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Wolverine Script Review
LatinoReview has put up a Wolverine script review and this is what they have to say:
Yes, that’s the verdict… the script kicks ass bub!
I love origin stories. Regardless if it’s Luke becoming a Jedi or Peter Parker discovering his new abilities. There is an insecurity about a person stepping into a new role that makes him/her an intersting character.
Read this! Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!
In the 1st four pages we meet Logan as a 12 yr old boy, undersized and feral on a rural road on his way home from school. I couldn’t help stop thinking of feral kid from the Mad Max films. But anyway 4 towering high school football players pick him on. They pick on him because Logan’s dad robbed the local truck stop last year. Logan doesn’t back down as GILMAN punches Logan in the face twice. The gash on Logan’s face heals itself in front of Gilman and Logan goes into an inhuman rage and beats the shit out of the football players. Three bone claws spring from Logan’s hand, serrated and razor sharp as he goes in to finish Gilman. This is the first time that Logan’s bone claws appear to him and he is shocked more than his attackers. The football players’ escape alive and Logan looks at his bone claws and screams out…
SPOILERS FINISHED There was a fake rumour going around the internet that Woverine was going to have a 2007 release date. This turned out to not be true (thank goodness, they need time to do this right). The release date will probably be somewhere in 2008, which is a good amount of time and should fit betting into Jackman’s schedule.
the bone claws thing will be iffy with somepeople, because they change his origin story so much….Originally he was just a superhealer fitted with metal claws and some retcons have him as always having claws…It would have been better to go without the bone claws in my opinion, but that is their perogative and i am sure it will be fine.
I’m sorry, bone claws?
Yeah, that really “kicks ass.” Pfft.
Don’t forget Varun, that in that famous issue where Magneto finally has enough of Wolverine and rips all of the adamantium out of his body… everyone (including wolverine) thought that was it for his claws. But later in the comic, in the “official” timeline, Woverine soon afterwards discovered the claws were naturally bone just covered by adamantium.
This doesn’t mess with the continuity of the comics at all.
truck-stop, wasn’t Logan born around 1885
whaaaat? bone claws? i thought the adamantium claws were put into him, i never knew he had claws to start with!?!
I think he is over 100 years old in the comics. It’s pretty lame if they make him a lot younger in the movie. I’ve always liked to fact that Logan fought in the WW2 and had adventures in Japan before the Weapon X. And this high school business has to go. But that’s just a comic book reader talking… maybe they need to change something for the movie to make it work better. But hopefully not =)
Bone claws are fine by me…
kimmik: if you read the Origin mini-series it will (partly anyway) explain the bone claws.
I think it was issue Wolverine #75 where Magneto ripped out the adamantium from his bones and the bone claws were revealed during a Danger Room session.
thanks for filling that in John. Wow, I’m really glad they pulled that story arc in.
Much happier that its 2008. If you’re going to do the single character focus film, please dont pull an Elektra and give the star a 2week+ window for prinicpal photography.
On a side note, I watched SIN CITY (DIRECTORS CUT) last night for the first time. In A DAME TO KILL FOR, Marv goes into the bar and grabs a guy by the face and throws him on a table. Everyone I was watching with freaked because for like a minute we were sure the dude getting his ass kicked was Hugh Jackman. Was wondering if anyone else saw that? It wouldve been awesome and I would’ve screamed bloody murder about that shot not being in the theatrical release.
I can see that they’re not following the comic… This Bullshit
Hey Alfredo,
And which comic would you like them to follow? There are a lot of different versions. Do you want him wearing yellow spandex too?
:P
Cheers!
~John
This sounds awesome. I’ve relatively unfamiliar with the X-Men world other than the cartoons I used to watch on Saturday mornings and a couple of recent story arcs that have really caught my attention. That said, I’m really looking forward to this movie. Wolverine is one of my favs and a little “history” lesson would be awesome!
No the spandex has nothing to do with an origin already in place for him — it was never shown what his origin was up until recently.. so the spandex has zero to do with it.
There are lots of different alternate Marvel universes with Wolverine, but if you deviate a lot from the main universe timeline (called 616) fans are bound to be apprehensive. This happens every time. Granted, this movie universe should also be treated like a alternate universe, separate from the main timeline.
Wolverine’s past is extremely complex and often it’s impossible to know what is “true” and what is not. His memory has always been whacked (although after the recent House of M-story he claims to remember everything).
Time period that happens right before Logan is given his adamantium skeleton by Weapon X is relatively untouched in the comic books still. So maybe they can invent some new stuff for the movie… but I hope they don’t deviate too much from what has already been written, because the existing stuff is pretty entertaining. This high school stuff sounds lame to me, for example. Of course, there has to be some simplifying done when writing the movie script. The history of Wolverine existing in the comics is much too complicated for just one movie.
I’m excited to see what kind of movie they will make of this. The potential is there. Hope they don’t screw it up. I’ve read Wolverine stories for 20 years so my expectations are bit high =)
At least they could not find better actor for the role.
But think about this… young Jack Nicholson as a berserker Wolverine . Imagine Jack Torrance from Shining with sideburns and longer hair =)
Hey Lion,
Actually, there are MANY origin stories for Wolverine in the Marvel comics. Did you know one of them has Wolverine being the very first human being? Yup… time traveller went back millions of years and saw Wolverine there… it goes on to explain that Wolverine is actually the genetic father of us all.
Should they follow that one?
:)
Cheers!
~John
As for the costume… there should not be any. He got his spander after he joined Department H.
I believe he did have bone claws at first. So the fact that they keep that is awesome. My only problem is that it seems like they made him too young (story line, and year). They should make it so that it takes place in the turn of the century or somethin. But I know for a fact they can still make the movie kick major ass without the orininal comic orgin.
It will be interesting to see how they handle the fact that there are all these othere X-Men from the other movies - never mind the comics -running about.
Is the movie a prequel or does it invade upon the movie timelines at all?
no john, they shouldn’t. just the more current, and more substantial of the origins, and yes i knew that-
John,
I think Lion is talking about Wolverine from the main Marvel U.
I agree that there are lots of different variations of Wolverine in Marvel Comics (because of the multiverse, you see =)
But the Wolverine from the main Marvel U has the most elaborate history by far. Most of the other Wolverines are just some pointless characters from one-shots or What If? books and they should not be even mentioned when discussing this movie. Most of these characters doesn’t even have any origin-stories mapped out in any detail and most casual readers don’t even know or remember these different variations of Wolverines.
Granted, there are some interesting Wolverines other than the one from the main universe. Age of the Apocalypse-Wolvie or Days of the Future Past-Wolvie come to mind for example.
I think it’s reasonable to want the writers to stick close to the basic storyline from the normal Marvel U. and not to invent too many new things. Why reinvent the wheel… just simplify the history a little bit. To be fair… this script seems to have familiar characters in it and the storyline seems to be in vein of the comics.
I really don’t like if they make Logan younger than in the comics, but I they do I just have to live with it.
- A.J.
You have to adapt stories when moving from 1 medium to another. I could care less if they stick to the DETAILS of a character… as long as when they adapt the story for the scree… they stick to the SPIRIT of the character.
To me… Wolverine being 400 or 40 is just a detail. But that’s just my opinion. I can understand why some of you guys may feel it’s more “pivitol”… I just don’t.
Cheers!
~John
John,
Maybe we have just read too much comic books =)
I think that sometimes details of a comic book character are connected to the spirit of the character. If you make too drastic changes it might hurt the character. Wolverine is extremely interesting character if written well, so I hope they do him justice. In X-movies I think they did, so I have high hopes for this one also.
I agree that some kind of adaptation is necessary, but we comic book geeks take these things too seriously sometimes =)
Especially if you have followed the progress of one character for 20 years or more.
- A.J.
I’m all for little bone claws popping out of his knuckles; What I’m not for is this schoolyard bully thing. This little bit does not get me hyped up. all it does is flash before my eyes: “Cut/Unfilmed scene!”
.
And yes, I’m happy that Wolverine is better for 2008- however, it is odd for the cite to say the 2007 date was a ‘fake rumor’, considering the sources where it originated from. I think what Jackman meant was “filming in 2007″ and not being released in 2007. If it was a 2007 release, it would be Christmas time, for they would have to start shooting in the fall, with a director attatched (which one is not as of yet), minimal budget, and put foot to A$$.
Now, it is noteworthy that LR shoots down “the false rumors” put out by FOX THEMSELVES and Jackman HIMSELF as reported by THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER who first covered that story. Fox announced it as did Jackman by a video feed. The 2007 date was “tenative”, nothing etched in stone. It is more realistic for 2008, but the “rumors” had merit and LR fouled up in that regard.
I understand that some small detail, like, how old he is, or where he came from exactly as cannon of the comic says, is something you don’t care about, like producers, who just recognize a name and attitude and think that’s enough. I’t really isn’t, batman begins did the character right, and that WAS an instance in which there are a few twist to the origin in the comics- My point is that change is good, when it benefits and adds to the original template, not change or subtract from the original template(which is the reason it IS FAMOUS) to benefit the movie.
I think it would be a shame to remove the ‘100 year+’ aspect from Wolverine. Not from a fanboy perspective, but simply based on the idea that I think it would make for an interesting story. The Wolverine ‘Origin’ places him somewhere in the late 1800’s discovering his powers (healing and his bony claws). While it wouldn’t be feasible to tell the entire story, I think a abridged version, placing Logan in that time period and then showing vignettes of his adventures during different eras leading up to contemporary times would be alot of fun.
Of course, it probably comes down to budgets and keeping the story simple for the moviegoing masses. Sets for various time periods would probably be alot of money (though Highlander seemed to manage it with fairly convincing results). But more importantly, few of the general moviegoing public knows about Wolverine’s comic history. For them, Logan’s a guy in his mid to late 30s. They wouldn’t be losing anything by not seeing him in the 19th century.
Gotta love the everlasting simplicity of the general movie going audiance.
this can’t be true, john. and if it is, I hang my head.
football wasnt’ even INVENTED when Wolvie was 12 years old.
James Howel (Wolverine) was born in the 17-1800s.
you talk about outrage from the X3 pheonix changes, i assure you someone would be crucified if this is the true film.
James Howlett was born around 1885 (not precisely mentioned in “Origin”) and I agree, most non-fans think he’s just a 30 year-old good-looking 6′2″ American guy. In my opinion Hugh Jackman’s character is just like Matthew Broderick’s Godzilla. He should be called “WINO”.
The bone claws are fine with me, but Wolverine is supposed to be much older than having a childhood that would involve football players.
The moment you allow the audience to get a handle on his age, you take away some of the mystery.
I’m not expert, but aren’t there connections between Apocalypse and Wolverine that would be affected by making Wolverine too young?
The interesting thing about the character (books and film) has been the memory loss. Wolverine was constantly frustrated in the comics by following false leads on his past because when Weapon X worked him over they blocked out his real memories and replaced them with implanted ones.
My gut reaction to the spoiler was a churning stomach. Football!? But then I soothed it with the idea that the Wolverine in the movies is still working off from implanted memories and not the real ones. This would explain why Wolverine didn’t know Sabertooth in X1 (after working together for the government before they both went into the hands of Weapon X). If they go this route and have him remembering things that are false and contradict other thoughts, I’ll be cool with it. And what a great way to emphasize to the audience how messed up his mind really is.
Besides, the nature of his healing factor and the age he is in the movies means that he has to be over 100 years old. How long would it take someone whose cells continually regenerate to perfection to age from adolescence to mid 30’s.
I want to see a D-day flashback. And they really need to give Tyler Mane another crack at Sabertooth. It was freaking rediculous of Singer to waste the character by making him a growling grunting fool. Tyler has proven that he is capable of doing more and the guy looks perfect for the part.
Some good points Thor.
Avi Arad the producer, said that it wasn’t just a prequel to the X-Men films, that it was a sequel too, as well as a stand alone story, so as long as they have a little scene somewhere in the begining that makes it clear that these are memories, and another that makes it clear that some of these memories might have been manipulated or manufactured for the purposes of the Weapon-X project, I will be happy.
It also worth considering that Prof X has the power to mess with peoples memories, and it is clear from the X-men films that he knows Logan, and knows more about him, than he is letting on. I think Magneto even applies as much himself in X2.
Giving Wolverine D-Day flashbacks would be fantastic. I would also like to see flashbacks to Madripor and his training as a ninja. There is also an origin story that has him being brought up by wolverines I think, apart from the James Howllet Origin story, some flashbacks from both of those would also be good. The more they muddy the waters the better in my book. The audience must be thinking this could guy be hundreds of years old, and to really connect with him they need to be asking the big question: Who is he really?
The bone claws were part of his charecter it was in origin the only diffrent thing is when and how he found his powers