X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Category: Film
Genre: Action / Comic Adaptation / Sci-Fi
Directed By: gavin Hood
Running Time: 107 min.

X-Men Origins Wolverine is a mixed bag as far as comic adaptations go.  Breaking it down by the three acts, the first was great, the second was adequate and the third act just left me with a disappointed questioning look on my face.

I had hoped that this would be a continuation of the “comic movie renaissance” phenomena of last year that included Iron Man, The Dark Night, and to a lesser extend The Incredible Hulk and The Spirit; by this I refer to comic adaptations being treated with care and respect for the original material, made by fans for fans, within the bounds of adaptability.

Wolverine has a rich history with many elements to draw on.  The adaptation fails to take full advantage of this and treats the characters as expendable checkpoints on the path to concluding the film.  The essential problem here is that this is an origin story, a tale with a steady rise from A to B; now its adaptation into film format requires a story arc with a climax followed by a resolving conclusion that wraps up much of the loose ends.  In order to achieve this the makers of Wolverine reinterpreted the Deadpool character in what I can only describe as a wasteful fashion, robbing themselves of the chance to explore a truly interesting character in exchange for an expendable ultimate villain for the final showdown.

The overall impression this film left was that it wasn’t taken all that seriously in respect to the fanbase, the history, or its own execution.  The effects also looked somewhat phoned in, especially in the final climax battles.  As a simple comic-esque action film, Wolverine is certainly enjoyable, and I generally try to approach these adaptation as exactly that; adaptations of the source material into a new media.  Unfortunately the frankly unnecessary ham handed treatment of some of the plot elements and characters pushes my tolerance on truly enjoying the film in its entirety.  Adaptations necessitate certain levels of change, but this is simply a matter of poor choices.

Rating: 6.5/10

The Spirit

Category: Film
Genre: Thriller / Noir / Comic Adaptation
Directed By: Frank Miller
Running Time: 103 min.

Initially I thought The Spirit might just be one of those films that defies description. After a bit of thought the situation is in fact both far simpler and far more complex than that.

To paraphrase a line from the film, The Spirit has the final word on strange. Not being entirely sure what to expect in the film adaptation of one of the most influential and long running properties in the noir/detective genre, I tried to come in without preconcieved notions. This is really how you have to absorb this picture, as the creators really went for broke and pulled out all the stops.

Its handy to make comparisons to Miller’s previous big impact comic adaptation, Sin City, though the comparisons are only useful up to a ceratin point. Visually many of the same rotoscoping/solid color effects are used, but with more variability than in Sin City. In terms of character the film departs greatly form the ne-noir grit of Sin City, unabasedly giving itself wide comedic and thematic lattitude. Much of this comes from the fact that Will Eisner’s The Spirit comics established much of what is taken for granted in the genre, including stylized dialogue, over the top adversaries and vignetes that work best when they take themselves (if nothing else) completely seriously.

The casting is well done with appropriate fits for every character. This was the first comic film that I felt Samuel L. Jackson fit into nicely, as in previous work he always seemed to be several orders of magnitute over the top. One of my favorite characters was Stana Katic as Officer Morganstern, with great delivery of a delightlfully off kilter performance. Scarlett Johansen as Silken Floss is superb, strongly reminding me of Drew Barrymore for some reason, and The Wonder Years’ Dan Loria as the Gruff Dolan is also a nice fit.

On the whole, if you’re looking for a deadly serious comic flic, look elsewhere. This one requires you to be ready to strap in and enjoy some creatively stylized story telling. If you want a fun romp through the world of a modernly re-realized genre-defining property, this is your ride.

Rating: 6.5/10