There are so many puns that have been used to describe the effects Wolverine has done to the first weekend of box office sales. Slashed, clawed, diced, etc. Sure, the sales weren’t as great as the last X-Men movie (X-Men: The Last Stand), but I definitely would say that this movie was a better movie experience. Besides, what do I care about box office sales? I don’t get a percentage.
But I do care about how I spend my hard earned dollars. If I were in the upper crust of society, I’d probably go to my local cinema to watch any and every movie that was released. Considering if I were an upper crustonian, I’d probably pay $20 a ticket during matinee time, or discount Tuesday. But, I’m not. And I paid $10 and laughed at people in the snack lines who aren’t ingenious enough to smuggle in their own treats. (I’m not saying I do it, I’m just saying.)
I said all that to say this: Wolverine is worth the ticket price. Possibly even the price for a big bucket of popcorn. Usually for big hyped movies that I’m actually hyped about myself, I’d check out the midnight showing. Unfortunately, I was too pooped to party this go-around. And my premiere posse had other obligations that barred them from the late night showings as well. But I still made opening weekend, and that’s good enough for me. Another day I’ll discuss why I enjoy midnight and opening weekend movie screenings.
I still haven’t really talked about the movie yet. I’m full of tangents. It’s just like the other day, when I was being chased by a three-legged dog on the highway… Sorry. Wolverine is set 10-15 years before the first X-Men movie’s event. Thus, that makes this movie a prequel and not necessarily X-Men: Part 4 (I heard rumor that this is a separate movie in the works). The full title is X-Men Origins: Wolverine which clearly says “Hey! This is where Wolverine comes from!’ And it does so quite nicely. If you only know of the X-Men through the movies, then this film definitely helps you to understand the complex titled character. This is especially true if you ever wondered what really happened in X2 concerning Stryker and Wolverine. Let me say this now, you’ll probably want to watch the first two movies again after watching this… that is if you’ve seen them before. I’ve seen them all many times. What can I say, I’m a fan.
What makes this movie fun for seeing in a theater is the action-packed special effects scenes laced throughout the film. It’s visually stunning with loads of eye candy and quite a few money shots or “hero shots”, as I call them. You know, the hero walks towards the camera as something explodes behind him. Or said character is being blasted away from a similar explosion. Usually in slow motion. It pretty cliché but I’m not complaining.
For those familiar with the X-Men characters, you’ve got Wolverine slashing though everything, Sabretooth running up buildings and growing fingernails, a young Cyclops blasting up buildings, Emma Frost being sparkly, Deadpool being hilarious and awesome with his swords, and my favorite–Gambit, throwing powerfully explosive cards (and other things) and doing damage with a bo staff. Then there are a couple twists and surprises thrown in. Then the climatic finale fight. And then an ending that will leave you satisfied enough to be happy for a year or so in hopes that they follow up with a sequel soon. Too early to say that’ll happen, but I think chances are high. And then to top it off, three–that’s right–THREE post-credits scenes. That means when the credits begin, don’t move! There is a scene that involves an antagonist mid credits, but I’m talking about all the way at the end. Depending on the theater you’re in, depends on what scene you will see.
Overall, Wolverine is definitely a movie to catch while in theaters. This is what summer popcorn blockbusters are all about! I suggest leaving the tiniest kids at home, unless they know who Wolverine is and understand movie-going etiquette. There’s considerable violence, but little to no blood while the violence is happening. You know Wolverine has these claws and uses them more than just to threaten or slash open doors, yet you never see any blood on them. The same goes for other deadly characters that kill or are killed. With that kind of realism, the movie would be bumped up to an R rating probably. But its popcorn season and film makers want as many seats filled as possible. So get there immediately, or go see it again.
the indoob! network 
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