Well, a lot has been said on the upcoming Wolverine movie in a negative manner but like I have said before I am not nor will I ever be a "Fan Boy". I'm a fan. So regardless of liberties taken, I would've watched the movie anyway. At first I thought that they were truly going to screw over Deadpool in an unredeemable way which got me saying "Screw this, I’ll wait till one of my friends buys it and watch it for free" since to me, it would have been the same as watching a “Superman in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform” movie which would be down right “iffy”. But then I realised that no matter what they do with the character (chopping his head off and all), he's actually one of the only ones that actually CAN come back to give us what we want. What I look for in a movie is for the actors to SHOW their appreciation of the character they're playing which really transpires greatly through the screen. Here are a few perfect examples to explain my point:
Hugh Jackman: The guy's Coo Coo for Wolvie puffs!!! It shows as much as it did when Christopher Reeves delivered Superman. Very rarely does an actor go the extra mile as he does dedicating himself to make the fans happy… you know, the actual movie goers that MATTER! To make the character be much more than just a role, to give him LIFE!!! Regardless if he’s wearing a tank top and jeans instead of yellow spandex, regardless of the details pertaining to his previous comic book adventures, to see an actor give a damn to a point where he literally breathes life into the character should be enough to make you appreciate the movie you’re watching. Tom Jane did exactly that in his version of The Punisher. Yes the movie was a piece of shit but he made me enjoy it none the less. Granted Stevenson practically took the character off of the page and smacked it on screen but he didn’t relate to the majority as much as Jane did. Tom Jane related to our “real life-human side” that most of us tend to look for in movies. From the family man he was in the beginning to the destroyed human being, eating his pancakes in that diner, listening to that idiot hick sing his song… to The Punisher doing what he does best, giving to the criminals what the justice system can’t. That movie was as much flawed as it was perfect.
On the other side of the coin, you have Halle Berry which obviously didn't give a flying fragg about "STORM". She just wanted more screen time for HER. Catwoman ring any bells??? She was NEVER Catwoman, she was Halle Berry in a cat-whore outfit. She was selfish and it TOTALLY showed. She screwed that character over!!! In what comic do you see STORM having that much importance aside from when she became evil in the savage lands??? Never. It's unfortunate but her character was never meant to have that much importance. It is a SUPPORTING character. Berry was just jealous of Jean Grey hoggin' all the good lines. Tough shit, that's X-MEN! It has nothing to do with her skin color. If Bishop was brought in an AOA/X-movie, HE'd have major importance.
There is another example that might not be as popular as Halle Berry but still gets the point across. In my honest opinion, Christian Bale as Batman is a perfect example. The guy takes his "JOB" seriously since he's sooooo professional IT'S DIIISSSSSSTRAAAACTING!!!! But he doesn't give a shit whether he's Bruce Wayne or John Conner and it damn well shows so don't even try to say any different. We just let it slide in his case because he is so good at what he does that we can live with him not getting giddy over a character. Batman is a role of a life time but he takes it as going to work on a Monday morning kinda thing. THAT is the very reason why I will always prefer Michael Keaton over Bale any day of the week no matter how many TDK's he dishes out. Keaton LOVED being Batman, hell he even loved being Bruce Wayne!!! That's the kind of actors we NEED for our comic book movies. Robert Downey Jr. anyone???
And X-men Origins: Wolverine is a whole bucket full of just THAT!!! Actors who DO give a shit of who they're given the PRIVILEGE of playing. Liev Schreiber, you can tell he LOVES his role as we can tell from mere trailers that he delivered a way better performance than Tyler Mane ever could. Not because of natural acting talent, because Mane took the character to showcase how big and scary he is in real life. If you watch X-men again, you'll all see just how EMPTY his character is. And it has nothing to do with the script either. I dare you to remake it with Liev in his place delivering the same exact lines. The results would be astounding. Just by his glare, you can see that he's LIVING the character. Ryan Reynolds is another great example of it. HE LOVES Deadpool!!! He was going into filming HOPING to get a spin-off but appreciated the role so much that he would have willingly contributed to FOX's insulting “raping and destruction” of the character if it meant giving him the opportunity to portray him on screen in anyway shape or form.
I'm sure the same could be said of Taylor Playing Gambit but we just haven't heard much from him in as many interviews as the others. But it shows that he IS aware that his role is in fact a PRIVILEGE. He certainly got through a pep talk or two with Hugh relating the fans reaction to seeing a glimpse of Gambit at the Comic-con! It was Astronomical!!! When I saw Hugh's reaction to the fans reaction I almost peed my pants laughing at how STARTLED he was!!! I mean, he knew but hadn't the slightest idea of how intensely Gambit is loved.
In short us-fans might not be getting what we WANT out of this film but for the second time in comic book movie history (Ironman being the first); we'll be getting what we NEED!!! And it should show to one and all exactly how comic book movies SHOULD be made from any vantage point on the set. It should be made with respect, dedication but MOST of all… APRECIATION. See you in theatres!!!
Thanks Myth, for keeping the spirit of the movie alive for each and everyone of us!
The “Shaman” has spoken!!!