Wolverine, fan favorite of the X-Men universe in both comic books and film, gets his own movie vehicle with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a tale that reaches way, way back into the hairy mutant's story. Somewhere in the wilds of northwest Canada in the early 1800s, two boys grow up amid violence: half-brothers with very special powers. Eventually they will become the near-indestructible warriors (and victims of a super-secret government program) known as Wolverine and Sabretooth, played respectively by Hugh Jackman (returning to his role) and Liev Schreiber (new to the scene). It helps enormously to have Schreiber, an actor of brawny skills, as the showiest villain; the guy can put genuine menace into a vocal inflection or a shift of the eyes.

Danny Huston is the sinister government operative whose experiments keep pullin' Wolverine back in, Lynn Collins is the woman who shares a peaceful Canadian co-existence with our hero when he tries to drop out of the program, and Ryan Reynolds adds needed humor, at least for a while. The fast-paced early reels give an entertaining kick-off to the Wolverine saga, only to slow down when a proper plot must be put together--but isn't that perpetually the problem with origin stories? And despite a cool setting, the grand finale is a little hemmed in by certain plot essentials that must be in place for the sequels, which may be why characters do nonsensical things.

So, this one is fun while it lasts, if you're not looking for a masterpiece, or an explanation for Wolverine's facial grooming. --Robert Horton

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" strongly succeeds in conveying the pure "testosterone-filled" masculine energy of the character, and the overall essence of the character - his conflicted journey as he strives to become more than what he has been, and some of the key emotional relationships in his past. The filmmakers have wisely chosen to streamline 20+ years of needless published exposition & contrivances - in order to focus on the strong CORE of the character, which is what has "hooked" readers and moviegoers for the past 34 years

Logan / Wolverine is not the "deepest" or "most profound" character ever to grace the printed page, or the cinema screen. The essence of the character is primal, direct, but never simple or two-dimensional. But, in the words of the fictional character himself, in his niche, he is "the best there is at what he does." And more importantly, so is the Driving Force behind this film: Hugh Jackman.