Writer: Ezekiel Lee Zhiang Yang

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Watch this if you liked: All the "X-Men" movies

Being one of the fast to be furious when Hugh Jackman was cast more than 10 years ago to play Wolverine in the "X-Men" movies, this writer may have some apologising to do today. We complained he was too tall and too handsome to play a character more animal than man. Studio suits would have never let this project kick off if Wolverine wasn't somewhat more charmingly marketable. Yet the fanboys wanted a short guy with an even shorter fuse to just let rip.

Today, we see the "Australia" star co-producing his own spinoff (series?), and we've all read the interviews where he said how the online leak of this movie was "heartbreaking". It is perhaps then, that even the most obstinate of fanboys realise that he does have the project close to his heart. He may still insist on looking sexy for the box office femme skew, and he may never be able to do what some method actor like Christian Bale can but we forgive him instantly when we see him charging so violently delicious towards Victor Creed a.k.a. Sabertooth, played by a stockier Liev Schreiber.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" is first and foremost a superhero action movie. It's not some gritty crime drama that can win awards outside costume designing. For that, you must applaud its focus. From the off, the pace steadily takes us through Wolverine's pre-X-Men years (still debated hotly today among comic fans) and the dastardly Weapon X programme that gave him those adamantium claws. Seeing that he's virtually indestructible, it also makes cinematic sense that we cut him someplace else - his heart, where (without risking a spoiler) one particular girl gets his goat.

One can imagine Sabertooth being one of the better translated characters in this flick from early visuals. Others like Deadpool and The Blob do not embarrass but Taylor Kitsch really takes the biscuit for being grossly miscast as Remy LeBeau, otherwise known as Gambit to all X-Men followers. There is little that is cavalier or cajun about the man and he soon gets lost in fancy fireworks. Lynn Collins (you might remember her playing fair Portia in 2004's "Merchant Of Venice") as Wolverine's girl however is surprisingly memorable. She even gets some cool lines to say.

A second Wolverine movie seems inevitable if you stayed and caught the extra bit at the end credits. Jackman can be proud of this product but handing it to someone like Christopher Nolan could make the next flick a modern classic. After all, Wolverine is undeniably one of the most marketable and striking characters from Marvel's universe.

Jackman has revealed how many people had told him how they want a meaner, bad ass Wolverine - but Hugh's a nice guy and his Wolverine is still a hopeless romantic no matter how many cigars he chomps. For all the correct measures of facial hair and toothy gnarls, an absolutely feral Wolverine appears just within Jackman's range if the man gets his sequel.

Cinema Online, 27 April 2009