X-Men Origins Is Dude Bro Slop, Logan Is a Masterpiece: Revisiting the Wolverine Trilogy

I have never seen a trilogy of films with such varying quality as the Wolverine trilogy, which concluded nine years ago. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is seen as one of the worst comic book movies ever made, Logan is seen as one of the best, and The Wolverine seems to be the most forgotten of all the X-Men movies.

I want to dig into what makes each of these movies as good or as bad as they are, how they serve as spinoffs to the main X-Men films, what went on behind the scenes to get them made, and what the legacy of each one is.

David Benioff's Wolverine prequel was meant to launch an X-Men Origins series

In October of 2004, before the release of X-Men: The Last Stand, 20th Century Fox hired screenwriter David Benioff to write a Wolverine prequel, allegedly after he had been pushing Fox to make the film for over three years. Benioff went on to become one of the two showrunners and co-creators of HBO's Game of Thrones. To prepare, Benioff stated he read Chris Claremont's 1982 comic run of Wolverine, along with another Wolverine story. Hugh Jackman himself was said to have collaborated on the script as well.

Benioff initially wrote the script with an R rating in mind, but Fox turned that idea down. Apparently, there were plans in the early 2000s for a Deadpool movie that were scrapped, and Benioff thought it would be a good idea to include the character in his prequel. He finished his draft in October of 2006.

With the X-Men trilogy concluded, Fox decided this was the direction it wanted to take the franchise. The prequel was given the prefix X-Men Origins, the title of a new series of films. X-Men Origins: Wolverine would be the first entry and X-Men Origins: Magneto the second, but Magneto would only be made if Wolverine was a success.

Gavin Hood wanted a PTSD story, and Fox reportedly said it wasn't cool enough

Previous X-Men directors Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner were interested in returning, but they weren't chosen. It was said that Zack Snyder was approached by Fox but turned it down due to prior engagements with Watchmen. Alexandre Aja and Len Wiseman also sought the director's chair, but eventually Gavin Hood was chosen. Hood said this about the character: "I think his great appeal lies in the fact that he's someone who in some ways is filled with a great deal of self-loathing by his own nature and he's constantly at war with his own nature."

Hood wanted the movie to focus on Wolverine's inner struggle and his animalistic qualities, with Sabretooth as the main foil and the two explicitly made half brothers. Principal photography began in January of 2008, and things were not smooth sailing. It was said that Hood wanted the movie to focus on Wolverine as an Army veteran with severe PTSD, but Fox said audiences wouldn't be interested. It was not cool enough. Hood was almost fired before tensions eased.

Filming ended in May of 2008, leaving post production a little less than a year to complete the visual effects. On March 31, 2009, a little over a month before release, a full DVD quality workprint leaked online, and Fox estimated it was downloaded roughly 4.5 million times. That didn't really change much, because the movie was released in theaters on May 1, 2009.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is dude bro slop, and I kind of love it

Listen, I kind of love this movie. If you hold it up to the standard of what a movie probably should be, then sure, it's terrible. But I've recently been trying to judge movies by how well they accomplish their main goal. Is it fair to say the Michael Bay Transformers movies are bad because their character development is very poor? Maybe. But those movies exist to have the coolest Transformers action scenes possible, and they kind of do.

I don't think X-Men Origins: Wolverine is trying to be a good movie with a rich story. It's clearly trying to be, in a term I've coined, dude bro slop, and it's one of the best pieces of dude bro slop ever made. When I hear dude bro, I think of mocking frat boys who exist to do things that are cool, like smashing a beer can on your head. Is it smart? No. Is it cool? Yeah, for like 10 to 15 seconds. Ask most nine year old boys what's coolest and they'd probably say guns, beards, motorcycles, walking away from explosions, swords, and more guns. This movie is a checklist of all of it.

People still say the opening montage is the best part. Why wasn't that the foundation of the movie? Because the ramifications of war and PTSD aren't cool. Everyone on the initial team has the coolest powers, and the only one who doesn't, Dominic Monaghan, is kind of made to look bad for not being cool enough. I love the stretch where Wolverine is a retired lumberjack who smokes cigars and gets a leather jacket, and it doesn't hurt that Hugh Jackman is ridiculously handsome here. Once you realize the priority is being cool rather than logical consistency, everything makes sense.

That hit me right after the older couple gets killed. I had never seen this movie until I prepared for this piece, and I saw it on my phone on a plane with my girlfriend. My jaw was on the floor when Wolverine jumped from the truck, flew at the helicopter, destroyed it and walked away as it exploded. My girlfriend looked over during the scene and started laughing hard. That's when I knew this movie was dude bro slop.

The Star Wars prequels comparison, and a plot that makes no sense

A lot of people will be upset with me, but this movie reminds me of the worst aspects of the Star Wars prequels. I am not saying the prequels are anywhere near as bad. But the parts I dislike most, besides the character development, are where those movies try to be Star Wars slop: what a ten year old boy in 1996 would want, like a Sith Lord with a black and red face, horns and a double lightsaber, Yoda flipping around with a lightsaber, or a robot with four arms and four lightsabers fighting Obi-Wan. With the prequels it's disappointing, since they're about the fall of democracy and the rise of fascism, and then we get Jar Jar stepping in dung.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is so unapologetically sloppy. You'd think I'd be upset, since the X-Men movies are about discrimination, prejudice and people fighting for basic human rights. But fighting for equality isn't cool. Jumping off exploding buildings and blocking lasers with metal claws is.

It wasn't until I read and heard other reviews that I understood how nonsensical the plot is. The twist where his girlfriend is killed is initially kind of cool. I had a strong feeling she was a mutant after they come across people on the road, but her coming back was not on my bingo card, and it throws everything out the window. Stryker asked her to pretend to be Wolverine's girlfriend for years just so Sabretooth could kill her, Wolverine would seek revenge, lose to his brother and volunteer for Weapon X, and then Stryker would wipe his memories anyway. People have pointed out that Stryker captures dozens of other mutants, so why not just capture Wolverine, or have this woman use her power to influence him into volunteering? It's also pretty funny that all of this ends up creating Deadpool.

Origins fails hardest as a prequel to the original X-Men films

The only part I find disappointing as dude bro slop is how the movie works as a prequel. It could be as bad or as comical as it wanted, but at least make the prequel part cool. The lowest level of satisfaction a prequel can give you is saying, oh, that's how that happened, that's so cool. Many people have pointed out how it contradicts the original trilogy. I can forgive the reboot timeline movies because Fox wanted to reboot the franchise, but this movie solely exists as a prequel to the original films, so at least stay consistent with them.

The part that made me roll my eyes was Scott's introduction. I know why the writers included Cyclops's backstory: it's cool. But they keep Scott blindfolded the whole time so he never sees Wolverine. It's so stupid. When Charles showed up at the end, I almost burst out laughing. Why do the X-Men need to be in this? I just wanted a Wolverine origin story.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is honestly a good time, but in a so bad it's good way. Get your friends together, have some beers, and be ready for a laugh. I'd rewatch it over X-Men: Apocalypse any day. It scored 37% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 58% audience score, and a 6.5 out of 10 on IMDb, which seems really high. It grossed 373 million dollars on a budget of 150 million dollars: not a bomb, but not a juggernaut either.

A Japan-set sequel was greenlit surprisingly fast

All the way back in September of 2007, Gavin Hood speculated there would be a sequel, and that it would be set in Japan of all places. A deleted post-credits scene shows Logan at a bar in Japan, potentially setting it up. Hugh Jackman said: "I won't lie to you. I've been talking to writers. I'm a big fan of the Japanese saga in the comic book." By May 5, 2009, just days after Origins released, Fox confirmed a sequel, and Jackman's production company began work on setting it in Japan. Christopher McQuarrie was hired to write it in August of 2009.

Looking back at how disastrous Origins was, it's kind of unprecedented how quickly a sequel was greenlit. Usually the lesson is that Wolverine can't carry a movie by himself, but Fox had full confidence in Wolverine and Hugh Jackman. Bryan Singer was offered the job and turned it down, and Fox hired Darren Aronofsky in October of 2010. Aronofsky emphasized it wasn't a sequel to Origins but a one-off, then left in March of 2011, saying the project would keep him away from his family too long.

Shawn Levy was approached by Jackman but declined, and at some point Guillermo del Toro was interested but didn't take the job. In June of 2011, it went to James Mangold, who had never directed a movie on this scale. Filming began in July of 2012, mostly in Tokyo and Sydney. Mangold said: "Where this film sits in the universe of films is after them all. Jean Grey is gone." As far as I'm aware, there were no big production issues, and filming wrapped in November of 2012. A post-credits scene with Professor X and Magneto, setting up Days of Future Past, was shot in Montreal, and The Wolverine was released on July 26, 2013.

The Wolverine's Japanese setting and direction give it a fresh identity

The Wolverine is pretty solid, a significant improvement over Origins, though it clearly lives in Logan's shadow. Its most intriguing quality is that it offers things most X-Men movies can't. The Japanese setting gives it a fresh vibe, and samurai culture works so well for Wolverine. Comic fans may find that obvious, but I've never read an X-Men comic, so it felt fresh. So much of it is about honor, death and great sword fights, which fits Wolverine perfectly.

Mangold clearly made an effort to give the movie a visual identity, which is lacking in so many superhero movies. Some shots are beautiful, and cinematography isn't something people talk about much with X-Men movies. The sequence right after he gets his healing back was stunning. The action probably rivals the best of the franchise. A fight on top of a train sounds on paper like the goofy stuff you'd see in Origins, but it worked really well. It shows how important direction is, and I think Mangold probably could have made Origins better. Not good, but better.

Logan's arc in The Wolverine makes immortality feel human

I've seen the immortality trope a lot, where someone watches loved ones die and gets sad. Here it works because Logan doesn't feel immortal. The franchise has developed him enough to feel like a real person, so a real person struggling with immortality is more interesting. Haunted by visions of Jean, he rejects society and vows not to hurt anyone, but he's the Wolverine, so that doesn't last. He has to find his purpose again, and the movie helps him realize on a personal level that he's at his best helping others.

His connection with Mariko reminds him he can still find attachment and joy in life. Love is too strong a word, but just because people you care about die doesn't mean you stop caring about others. His dynamic with Yukio is pretty fascinating too: she can see people's deaths, so both are haunted by death, yet they move past it and grow close. I also appreciate the healing metaphor. He loses his ability to heal as he can't heal the pain of his past, and once he fixes it, he moves on from Jean. It's a well executed metaphor.

The franchise ignoring The Wolverine is my biggest frustration

A lot of my biggest praises connect to my biggest critiques. Continuity contradictions usually don't bother me, and Origins is such slop that I don't care. But because The Wolverine is quite good, it's disappointing that the rest of the franchise ignores it. Days of Future Past came out a year later with Logan as a main character and ignores everything here. The Wolverine ends with Yukio staying on as his bodyguard, an awesome concept, yet she's nowhere to be found. She didn't need to be a main character, just in the movie instead of one of the new X-Men. The Wolverine also ends with Logan losing his metal claws, and Days of Future Past begins with him having them again, even though both were in production at the same time and the post-credits scene sets it up. Logan seems to ignore it too, despite having the same director. Of the three, this is where continuity frustrates me most.

I agree with most people that the ending feels tonally way off. Logan completes his arc before the third act, so the finale feels like a big fight to give the movie punch that wasn't necessary. I also cringed at a giant metal monster stealing Wolverine's powers by cutting off his claws and sucking the blood through them. Complaining about pseudoscience in a superhero movie sounds dumb, and I'd assumed it would be a full surgical procedure, but this was jarring. I hated it. Overall, though, it's an enjoyable movie. It scored 70% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 69% audience score and a 6.7 on IMDb, grossing 414 million dollars on a 120 million dollar budget, much more of a financial success than Origins.

Hugh Jackman would only return for Logan if it was better

In November of 2013, Fox began discussions with Mangold about a third film, but Jackman had leverage. Days of Future Past was his last movie contractually, he had repeatedly told Fox and Mangold he'd only return if he really liked the script, and that movie's wholesome ending for the character would need undoing. Jackman said: "I haven't signed on. I'm genuinely at the point where unless it's better than the last one, I'm not going to do it. I think it has to be better." Mangold said they wanted to free themselves from past assumptions and change the tone, building a story on character "as if it almost wasn't a superhero movie."

Eventually Jackman loved the script enough to join. In February of 2015, Patrick Stewart discussed joining, which was soon confirmed, and Fox confirmed a loose adaptation of Mark Millar's Old Man Logan. In February of 2016, Liev Schreiber expressed interest in returning as Sabretooth, and Jackman was on board, but it fell through. Mangold, Jackman and Stewart loved Dafne Keen's audition as X-23 so much that the search stopped prematurely, and it was later revealed Millie Bobby Brown was in consideration too. Filming ran from May to August of 2016. Asked about continuity, Jackman and Mangold said it's standalone, noting "We take place in 2029 and X-Men Days of Future Past ends in 2024." Logan was released on March 3, 2017.

Logan is a masterpiece built on engaging ideas

Logan is a masterpiece. It's stunning that a movie this good came from the X-Men universe, kind of like Disney Plus producing Andor among everything else it has put out, especially released between Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, probably the two worst X-Men movies. I think it's the least superhero of any superhero movie I've seen, except maybe Joker. That means it relies on its story, and its story is great.

It uses the lone wolf and cub trope, where an old, grizzled man becomes responsible for a younger person, as in The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, and Arya and the Hound in Game of Thrones. It keeps appearing because it works. Logan, one of the most violent mutants, is suicidal, an alcoholic and not very pleasant, so pairing him with a little girl is entertaining. Charles kind of fits the trope too: Logan has to care for him, and he has an innocence as he loses his faculties. For X-Men fans, Wolverine caring for an elderly Professor X is simply a great pitch.

X-23 is everything you wouldn't picture in a little girl, and seeing her lose her innocence is sad but engaging, which is why the R rating matters. Never in Game of Thrones, The Last of Us or anywhere else have I seen such brutal violence from a little girl. If you gave me a rough outline of this movie, I'd want to see it.

Making its characters suffer is what makes Logan work

In a way, Logan reminds me of Spider-Man 2, which makes Peter suffer so his triumph feels cathartic. Logan makes Charles and X-23 suffer too. Seeing Charles, who devoted his life to giving mutant children a safe place, unable to care for himself is sad, and the reveal that he accidentally hurt people at his school and killed some X-Men makes it worse. His last scene, saying it was one of the best days he's had in a long time, is sweet, and then he's killed. The rundown warehouse, the nice family killed on the farm, the kids running for their lives: nothing about this movie makes you feel good, and even the ending is bittersweet.

That depression serves Logan's story. He's been tortured, experimented on and lost loved ones, so the writers put him at his lowest point and make him suffer more. People don't like seeing good or innocent people suffer, so we root for them. It's simple, not fancy. Logan begins hopeless and wanting to die and ends ready to die to give hope to someone else, reflecting the franchise's themes in a way Origins and The Wolverine couldn't. He's kind of a Jesus figure, and there's even a differently positioned cross on his deathbed. Given he began the franchise mocking the X-Men, his dying to protect the next generation is so poetic.

My criticisms are brief. I don't particularly like the Wolverine clone, the only part that feels comic booky. I also don't like that it ignores franchise continuity, including the idea that no mutants have been born in over 25 years, but I've given up on continuity. It's nearly perfect. Logan scored 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 91% audience score and an 8.1 on IMDb, grossing 619 million dollars on a budget of just 97 million dollars, the highest grossing Wolverine movie with the cheapest budget.

What did you think about the varying quality of the Wolverine movies?