Wolverine and the X-Men: Review

Being currently situated in the United Kingdom for a study abroad program, I have been able to view the first three episodes of the latest X-Men series before it airs in the United States via the BBC. Wolverine and the X-Men (undoubtedly named as such to gain publicity for the Wolverine movie due out this summer) will premiere on the Nicktoons Channel this Friday, January 23rd, at 8 PM. My initial reaction to the show is positive, though it is a bit rough around the edges. The animation is not as polished as that of its predecessor X-Men: Evolution. Still, considering the growing abysmal standards for animation, its probably the best that can be hoped for at the moment.

Plot-wise, there is no gentle edging into the world of mutants. The show hits the ground running, fully expecting its audience to have a basic grounding in the characters and their relationships. Since it seems to start in the middle of things, I'm hoping some of the back story of events that take place before the opening of the show will be explored in flashbacks later down the road. The tone wavers between bordering on cheesy and edgy, accomplished by mixing "We're going to save the world" camp lines with a setting where mutants are hunted by the government and locked up, where politicians manipulate prejudice to turn the public into an angry mob, and military police arrest any civilians suspected of helping mutants avoid detection. Add in a few main characters who have mysteriously disappeared within minutes of the opening, and you've got the groundwork for a good show.

If Wolverine and the X-Men can get through its initial growing pains, we may have in our possession something worthwhile to watch while we wait for the new X-Men movie (which is exactly what Marvel execs are hoping for, I'm sure). Be sure to check out the debut this Friday and leave your feedback here!

X-Men Reshoot: Good or Bad news?

In an announcement that caused great concern for X-Men fans, 20th Century Fox revealed on Friday that X-Men Origins: Wolverine is returning to the sets for "extensive reshooting." The film, due out in May, follows the beginnings of the mutant Wolverine in a prequel to the three already released X-Men movies. The report of the reshoot has sparked rumors that director Gavin Hood is having on-set battles with Richard Donner, of Superman: The Movie fame, who is supposedly trying to ghost-direct the film. Adding to speculation was an email actor Hugh Jackman sent to Aint It Cool News, claiming that these reshoots were always in the schedule due to scheduling conflicts and weather problems. To mollify fans in the meantime, Jackman attached a new publicity teaser photo that contained a good chunk of the cast.

Although Aint It Cool News suspects that Jackman's story is merely a cover-up for on-set conflict, he believes that the reshoot can only bode well for the film, calling it "very good news" and continuing that the success of The Dark Knight over at Warner Bros. has sparked Fox to put some serious effort into the film. Slash Film is also "hopeful" about the news, believing that director Hood will now be able to put together the film as he originally intended it. Back over at First Showing, however, Alex Billington is more doubtful, wondering if Fox was being too controlling of director Hood's project and is now backing off to try and save the film. If the film is a failure, he lays all blame at the studio's doorstep. Where does the Vault stand? If the rumors are to be believed over the official news, and this is really a desperate last-minute attempt to fix the film, then I am deeply worried. That Wolverine was seen as beeing in desperate enough trouble to warrant reshooting, especially given the economic climate, cannot be a good sign. True, the new sequences could turn the film around, but I hold my judgement for the final cut. Suffice it to say for now that my expectations for the movie have dropped a couple of notches.