X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American action film based on the Marvel Comics’ fictional character Wolverine. The fourth installment in the X-Men film series, it was released worldwide on May 1, 2009. The film is directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as the title character, along with Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed, Danny Huston, Will.i.am, Lynn Collins, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Daniel Henney, Kevin Durand and Ryan Reynolds. The film acts as a prequel/spin-off for the X-Men trilogy, focusing on the violent past of the mutant Wolverine and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed. The plot also details Wolverine’s early encounters with Major William Stryker, his time with Team X, and the bonding of Wolverine’s skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium during the Weapon X program.

PLOT SUMMARY

In 1845 Canada, young James Howlett sees his father killed by groundskeeper Thomas Logan. The trauma activates the boy’s mutation: bone claws protrude from James’ hands, and he kills Thomas, who reveals with his dying breath to be James’ real father. James flees into the forest along with Thomas’s son Victor Creed, who is thus James’ brother. They spend the next century as soldiers, fighting in the American Civil War, both World Wars and the Vietnam War. In Vietnam, Victor (Liev Schrieber) attempts to rape a local village woman, but is stopped after killing a senior officer. James (Hugh Jackman) defends his brother, and the two are sentenced to execution by firing squad, which they survive. Major William Stryker (Danny Huston) approaches them, now in military custody, and offers them membership in Team X, a group of mutants including marksman Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), swordsman Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), teleporter John Wraith (Will.i.am), invulnerable Fred Dukes (Kevin Durand) and electropathic Chris Bradley (Dominic Monaghan). They join the team, but the group’s questionable actions and disregard for human life cause James to leave.

Six years later, James, now going by the name Logan, lives in Canada with his girlfriend, Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins). Colonel Stryker locates Logan and warns him that someone is killing members of the team; both Wilson and Bradley are dead. Shortly afterward, Victor murders Kayla and attacks Logan. Stryker offers Logan a way to beat Victor; Logan undergoes an operation to reinforce his skeleton with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal. Before the procedure, Logan asks for new dog tags inscribed with “Wolverine”, based on a story that Kayla told him. Once the procedure is complete, Stryker orders Logan’s memory erased, but Logan overhears and fights his way out. As Logan runs, Zero tracks him down but is killed.

Logan locates Wraith and Dukes and asks them about the location of Stryker’s new laboratory, referred to as “The Island”. They tell him to find Remy “Gambit” LeBeau (Taylor Kitsch), who escaped and knows the location of The Island. Logan and Wraith locate Gambit in New Orleans, but when Logan asks for the Island’s location, Gambit suspects he was sent to recapture him and attacks. Outside, Logan finds Victor, who had just killed Wraith and the two fight. When Logan is about to kill Victor, Gambit interrupts, and Victor escapes. Logan and Gambit fight before Logan convinces him he is not working for Stryker. Gambit takes him to Stryker’s facility on Three Mile Island. When General Munson tries to shut Weapon XI down, learning of Stryker’s son and believing that he is too emotionally close to the situation, Stryker kills him. There, Logan learns that Kayla is alive and conspired with Stryker in exchange for her sister’s safety. Enraged, Logan leaves. Victor then arrives, demanding the adamantium bonding promised for his service, but Stryker refuses on the basis that Victor would not survive the procedure. Victor attempts to kill Kayla, but Logan hears her screams and returns. Logan defeats and nearly kills Victor, but Kayla stops him. Meanwhile, Stryker activates Weapon XI, a “mutant killer” with the abilities of other mutants created upon Wilson’s body, which Stryker refers to as “The Deadpool”.

Kayla and Logan free the imprisoned mutants, and on their escape they are found by Weapon XI. Logan holds Weapon XI off while the mutants flee. During the escape, Kayla, mortally wounded, decides to stay behind while the party led by Scott Summers (Tim Pocock) is greeted by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who offers them shelter at his school.

Logan lures Weapon XI to the top of one of the plant’s cooling towers. Logan is almost killed until Victor intervenes. Logan decapitates Weapon XI and kicks him into the base of the cooling tower. As he falls, the head fires optic blasts that cause the tower to start falling apart. Victor departs and Logan is saved from the collapsing tower by Gambit. After Logan finds Kayla, Stryker shoots him in the forehead with adamantium bullets, rendering him unconscious. Kayla uses her persuasion powers to make Stryker drop the gun and commands him to walk away before dying from her wounds. Gambit returns as Logan regains consciousness, but the brain damage caused by the bullets has triggered amnesia. Gambit tries convincing Logan to come with him, but he declines, wanting to go his own way.

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