A lackluster movie which suffered for having had most of the story told previously and also failed to deliver any real tension.
Monthly Archives: May 2009
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
There are major spoilers in this review, past the jump on the main page, but if you’re reading the article page or via RSS there will be no jump, stop reading now, you have been warned. You will not be warned again.
We took the chance to see X-Men Origins: Wolverine at our local Showcase De Lux (sic) in Derby. The sound and picture were really good, the leather reclining chairs were okay (not as comfortable as we’d hoped), the service and prices in the bar were shocking (prices not so surprising, service disappointing). Combined with the price and the cost of parking (during the day) we’ll probably stick to the premier seats in the Nottingham Showcase.
Anyway.
I thought X-Men Origins: Wolverine was okay. The movie tells the story of the (apparently) most popular X-Men member, Wolverine. Unfortunately, a lot of that was already covered in the first few X-Men movies, so there’s a little bit of repetition. Sure we learn some new stuff (for people who’ve never read the comics) and we see a little back story about how Logan started out, and we get to see how he turns from man-with-bone-blades to man-with-adamantium-bones. The problem is that there’s no tension. Spoilers follow.
Give a man a fish
… and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life.
I love that proverb. In fact, I live by it. Although I didn’t really know it at the time I was living that proverb at school and university. I was trying to understand the things behind the facts, how we got to them, what they meant, why they were relevant, rather than memorising them. You can expand on understanding into other areas, but basic facts are essentially dead and lifeless.
So anyway, I love the phrase, the idea behind it and I try and keep it in mind if I need to help teach things to people. It often leads me to answering questions with questions. I can tell you one thing for certain, if you believe teaching people to fish is better than giving them smoked kippers you will annoy people who are asking you for kippers. Sometimes people just want a kipper, sometimes they just need a kipper and spotting that moment isn’t always easy, especially when you’re knee-deep in explaining how to fish.
My favourite version of the proverb is from a computer game (Baldur’s Gate, not sure if it’s 1 or 2),
Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day. Give him a sword and he can chow down on the marrow of evil.
More colourful but essentially the same message 😉