Based on “Wolverine Origins” comic book, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” is a prequel that shows how the story of Wolverine started and how he lost his memory. The movie starts in Canada in 1854 when Jim Logan (who’ll become Wolverine) is still a young boy. He sees his dad being killed and he’s transformed by his rage to a young Wolverine with the sharp bony claws that grow from his knuckles. He and his brother, Victor (who’ll become Sabretooth), run away and we see them being involved in various wars, like the American Civil War, World War I and II, and even Vietnam.

Both of them don’t age and can heal quickly from any wound inflicted on them. They become a part of a band of mercenaries headed by Gen. Stryker (Danny Huston). His group’s ruthlessness and all the senseless violence they do turn Logan off. He hungers for a more decent life and decides to leave them to have a more normal life. He becomes a lumberjack living in the mountains with Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). But Victor won’t just let go of his brother and manages to track him down, killing Kayla. He agrees to be turned by Stryker into an indestructible super being by subjecting him into an experiment. This is all part of Stryker’s plan to capture other mutants and use all their powers for his project, Team X.

“Wolverine” explodes on screen with high entertainment value as an amazing comic book fantasy with good storytelling and superb special effects wizardry. South African Director Gavin Hood (his “Tsotsi” won a best foreign film Oscar) succeeds in balancing all its various elements, particularly the complex plot involving the evolution of mutants and their supernatural powers. For action set pieces, the best one for us is the sequence involving Wolverine fighting two armored cars on land and a helicopter above him.

But the film’s best asset is the charismatic Hugh Jackman (who’s also a producer of the movie). He’s the perfect actor for the role of Wolverine, combining his awesome muscle-packed brute force with his dramatic skills in portraying his vulnerable emotional state. Liev Schreiber as Victor gives excellent support. He tells Logan, “We’re brothers and brothers look out for each other.” But Logan refuses to become an animal like him.

Also shining in their respective roles are Danny Huston as Stryker (played by Brian Cox in “X Men 2”), Lynn Collins as a woman gifted with a power of persuasion she conveys through touch, and Ryan Reynolds as the talkative sword expert Wade Wilson who becomes the menacing Deadpool. Filmed in Australia and New Zealand, the film is a fast-paced adventure ride escalating into a tense and thrilling climax at an island in Sydney which Stryker uses as his laboratory for his experiments.

Likewise making an impression as the other members of Skyler’s mutant team are Dominic Monaghan as Bradley Bolt (he can control electrical power), Will I. Am as Wraith (a teleporter), Daniel Henny as Agent zero (a deadly sharpshooter), and Kevin Durand as The Blob (a super fat man mountain with superhuman strength).

Those who saw “Wolverine” in its pirated versions on a TV monitor should go watch it again on the big screen where it’s meant to be seen so they can fully marvel at all its spectacle. We have no doubt this first summer offering in the US will be a blockbuster and we won’t be surprised if they’ll now go back to the origins of all the other mutants, one by one, to please all the comic series’ loyal fans.

Westernized ‘Dragonball’ meant for fans

“Dragonball” is a hit Japanese manga series that started in 1984 and became a hit animé TV show and video game that’s so popular even here in the Philippines. Since it’s already pre-sold with its worldwide fans, it’s inevitable for a big Hollywood like 20th Century Fox to come up with its own big screen international version.

The live action adaptation starts with a prologue telling the story of an ancient battle for our planet by a sinister alien threat, Lord Piccolo (James Marsters), and a monkey god of destruction, Oozaru (Ian Whyte). Piccolo was held prisoner by a loyal order of monks for more than 2,000 years but he has now managed to free himself and wants to get hold of the seven mystical Dragonballs that will grant who owns them a wish. Piccolo wants to destroy the earth and it’s up to a young Ki master, Goku (Justin Chatwin), and his adventurer friends to stop Piccolo.

Goku just turned 18 and he is undergoing rigid martial arts training under his grandpa, Gohan (Randall Duk Kim), who gives him a shining dragonball orb, an heirloom that will give him power to grant his wish if it’d be united with the six other missing dragonballs. He encounters trouble in his high school with some bullies who calls him Geeko as they think he’s weird (why they do so is not really made clear to us and he dresses and acts just like them).

Goku goes through a journey and meets some fellow travelers, just like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.” One of them is Bulma (Emmy Rossum of “Phantom of the Opera”) who’s looking for fame and has a dragonball detector. Another is Yamcha (Joon Park), a mercenary who’s after material wealth and becomes Bulma’s love interest. Chow Yun Fat acts like Yoda/Obi Wan Kenobi for Goku, providing both wisdowm and comic relief. In the end, Goku’s friends realize that fame and wealth are superficial things, while Goku himself experiences a laudable character twist those looking for moral lessons in the movie they watch will truly appreciate.

Directed by James Wong (“Final Destination” series), the action-packed movie runs only for a fast-paced 85 minutes and manages to be quite amusing as it’s wise enough not to take things too seriously. Some CGI shots are sloppy but, at least, the battle sequences are executed masterfully. The final showdown between Goku and Piccolo, in particular, will be enjoyed by those who’ve read the comics (manga) or watched it on TV as the CGI effects try to be faithful to the clash of powers as shown in the original materials, with a suggestion for a possible sequel when the dragonballs go missing again and so they say, “Well, we better go find them.”

One valid objection here is why are the main characters westernized. Canadian actor Justin Chatwin doesn’t even look like he’s 18 since he’s actually 28 years old in real life. Chow Yun Fat has yet to achieve the kind of fame that Jackie Chan or Jet Li attained in Hollywood. He’s really more memorable in the Hong Kong action flicks he did, most notably with John Woo, but his performance in Hollywood flicks is certainly improving. Here, as Gohan, the martial arts master who’s fond of sexy magazines, it’s obvious he had a good time playing a comic cartoon character role.

“Dragonball Evolution” is definitely a homage to the original source meant for its devoted fans all over the world who’d be able to appreciate it better than those who are not at all acquainted with it as a manga or as a TV show and who’d view it as absolute senseless crap. But then, we also read in the net that some loyal manga fans (who probably think the manga is comparable to the works of Tolstoy) are not happy with the movie version and declare that Hollywood screwed up and didn’t do it right. Oh well, we guess you can’t really please everyone.