With his indestructible claws and growling demeanour, Logan aka Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) was undeniably the most charismatic character in the X-Men franchise. This spin-off prequel capitalises on his crowd-pleasing appeal by revealing his origins and filling out his backstory - he's recruited along with the ferocious Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) to join an elite mutant special forces team led by William Stryker (the deliciously villainous Danny Huston). A robustly enjoyable opening section lets Jackman breathe real life into the character's attempt to live a normal existence, but then revenge draws him back and the empty pyrotechnics take over. It doesn't help that Gavin Hood (director of the Oscar-winning Tsotsi) makes heavy weather of the comic-book mythology, as the origin story is sacrificed for a string of dull one-on-one battles between indistinguishable super mutants that culminates with a battle on a Three Mile Island cooling tower.

After seeking to live a normal life, Logan sets out to avenge the death of his girlfriend by undergoing the mutant Weapon X program and becoming Wolverine.