# X-Men Origins: Wolverine first look (boxed spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2009, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953 "2009-05-01T09:25:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/61 "2009-05-07T07:10:45Z")
So I didn’t really like the movie. At all. It had almost no redeeming qualities for me except for two enjoyable characters who spent a combined 10 minutes in the movie. Thoughts: -I thought they mess up wolverine. He was far too soft considering his development is supposed to be from animalistic and full of rage to a little more human by the third craptacular movie. -Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool. He was charismatic and had serious potential and spent about 5 minutes on screen. -Gambit. Tim Riggins got off to a rocky first scene but after that he came into his own. Again, he had maybe five minutes of screen time. Maybe not New Orleansey enough of an accent but better generic south than a silly fucked up accent. -Next to no character development. We learned nothing except superficial facts about Wolverine. They rushed from scene to scene. The movie was basically a giant montage. -Way too much passionate screaming. If it were a drinking game I’d leave hammered. -If this were Wolverine on Broadway, Hugh Jackman’s performance was brilliant. Otherwise, over the top. -Some of the fight scenes were incomprehensible. The explanation of how Stryker was gonna give Wolverine Amnesia was just silly -Also, well done representing the '70s production designers. You did such a good job I had no idea what year we were filming in. -Also, nice Deus Ex machina at the end there… There was much more, but my notebook got lost on the subway home from the movie. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/62 "2009-05-07T08:16:08Z")
> [@TooSchoolforCool](#): > > Deadpool CAN’T TALK? What the hell is the point of even calling him deadpool then? He’s the merc with the mouth. And they made him into “Generic Final Boss Monster X” instead of coming up with some witty dialogue? Sad. Well they did set it up nicely for if they ever finally do get around to making him into his own movie. I know they’ve been kicking around the script for the last few years, and so if you happened to get the bonus ending w/ him in it, you’d see how it gets setup for that movie at least if they do it. And there’s talk already of them going for a Wolverine: Origins 2, but this time following his Backstory in Japan, ala the alternative bonus teaser ending thing they had. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/63 "2009-05-07T08:23:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > My biggest gripe was the montage during the opening credits. WTF were they doing in the U.S. Army? The British Empire had lots of wars they could have fought in. It would have been cool to see Logan as a redcoat somewhere in Africa or India. > > I’m also a little annoyed at the way they gave him amnesia. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, one of the coolest aspects of Wolverine’s character was that he would drop offhand references to obscure historical events. “I haven’t seen mud like this since that winter in Monte Cassino. I hated it then. I hate it now.” Ditto on both counts. I would have loved to see them in the Rhodesian Bush War or some other less-exposed conflict. And amnesia has got to be THE second-most OVERUSED, PLAYED OUT concept in the sci-fi/action genre (number one is cloning.) ---
**Author:** ![jehan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jehan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jehan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/64 "2009-05-07T17:59:00Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > My biggest gripe was the montage during the opening credits. WTF were they doing in the U.S. Army? The British Empire had lots of wars they could have fought in. It would have been cool to see Logan as a redcoat somewhere in Africa or India. But Canadians did fight in the American Civil War. 50,000 of them. So it’s not much of a stretch, really. [http://ca.geocities.com/docmilner/canadians1.htm](http://ca.geocities.com/docmilner/canadians1.htm) But yes, seeing them in the Boer war or somewhere in India would have been cool. ---
**Author:** ![Hawkeyeop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@Hawkeyeop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hawkeyeop)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/65 "2009-05-07T18:13:50Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > Well they did set it up nicely for if they ever finally do get around to making him into his own movie. I know they’ve been kicking around the script for the last few years, and so if you happened to get the bonus ending w/ him in it, you’d see how it gets setup for that movie at least if they do it. Looks like it is in the worth. [http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content\_display/news/e3i605e3e8798d54f48b4640209b868af46](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i605e3e8798d54f48b4640209b868af46) I’d rather it be a direct marvel production, but still really excited about it. ---
**Author:** ![Atrael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Atrael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atrael)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/66 "2009-05-07T18:57:12Z")
Maybe I’m missing something, but how do we know Logan is Canadian? He remembers waking up and being found in Canada, and lived there for a time, but there was nothing I saw in the opening sequence that really said he was originally **from** Canada. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/67 "2009-05-07T19:11:31Z")
The opening sequence took place in Canada in the 1880’s, also you can find that sort of information in the Comic books as well. Unless you want to make the point that He COULD have been BORN in the US and his family moved across and into Canada right away. But that’s like Obama conspiracy theorizing right there… ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/68 "2009-05-07T20:12:47Z")
> [@Ro0sh](#): > > The opening sequence took place in Canada in the 1880’s, also you can find that sort of information in the Comic books as well. Unless you want to make the point that He COULD have been BORN in the US and his family moved across and into Canada right away. But that’s like Obama conspiracy theorizing right there… Nitpick: I’m fairly sure the sequence with the elder Logan (i.e., Victor’s father who cuckolded the elder Howlett and fathered Logan) took place in 1845 according to the time-stamp on the screen. As I think on it, I think the film’s big flaw was the shout-outs leaving them to being overly ambitious. They were locked into certain things,of course–Wolverine’s amnesia, and Victor/Sabretooth surviving–but nonetheless they should have focused on the conflict between the brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/69 "2009-05-07T20:14:04Z")
> [@Atrael](#): > > Maybe I’m missing something, but how do we know Logan is Canadian? He remembers waking up and being found in Canada, and lived there for a time, but there was nothing I saw in the opening sequence that really said he was originally **from** Canada. Before he loses his memory of his identity (but, magically, not his ability to read & write and button his shirt), he specificallysays that he’s Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/70 "2009-05-07T20:31:09Z")
The timestamp on the opening scene listed the name of the province as well as the year. I think it was Ontario, 1845, though I was not really paying attention. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/71 "2009-05-07T22:20:25Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The timestamp on the opening scene listed the name of the province as well as the year. I think it was Ontario, 1845, though I was not really paying attention. Northwest Territories. That made me go :dubious: for a bit. > [@jenah](#): > > But Canadians did fight in the American Civil War. 50,000 of them. So it’s not much of a stretch, really. > > [http://ca.geocities.com/docmilner/canadians1.htm](http://ca.geocities.com/docmilner/canadians1.htm) > > But yes, seeing them in the Boer war or somewhere in India would have been cool. Well, a lot of the escaped slaves were heading to Canada, so they had a bone to pick with the Confederacy as well. Makes sense. > [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Before he loses his memory of his identity (but, magically, not his ability to read & write and button his shirt), he specificallysays that he’s Canadian. That was my favorite part, when Striker came to the lumberyard and asked him “Don’t you want to serve your country?” “I’m Canadian.” Shut down! ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/72 "2009-05-07T23:03:05Z")
Also, why would two sociopaths/borderline cases, seeking action and adventure NOT go fight in the nearest war… and then stay for the pancakes… I mean… other wars. ---
**Author:** ![jehan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jehan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jehan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/73 "2009-05-07T23:15:37Z")
In the 1840s, the Northwest Territories were much larger than they are today, taking in much of northern Alberta, bits of Saskatchewan, and the Yukon and the western North. So the movie isn’t far off in it’s description. (I would have said Logan was in northern Alberta in the movie). It wouldn’t have been called “Canada” at that time, but I don’t have a problem with the movie calling it such for a modern audience. [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.4-e.html](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.4-e.html) ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/74 "2009-05-07T23:25:23Z")
> [@jenah](#): > > In the 1840s, the Northwest Territories were much larger than they are today, taking in much of northern Alberta, bits of Saskatchewan, and the Yukon and the western North. So the movie isn’t far off in it’s description. (I would have said Logan was in northern Alberta in the movie). It wouldn’t have been called “Canada” at that time, but I don’t have a problem with the movie calling it such for a modern audience. > > [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.4-e.html](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.4-e.html) Ah. I did not know that. Now who do I have to bribe to get someone to rename the remaining bit of NW Territory “Rupert’s Land”? That is the greatest province name ever thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953/75 "2009-05-09T13:02:14Z")
> [@jenah](#): > > In the 1840s, the Northwest Territories were much larger than they are today, taking in much of northern Alberta, bits of Saskatchewan, and the Yukon and the western North. So the movie isn’t far off in it’s description. (I would have said Logan was in northern Alberta in the movie). It wouldn’t have been called “Canada” at that time, but I don’t have a problem with the movie calling it such for a modern audience. > > [http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.4-e.html](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.4-e.html) If the film referred to the Northwest Territories, it’s a serious anachronism, since the North-West Territories didn’t exist in the 1840s. Rather, there was a region entitled the [North-Western Territory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-Western_Territory). This wasn’t just a slight difference in name. The North-Western Territory was under different control than the North-West Territories, and was considerably smaller. This Territory was claimed by Britain, which delegated administration and governance to the Hudson Bay Company. It was never under the control of any of the eastern colonies of British North America. The second difference is the land included in the North-Western Territory. It encompassed all land in mainland British North America which was not already part of a colony, and which was also not within the territory of [Rupert’s Land](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert's_Land), which was defined as the land within the watershed of the Hudson Bay. That meant that the North-Western Territory was large, but not as large as the subsequent North-West Territories. In 1869, the Hudson Bay Company surrendered its title to Rupert’s Land and the North-western Territory to the United Kingdom, which then granted them to the new Dominion of Canada. The Canadian Parliament then created a new territory, the [North-west Territories](http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/confederation/023001-2101.6-e.html), which included all of the old North-Western Territory, Rupert’s Land, and some other land as well. This territory was under the administration of the federal government. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/x-men-origins-wolverine-first-look-boxed-spoilers/494953.md?page=3)