X-Men Origins: Wolverine has a promising start but feels sloppy, our verdict

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), starring Hugh Jackman and Liev Schreiber, was Sam's first time with the film. Our verdict was not a kind one. It was good to finally see what happened to Logan, but the movie itself was "not great." Hugh Jackman is great in it. Still, as was said in the discussion, the film "didn't have the magic" and wasn't the same as the other X-Men movies.

Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine was abandoned after this movie

The first reaction at the end was a question: why did they do that to Deadpool? The ending, where he grabs his face and breathes, was a direction they abandoned after this movie.

Sam's first reaction with me was Logan, followed by the Deadpool movies. People have asked why I did it in that order. I had no idea how many times Sam would react to this material, or whether she would even like it. So I figured we'd start with those, and if she enjoyed them we could go back. That's why this version of Deadpool ties in. Ryan Reynolds loves the character so much that he was bummed by this iteration and pitched it again. Those later films are the ones Sam saw, and they're the accurate comic book version. This one combined a whole bunch of different mutants into one, and there's a joke in Deadpool & Wolverine that lands once you know it.

The Sabretooth continuity problem in the X-Men films

Liev Schreiber plays Sabretooth here. The discussion pointed back to the original X-Men and the moment Rogue finds Wolverine. This film never connects the two. That was one of the problems with these movies before Marvel got hold of them: the continuity was all over the place. At one point Charles is standing, yet in First Class he loses the use of his legs as a younger man. And Cyclops running around at one point, and we agreed the movie is kind of sloppy and all over the place.

The Wolverine and Victor story at the start worked best

The beginning, with Logan and Victor running around as brothers through different wars, was more interesting. That section worked right up until after she dies, and the expectation was that the film would stay focused on Victor and Logan. It didn't.

How Wolverine loses his memory felt lazy

The way he lost his memory was called "kind of lazy," and we agreed. One idea was that he should have lost his memory when the adamantium went in. X2 alludes to that, but then you can't continue this storyline, which they probably shouldn't have done anyway. The storyline with the girl also felt "a little forced."

There was also a wish that the films had told Wolverine's story starting as a kid and growing up in real time. The counterpoint was that the studio didn't know the movies would take off, and Wolverine had to be introduced to a mainstream audience. That was understood, but the reply was that it still would have been liked. In the end, it just didn't work.