One of the most disappointing comic book films of the last few years has to be X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While the film was fun, mainly because Wolverine is such an awesome character and Hugh Jackman plays him so well, it fell far short of the quality most fans were hoping for. Because of that letdown, James Mangold’s The Wolverine is serving as a redemption story of sorts, giving Jackman a chance to prove that Wolverine can indeed be one of the coolest cinematic superheroes.
In a recent interview, Jackman discussed just what went wrong with Origins. Check out his quote below.
“I had something to prove, and we could have done better… Somehow the first Wolverine movie ended up looking like the fourth X-Men — just with different characters. I left unsure if we’d achieved our goal, which was to make sure people understood my character.”
Jackman then goes on to add that the upcoming Wolverine film will really get to the character’s core, and he’s pretty confident they’ve succeed this time around by making a more focused film.
Obviously Jackman isn’t going to say he thinks The Wolverine is anything less than a stellar superhero flick, so his statements about them getting it right this time may not hold much weight for some. Still, you have to respect how he’s aware of what went wrong with Origins on a level deeper than just fans not liking it. (Though he failed to mention the butchering of Deadpool, but we’ll let that slide for now).
I’ve said from the start that I really like the steps Mangold is taking to ensure this isn’t just another X-men film. It actually seems like they do have the right idea this time around. Setting the film in Japan, and having it completely focus on Wolverine, not as a sequel to Origins, but as its own, stand-alone movie, should definitely accomplish the deeper understanding of the character Jackman speaks of.
Do you think The Wolverine will right the wrongs of Origins, or will it just be another letdown? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
