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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
X-Men Origins DVD, Movie, and Premiere Review, September 16, 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Two-Disc Special Edition + Digital Copy) ~ Hugh Jackman (DVD - Sep 15, 2009) Review
Introduction
This is an actual review of the Two-Disk Special Edition Digital Copy DVD and not just the movie. Also at the end I include a brief review of the World Premiere event of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
First the DVD, then the Movie, and then the Premiere
The DVD:
Let me start out by saying I love movies on DVD, but when you pay this much for a DVD it shouldn't start out by playing 5 trailers in a row. In addition you can't rewind any of the trailers, but at least you can fast-forward or skip them.
The menu is easy to navigate and pretty much the usual fare of movie clips playing in the background pleasant to look at and without giving too much away.
Pros:
Fantastic digital transfer visually fantastic!
Dolby 5.1 Surround sound is pretty good on here
Lot's of commentaries including Stan Lee!
3 different languages
Cons:
5 Trailers play before the menu displays
Cannot rewind trailers only pause and fast forward
Included Digital Copy disk I had initial learning problems and you only get 5 copies (see below)
Could be more special features for a two-disk set
Audio menu:
Opening the Audio menu I see lots of choices including:
English 5.1 Dolby Surround (sounds pretty good)
Spanish Dolby Surround
French Dolby Surround
Commentary by director Gavin Hood
Commentary by Shulla Donner and Ralph Winter
Extras:
1. Roots of Wolverine an Conversation with Stan Lee and Len Wein: To me a Comic and X-Men fan this one 16 minute short is worth the purchase price alone. Stan Lee and Len Wein talking about the birth of X-Men and Wolverine and a lot of little know background in the whole genre. Your player will say 2 chapters but there is only one.
2. Wolverine Unleashed: The Complete Origins well worth it this has a lot of on set interview like planning and setup and behind the scenes footage.
3. Deleted and alternate scenes: You can play all or each individually and with or without commentary by director Gavin Hood. It's worth a look, just note that there are only four of these a. Young Storm, b. Victor at the boxing ring, c. Alternate Memory Erase and d. Japanese Bar scene.
4. Anti-Smoking PSA, Ok, what the heck is this? My curiosity got the best of me and I just had to click on this little gem! It's just a 30 second bubble blowing short against smoking. Everyone is going around blowing bubbles and you can see where the bubbles go that's were smoke would probably go too.
The Digital Copy
I put the Digital Copy disk in my new 13-inch 2.13GHz MacBook running Snow Leopard. And just like the directions say double-click on the transfer to iTunes. iTunes 9 boots. I'm anticipating something and... nothing much happens. I look around for more instructions and click on movies and nothing. I can't get the disk to copy download or play. Ok so I think it must be something to do with Snow Leopard. So I take the Digital Copy disk over to my 24inch iMac running good old reliable Leopard 10.5.8 and same thing! I really don't see how to continue.
So I try calling Apple Technical support maybe they have some tips and they are telling me it should ask for a serial number right away but it never does that I can tell.
Then I contacted Fox Digital Transfer tech support at foxdigitalcopy@orderassistance.com as ask for assistance.
Then I go to the help web page for Mac users at [...] and find out I needed to look for the DVD icon on the left side of the iTunes window under Devices then select then it you enter the code inside the DVD case on the Digital Transfer disk instructions and click on Redeem. Guess I'm just an old and out of touch but once I knew where to look it was so obvious!
After that the transfer begin and only took about 5 minutes and it was ready to play. The image looks just Ok on my 24inch iMac but I'm sure will look much better on a iPod Touch and it does look better on the 13inch MacBook. When I get a iPod Touch or iPhone I will post an update.
I also have a Blackberry Storm and hope to get it up and running with the movie but no luck so far.
So then I downloaded it to my 13inch MacBook with Snow Leopard and all went well now that I knew where to look. When you play it first time it asks for authorization from iTunes then tells you how many computers you have left you can download it to. You get up to 5 different ones.
The Movie Review:
Wolverine (Logan) is without doubt my favorite X-Men character. And so it was with great anticipation I started watching X-Men Origins Wolverine.
Warning spoilers ahead
And now the movie, I love the start the childhood even if a little cheesy it fills things in. And then we have the stop motion battle scenes as they fight wars through time which are just plain fantastic with each scene stopped at a perfect visual moment.
The visuals throughout the movie are stunning and a lot of work must have gone into being on location.
However with that said it's a shame some of the lame lines and bad script writing get in the way of how awesome Hugh is at playing Wolverine! The man just can do no wrong! He's awesome and if you have already seen the other X-Men movies you know what I mean if not you are in for a treat.
Most of the other main cast members do a great job as well: Ryan Reynolds and Taylor Kitsch all do a great job with what they have to work with and especially Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth who is just awesome! Will.i.am seems a little new to acting but I think he may get better and better. The real problem for me is some of the side bit actors are so horrifically bad they almost sound like they are just reading their lines.
But now we get into a confusing story line and just when the interaction between Hugh and Lynn Collins heats up we kill her off. What the heck? She's fantastic for the short time her original character is in the movie but come ON! Fill in the characters give them some depth. It's almost like Lynn is just there long enough so we become attached before she dies.
After Lynn's brief part we head into the making of the indestructible Wolverine and the visuals are one again awesome!
The action however is sometimes way over the top like the helicopter blade cutting scene with parts at time speeding up. But at times some funny items such as Wolverine learning to control his blades and cutting the old farmers sink work well. But parts like the fight with the fat guy in the ring are just too much and bring the movie down just as it seems to be on its feet.
Some parts in the middle of the movie almost feels like it's either trying to become a B movie it certainly doesn't take its self seriously.
But then Wolverine cuts loose the prisoner mutants loose and the final battle begins which is actually pretty cool and more then makes up for the middle.
Plus a surprise guest at the very end.
Be sure to keep the movie going at the end as there is a second funny ending in the middle of the credits involving Col. Stryker.
World Premiere Event:
Last but not least I had the fantastic experience of attending and photographing the cast at the red carpet event X-Men Origins World Premiere. If I could rate this separately it would have been 5 stars!
Seeing Hugh Jackman ride up to the event on the same Harley he rode in the movie was well worth the hours of waiting in and of itself. I could have reached out and touched him as he rode by.
All the main stars were there including: Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Kitsch, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Collins and Will.i.am. Even director Gavin Hood attended.
And speaking of sexy Lynn Collins, she is out of this world looking even prettier in the flesh then on the DVD. Too bad she had so little time in the movie.
In fact trying to describe what the Premiere was like I find words just can't do it justice so click on the link below to see photos I took during the X-Men Wolverine Premiere at [...]
In the coming days I will be adding more as I watch through all the voice over commentaries.
Verdict:
In the end I am glad I bought the movie it does fill in some missing areas of Logan's life and Wolverine's creation and if you are a die hard fan of the series its well worth the price.
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25 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
My Review: Ladies Take Note..., August 10, 2009
As a female fan I thoroughly enjoy the actions parts. You could tell that's where the money, and attention by the part of writers, director and producers (yes you, Jackman) went. I'll definitely get the DVD as many female fans are--for the Eye Candy! I love that Jackman is not so full of himself and that his first solo X-men flick--he spread the hottness around. I don't know if he did this because, he feels more comfortable in a group ensemble; or because he just rather give another actor a hand up. Nevertheless, in this movie you get to see more characters and a lot, A LOT of Fine Men.
LADIES TAKE NOTE:
Ryan Reynolds stands out as Deadpool--so much that a spin-off is in the works. His typical smarta$$ mouth comedy makes his one liners really zing. And the man can swing a pair of swords, and look bada$$ doing so.
Also, a lesser known Korean American actor/model Daniel Henney as weapons expert Agent Zero, makes his first appearance on a US movie. He's mostly known for Korean TV, Cinema and modeling. Yet in this flick, his supermodel looks work in his favor as he brings an icey sharp demeanor that make him one to take note of--and makes fans like me pray for a Agent Zero spin-off. His action sequence at the beginning of the film left me wanting more.
Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch as Gambit was a big crowd pleaser in Comic Con, and he delivers on the big screen. This one might also have a spin-off in the future. The ladies sure love him and the guys seemed pleased with his deliver of the gambler as well.
Howevery I agree completely with other reviews. The plot was weak, and they didn't explain much about Logan's past (which was the purpose of the movie). We kind get a glimpse and quick run through and the rest is all BOOM! BAM! POW! All in all the movie was worth my money. I got a great night out with friends and a lot to drool over for. Thank you Jackman for all that nakedness! *shivers* I am totally still hoping this movie does well on DVD release. Cuz Jackman's such a good guy that he deserves it.
I hope in the upcoming spin-offs they do focus a bit more on the plot. Just a wee more than they did on this one. Cuz altho they might have felt the male comic geeks would love all the BOOM! BAM! POW! actions stuff, and female geeks would love all the nakedness and sexy...Sexy Men, we'd also would like a better story line to bring it all together. I think that's what made the X-men flicks work and do so well, so I hope they go back to that blueprint in future installments.
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98 of 138 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hooray for loud and shiny things!, July 15, 2009
I want to get this out first, I love the comics. I think none of these movies are anywhere close to represent the X-men as they are in the comics. That said, I think these movies exist in a different world that has nothing to do with the 616, except for the characters names and most their powers. I have no problems with these movies; X-men 1 and 2 were very entertaining action movies. But even those movies should have been called, "Wolverine 'N Pals", because they didn't focus on the X-men, but on Wolverine's interaction with the other characters. My expectations of this movie were not based on the comics themselves, but on the previous movie storylines. I knew in my heart that Hollywood would somehow find a way to rape the image of one of my favorite characters in the Marvel Universe, Deadpool. So when "Weapool 11" popped up at the end I wasn't even surprised they would do something that silly. I read an interview a long time ago that about X-men 1 that the producers had to fight to have Cyclops wear the visor because the director didn't like it. So, I am not surprised nor bothered by the fact that these Hollywood interpretations don't have a clue about how these characters should be handled. I did like the previous movies (except 3), and understand that this is merely a diferent interpretation of these characters.
Wolverine Origins or, "Wolverine 'N Pals 4; how this mess began", is a very entertaining movie. But it fails to deliver a comprehensible story line. A lot of the story doesn't make any sense. The movie,( as you might be have been clued to know), is about Wolverines origins, its shows you where he came from and how his powers manifested, leading to spending a long part of his life with his half brother Sabertooth, whom we were introduced to in the 1st X-men. After many adventures and wars, the pair ends up joining a military group of people with superpowers led by Stryker. On one of the missions, Wolverine angered by Sabertooth's actions leaves the group to pursue a nicer lifestyle. This is when he falls in love with Silverfox and the pair lives happily for a while. Many years later Sabertooth comes back in a killing rampage taking out some old members of Stryker's group, and Wolverine's love is killed during this. To get his revenge, Wolverine agrees to have done on him an experimental procedure that with give him metal plated bones.
Not bad right? Love, family, betrayal and revenge. All the stuff to make a great story. This is where it doesn't add up. For those of you that don't want "Spoilers" please don't read, as I might give away some plot details.
-After wolverine finds Silverfox dead, Wolverine a veteran of many wars, doesn't check to make sure she is in fact dead? Why did he leave her body there in the field? Couldnt't his enhanced smell detect the fake blood? Was it her manipulation power that convinced him to just move on instead of taking her to a medic.
-If she can manipulate people by touch, how the hell didn't she manipulate Stryker in letting her sister or any of the other kids go? She spends 7 years of her life with Wolvie and doesn't manipulate him, and indestructible man, to kill Stryker? Was she having to much fun maybe?
-After Wolverine has adamantium put on his bones and escapes to visit the "Kents", why on earth would Stryker send Maverick with a rifle to shoot a man that can't die with metal bones? Was he going to shoot through an eyeball from a helicopter? He missed pretty badly by the way, twice. Superman gonna be angry when he goes home to visit.
-Its revealed that Silverfox wasn't killed by Sabertooth yet after Sabertooth saves Wolverine from falling off the cooling tower, Wolverine tells him "this doesn't change anything". Why? She's not dead. She fooled you. He saves you from falling and having your butt kicked but Weapon 11, why the hell are you still mad at him?
-Stryker failed to wipe Wolverine's memories so the solution is to shoot a guy with metal on his skull on his head? How the hell does that work? How did he know it would work?
-Why did the most powerful telepath (Professor X) not control someone inside the 3 mile island release the kids? Why wait 7 years and then help. Why didn't he do that stop time thing from the previous movies so he can save the kids? Where was Magneto? Doesnt he care about abused mutant kids? (One of the restrained kids looked like Quicksilver, who is Magnetos son in the comics)
-How come those kids couldn't get away on their own? What was that chain link fence cage they were in made of? Adamantium?
-Why was Gambit hanging out in a casino, when he knew he was being looked for by Stryker? How was it that Stryker can't find him in a long time and yet Wolverine finds him in a day? Maybe Stryker didn't want him anymore. Maybe they couldn't persuade the Blob to talk?
-Why add the scene in the end where Stryker is going to be arrested for his crimes, when we well know that he was a high ranking military official in X-men 2?
Well these are most of the plot points from the movie that just don't make any sense. It's ok for an action movie to be extremely silly and self referential in that way. For example in Transformers when they have the teen kid take the cube and the alien so they can hide in the populated city, one of the characters mentions how dumb that idea is. They make no excuses in this movie, and just because it's "supposed" to be a dumb action movie, there is no justification for the producers of this movie to assume their viewers are idiots, and won't care about a story plot that doesn't make any sense. Which, apparently they are correct because this movie made a boatload of cash. I will not act like there is nothing wrong with this movie just because it's flashy and has lost of explosions.
In my arrogant opinion, it's a onetime watcher. This is not a boring movie by far, yes, it's a lot of fun and tons of action and the movie's cast was really great. But the story is convoluted and nonsensical, it seems to take the audience for granted. So, if you want to enjoy this mess, just ignore the entire story and watch the shiny stuff happening on screen.
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