366ff">I have an answer for everything...you may not like the answer or it may not satisfy your curiosity..but it will still be an answer.</font> <br /><font color="#ff0000">"Imagination is more important then Knowledge" ~Albert Einstien~</font> <br /><font color="#cc99ff">Guns dont kill people. People kill people</font>.</p></font><p><font color="#ff6600">Solar System</font></p> </div>

 

[brigandier]

Another one..?

 

[shadow735]

I would like to see a life history of magneto that included his time with Charles and development of cerebro and all the cool toys of the x-men, that would be cool. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[docm]

That's in the works too for 2009.<br /><br />It'll be directed by producer/writer/director David S. Goyer (Batman Begins/Dark Knight, Ghost Rider, Blade series etc.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

NICE!<br /><br />Magneto has always been one of my favorite characters. He's a great "noble" anti-hero. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font size="1">I put on my robe and wizard hat...</font> </div>

 

[shadow735]

I hope that Ian McKellen is going to play magneto again then that would rock <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[docm]

Wolverine's Canadian origins will stick, hence his love for Silver Fox and her being a Blackfoot (a great many come from Alberta).<br /><br />AFAIK both Magneto and Xavier will have to be re-cast as this will be an origins story that goes back decades. "Old" versions may well use McKellen & Stewar if told in flashback..... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[drwayne]

It took me a long time to grasp the subtle elements of Magneto to be sure.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p>"1) Give no quarter; 2) Take no prisoners; 3) Sink everything."  Admiral Jackie Fisher</p> </div>

 

[a_lost_packet_]

OK.. I found the thread.. obviously..

Now, does anyone else think this movie was terrible?

Let's drop the respect for Wolverine's character, his vigilantism, his Act First - Question Later attitude, his singular perspective on non-situational ethics.. depending upon the situation.. and his own somewhat tortured personality and propensity for finding ways to torture himself every step of the way, no matter where he is... Oh, drop the whole fascination with his claws too...

So, all the presumptions about Wolverine and all the backstory a fan might bring to the theater with them aside: Did anyone else think the movie was terrible?

The acting wasn't bad. That wasn't the problem. (Except for Wraith and Gambit who weren't done very well, IMO.) Even the main characters weren't badly formed. I liked them, to a certain degree. But, the movie as a whole was terrible...

First of all, continuity was disgusting. Didn't someone edit this picture? I assume so.. it's not a one Act play, after all. But, the obvious problems there are.. obvious. The prime example is when Wolverine has a tussle with Gambit in a back alley and Sabretooth shows up. OK, forget that Sabretooth must be capable of traveling at light speed.. after all, they simply HAVE to set up a new fight scene, right? Anyway, Wolverine slaps Gambit aside at one point and turns to fight Sabretooth. After a few rounds, Gambit is shown running across the rooftops with a staff and then jumping down to engage in a thwackfest that breaks the fight up... UH, how the heck did he get up there when, last we saw him, he was slumped against a wall? And, why run across the rooftops? The whole fight stayed in the alley, as I recall. Did he run home to get that staff and then run back? Why is Sabretooth leaving? Why is Wolverine just standing there and not doing anything? WTF is going on?

That's just an example of a nitpicky point. BUT, for me, the whole movie was filled with nitpicky points. Half the action scenes didn't make any sense at all and detracted from the movie. "Quick, we have to move over here so we can get to the cooling tower and show Wolverine climbing up to the top so we can do something like... AWWW screw it! We need a suspense filled action scene with the added danger of falling!.... Nevermind the fact that falling won't hurt anyone!"

Why not just add a pit full of sharks with lazer beams on their heads that do nothing at all of any significance whatsoever except prove to be a distraction?

What's the whole point of the farmer and his wife? "We need to find some other reason to get Wolverine ticked off rather than murdering his wife! Quick, find a couple of sentimental old people he doesn't know from Adam's housecat to show him a smidgin of human kindness so we can show the audience how uncaring and ruthless these people REALLY are!" WTF? Why not just put on a pair of golf-cleats and stomp on a box full of puppies why dontcha?

"Oh, show the claws again!", "Yes, this scene needs more claws!", "More claws please!", "Damn, we need more claws!", "Why can't we make Wolverine's claws five feet long? IT'D BE AWESOME!", "Can we give everyone claws?"

"What you need in this scene is more claws..."

I like Wolverine though he's not my favorite. Part of the success of Wolverine is Jackman's performance and the early Wolverine-centric take on the X-Men. But, it seems the movie depended a whole lot more on people bringing something to it rather than taking something away from it. To me, that's always a bad thing. I was very disappointed in how the story was executed but, not necessarily in the story itself.

 

[brandbll]

OK.. I found the thread.. obviously..

Now, does anyone else think this movie was terrible?

Let's drop the respect for Wolverine's character, his vigilantism, his Act First - Question Later attitude, his singular perspective on non-situational ethics.. depending upon the situation.. and his own somewhat tortured personality and propensity for finding ways to torture himself every step of the way, no matter where he is... Oh, drop the whole fascination with his claws too...

So, all the presumptions about Wolverine and all the backstory a fan might bring to the theater with them aside: Did anyone else think the movie was terrible?

The acting wasn't bad. That wasn't the problem. (Except for Wraith and Gambit who weren't done very well, IMO.) Even the main characters weren't badly formed. I liked them, to a certain degree. But, the movie as a whole was terrible...

First of all, continuity was disgusting. Didn't someone edit this picture? I assume so.. it's not a one Act play, after all. But, the obvious problems there are.. obvious. The prime example is when Wolverine has a tussle with Gambit in a back alley and Sabretooth shows up. OK, forget that Sabretooth must be capable of traveling at light speed.. after all, they simply HAVE to set up a new fight scene, right? Anyway, Wolverine slaps Gambit aside at one point and turns to fight Sabretooth. After a few rounds, Gambit is shown running across the rooftops with a staff and then jumping down to engage in a thwackfest that breaks the fight up... UH, how the heck did he get up there when, last we saw him, he was slumped against a wall? And, why run across the rooftops? The whole fight stayed in the alley, as I recall. Did he run home to get that staff and then run back? Why is Sabretooth leaving? Why is Wolverine just standing there and not doing anything? WTF is going on?

That's just an example of a nitpicky point. BUT, for me, the whole movie was filled with nitpicky points. Half the action scenes didn't make any sense at all and detracted from the movie. "Quick, we have to move over here so we can get to the cooling tower and show Wolverine climbing up to the top so we can do something like... AWWW screw it! We need a suspense filled action scene with the added danger of falling!.... Nevermind the fact that falling won't hurt anyone!"

Why not just add a pit full of sharks with lazer beams on their heads that do nothing at all of any significance whatsoever except prove to be a distraction?

What's the whole point of the farmer and his wife? "We need to find some other reason to get Wolverine ticked off rather than murdering his wife! Quick, find a couple of sentimental old people he doesn't know from Adam's housecat to show him a smidgin of human kindness so we can show the audience how uncaring and ruthless these people REALLY are!" WTF? Why not just put on a pair of golf-cleats and stomp on a box full of puppies why dontcha?

"Oh, show the claws again!", "Yes, this scene needs more claws!", "More claws please!", "Damn, we need more claws!", "Why can't we make Wolverine's claws five feet long? IT'D BE AWESOME!", "Can we give everyone claws?"

"What you need in this scene is more claws..."

I like Wolverine though he's not my favorite. Part of the success of Wolverine is Jackman's performance and the early Wolverine-centric take on the X-Men. But, it seems the movie depended a whole lot more on people bringing something to it rather than taking something away from it. To me, that's always a bad thing. I was very disappointed in how the story was executed but, not necessarily in the story itself.

No prob, you're only about 2 years late. Yes, the execution of this story was horrible. They should have broken it down into a couple movies is the first problem. They tried to cram too much stuff in at once. The elderly couple really odd to me too. It just seemed to come out of no where. Here this crazy looking naked guy shows up and you just let him into your house and give him a bunch of stuff?

 

[OleNewt]

It just seemed to come out of no where. Here this crazy looking naked guy shows up and you just let him into your house and give him a bunch of stuff?

Kind of like a rocket-powered basinet from Krypton.

 

[CalliArcale]

People are much more likely to be kindly disposed to an abandoned toddler than a strange naked man who appears to be on the run, so the Superman story is more plausible.

 

[docm]

But, these aren't 'city folks' and they often think very differently.

Out in the US and Canadian farmlands ethics and religious teachings enter into it, in that one of the worst things you can do is not help a stranger in need. They learn that from teachings like the story of Lot in Sodom insisting that the angels stay in his home, then trying to protect them from the citizenry.

This is common to many traditional cultures. It was that way when/where I grew up, especially among my Amish and Mennonite relatives, and it's not changed much.

 

[brandbll]

But, these aren't 'city folks' and they often think very differently.

Out in the US and Canadian farmlands ethics and religious teachings enter into it, in that one of the worst things you can do is not help a stranger in need. They learn that from teachings like the story of Lot in Sodom insisting that the angels stay in his home, then trying to protect them from the citizenry.

This is common to many traditional cultures. It was that way when/where I grew up, especially among my Amish and Mennonite relatives, and it's not changed much.

The Amish and Mennonites are exceptions, not standards. All of my US ancestors all the way up to my parents were small town farmers. If you found some middle aged wierd looking guy in your famr you would have found a gun on you until the sheriff showed up or got the courage to keep on running(and with my grandpa on my dad's side death might be an option over running).

Plus this guy wasn't traditional, he had a big old hog of a motorcycle. They would have been better off making it an Amish family he ran into minus the motorcycle. Would have made mroe sense.

 

[docm]

But, these aren't 'city folks' and they often think very differently.

Out in the US and Canadian farmlands ethics and religious teachings enter into it, in that one of the worst things you can do is not help a stranger in need. They learn that from teachings like the story of Lot in Sodom insisting that the angels stay in his home, then trying to protect them from the citizenry.

This is common to many traditional cultures. It was that way when/where I grew up, especially among my Amish and Mennonite relatives, and it's not changed much.

The Amish and Mennonites are exceptions, not standards.

Agreed - they are exceptional in many ways.

All of my US ancestors all the way up to my parents were small town farmers. If you found some middle aged weird looking guy in your farm you would have found a gun on you until the sheriff showed up or got the courage to keep on running(and with my grandpa on my dad's side death might be an option over running).

Not where I grew up, which was neither Amish or Mennonite. Mostly Swede/Norwegian, Irish and Polish, and they wouldn't do that either.

Plus this guy wasn't traditional, he had a big old hog of a motorcycle. They would have been better off making it an Amish family he ran into minus the motorcycle. Would have made more sense.

Problem with your analysis: this incident took place in the run-up to the 3-Mile Island reactor accident, right? That makes it shortly before March 28, 1979, or just a few years after the Viet-Nam War ended.

It was clearly stated in the film that the motorcycle (and the jacket they gave him) belonged to their son who is now, seemingly, permanently missing from the scene, likely killed in the war.

What's that? The farm was in Canada? Well...possibly. It's not clear in the film one way or the other, but it doesn't matter since most estimates are that more Canadians enlisted in US forces to fight in Viet-Nam than the ~30,000 that deserted or draft-dodged from the US in the other direction.

That out of the way, is it so unreasonable that they held on to the motorcycle and his gear in their grief, and that Logan appearing on the scene in need looking near the age he would have been gave them a young man to care about again - if only for a while? Not in the world I came from.