Films That I Finally Saw: X-Men Origins - Wolverine

In 3 words: Snikt! Ooh, Shiny

Shiny, indeed.
Amidst a recent rash of bad comic book films, Wolverine is a breath of fresh air. Magnificently devoid of any gold-toothed, ghetto-talking robots, this is a film that succeeds on a base of excellent storytelling.
There are many pitfalls in telling a story so packed with characters and plot elements, and Wolverine does suffer a few of them. The film feels either too long and winding, or not long enough, for example.
However, the pros greatly outweigh the cons, as compelling characters abound and swim in justice done. This film manages to pull off the tricky trick of paying attention to many characters, without trying too hard. With many films also falling into the trap of adding humor or edgy content in the form of throw-away characters(Transformers 2) or lines(X-Men I, II), Wolverine instead weaves those elements into characters which are complete and well-rounded, with each serving a distinct purpose in the story. Said characters are also cast well, with no deficit in performance, to boot.
The seamless effects and sneaky-good cinematography only ice the cake, here, in what ends up as an excellent package, overall.

While Wolverine has an issue with time, it is much less a fatal flaw than a reality check, to remind us that few films can be even this good.

Grade: A-