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Last Updated: Jun 17th, 2009 - 13:03:20 |
The fast-paced, surprising prologue of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” shows the clawed superhero in the many wars he has fought. Though Wolverine, whose given name is Logan, was born in Canada during the 19th Century, his opportunities to fight occur with the United States, starting in the Civil War and continuing to the Vietnam War. It is through this prologue that we first glimpse the recurring theme for this film: Wolverine’s internal struggle between being “an animal” as opposed to being a human being.
Director Gavin Hood (“Rendition,” “Tsotsi,”) works that theme in this film, adding depth and heart to the kick-off of the summer action flick season. “Wolverine,” the first that gives back story on a member of the X-Men mutant superheroes, has enough in it to think about for those of us who are older than teen-agers, and enough razzle-dazzle, comic book action and special effects for everyone to ooh and aah. (A flying bullet being sliced in half in mid-air by a sword ranks high on my list, as does the mutant who transforms into diamonds).
The script by David Benioff and Skip Woods allows Hugh Jackman, in the starring role, to rise above the stiff, aloof character of previous X-men films. In this story, he breaks away from a group of X-Men, organized by the government operative Stryker, and decides to live a quiet rural life. But of course, things can’t be that easy. He soon gets wind that someone may be hunting down members of his old group and he winds up tracking the killer before the killer gets to him.
This aspect of Wolverine’s existence, being a mutant or different, coupled with being hunted, is what gives his character an affinity to those of us who struggle in life. When I first thought about writing about Wolverine, I toyed around with the idea of posing the question of whether Wolverine is Black but there wasn’t much evidence, material or jokes for me to work with. (In contrast, for example, the Hulk can at least be referred to legitimately as a person of color.)
The filmmakers have not taken the easy way out with “Wolverine.” Though there is plenty of violent action, it is not cheap violence for its own sake. Rather, each of these moments seems to build on the larger theme of questioning all kinds of violence, and the qualities that make us all human—or an animal.
You can order Esther Iverem's critically praised We Gotta Have It: Twenty Years of Seeing Black at the Movies, 1986-2006 (Thunder’s Mouth Press, April 2007)at Amazon.com or purchase at your favorite bookstore. It makes a wonderful gift! Thanks!
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