Moments after the Kansas City Chiefs kicked off the Super Bowl on February 11, 2024, we were blessed with a short teaser for the “savior” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “Marvel Jesus” Deadpool was back in the trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine. Its been nearly 6 years since we had Deadpool on our screens and by the time Deadpool and Wolverine hits movie theaters, it will be 15 years since Ryan Reynolds appeared as Wade Wilson in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment

How does the viewing experience of X-Men Origins: Wolverine hold up in 2024? Well compared to 2009, I believe the experience may have worsened with age. When the film was released in 2009, I’ll be honest it was a fun and action packed viewing. But rewatching this after the trailer for Deadpool and Wolverine, I had more moments of questioning the script and direction of the story than ever before.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine starts off with an amazing opening credit scene. Not to sound bold, but the opening credit scene is among the best in superhero films. We see Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and his step brother Victor Creed/Sabertooth (Liev Schreiber) fighting through every war since they escaped together from their families in 1845. The direction that Gavin Hood was establishing with this opening credit sets an exciting tone and teased a character study for Logan, something we wouldn’t see until later in the franchise.

After the exciting opening credits, the films tone starts to shift and starts to show bumps in the road. Logan and Victor join the mercenary team lead by William Stryker, (Danny Hutson playing a younger version of the character that was portrayed by Brian Cox in X2) where a weird vibe starts to develop. When comparing this to the other X-Men films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine fills like a 80’s and early 90s action film in vein of Rambo or Cobra.

The team of mercenaries feature John Wraith (Will.i.am from The Black Eyed Peas), Fred Dukes/The Blob (Kevin Durand), Chris Bradley (Dominic Monaghan), Agent Zero (Daniel Henney) and the Merc with a mouth, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). This team on paper seems pretty damn cool, but only Reynolds as Wade really sticks out. Reynolds shows that this was the role he was born to play, years before he truly became Deadpool. As for the rest of the cast, they seemed either miscasted or under developed. It is unfortunate that the characterization of Fred Dukes is done for humor, as he transforms into The Blob for a string of fat jokes from Logan.

Will.i.am gets the most screen time from the mercenaries, which seems to be a missed opportunity. His character adds very little to the story and provides a plot device to meet the next mutant. This film features the first live action portrayal of Remy LeBeau/Gambit, who is played by the unlucky Taylor Kitsch. Gambit is one of the coolest characters in the X-Men universe but with this characterization, he is utterly forgettable. Such a well-known character being featured in an ugly special effect-filled fight with minimal screen time, is a missed opportunity.

Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds. 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment

Missed opportunity is the biggest problem with this film, as great ideas and scenes are there, but the execution is wrong. Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber and Danny Hutson all give good performances but they all seem to be in a different film at moments. Liev Schreiber is a massive upgrade over Taylor Mane from X-Men, and I would have loved to see more of him in this role. The unfinished special effects do hurt these performances, as characters and other elements seem very rubber like.

The infamous sewing Wade’s mouth shut has been a joke since the film came out as it may be one of the most dumbfounded decisions in comic book films. But we do have to respect this film for a few things: this introduced us to Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal of Deadpool, which would kick off a successful and beloved franchise. It was also the start of the Wolverine trilogy that led to one of the greatest comic book films, Logan. It has a lot of problems and very forgettable characters, but without X-Men Origins: Wolverine, we would have missed out on some of the best films of the genre and the best video game adaptation of Wolverine in the spinoff video game. At least, until Insomniac releases their own video game on the character.

As we discuss the current state of comic book films and superhero fatigue, it is interesting to revisit a time before the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While writing this, I couldn’t help but think that maybe even the worst film in the MCU would have been a success before it was established.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars