I like to think of myself as a realist, though I know sometimes I come off as a pessimist. That having been said, this Friday we get yet another comic book film made by people that don't really care about comics, but rather the money that can be made from their exploitation. The people I speak of would be the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, and the fundamental changes made to critical characters, and beats within the history of the character of Wolverine are blatant evidence of them just not caring. If you are going to make a film about Wolverine, pick one of the many stories written about the character, and film it. It's 2009; what can't be done, and why has something so simple become so difficult for so many people who have the means to do it right?

Now, I'm not saying that as a film this first X-Men franchise spin-off isn't good, but rather as a Wolverine story it is historically inaccurate. I think that this is the best example of Brother Joe C's theory that comic books will always be better than the movies for one simple reason: with movies, the number of hands involved in the creation of the medium is exponential to that of comics. In comics there is a writer, an artist, and and editor, give or take. From the beginning Wolverine has seen studio interference over the violent content and vision of director Gavin Hood. It's Wolverine, the guy stabs people with claws for a living. There were re-shoots to ensure Ryan Reynolds face was seen enough so that his character, Deadpool, could have his own spin-off. Truth be told, Reynolds plays Wade Wilson; Deadpool from the comics is not, or at best, very poorly "represented" in this film. Then there was the infamous internet leak. Some jerk pirated the movie and leaked it to the internet. And for those of you who watched it, like it or not, you are that jerk.

So, where does that leave us? Will we buy it? Yes. Will it make enough money for Ryan Reynolds to play Deadpool in his own movie instead of his first comic book choice, Wally West? Yes. Will we see X-Men: Wolverine: More Origin? Possibly. But they're going to have to pay me for that title. Go ahead and say it, relax Adam C., it's just a movie. And you are right, it is just a movie, and when all else fails, we'll always have comics.

See you in the future!

AC