Well hasn’t it been quite the year for Aussie A-lister Hugh Jackman. He was voted Sexiest Man Alive, hosted the Oscars and now the all singing, all dancing thespian is reprising his role as Wolverine, the hairy handful from the X-Men franchise.

The producers of this film were always going to have to try really hard to drop the ball on this one. The character already has huge market pull, the narrative was already touched on during the X-Men films and as for the whole CGI thing, well they’ve kinda got that down to a fine art.

So we get down to the little things, the nuances that make good films great, and while this blockbuster does his it’s own charm, like so many big budget spectaculars, it flails somewhat under it’s own weighty ambitions.

At times the computer generated scenes can get a touch magical evoking memories of Narnia instead of the urban decay that this film really wanted, and look for the piss poor CGI job done on Wolverine’s claws in the farmhouse bathroom. Luckily these moments are fleeting and Jackman’s engaging portrayal of the protagonist done wrong keeps the audience onboard for the full two hours.

Obviously aware of Jackman’s strengths, the director has given his lead just enough comical rope to bring out Wolverine’s humanity thus perpetuating the inner struggle between man and animal, logic and instinct.

There are a couple of casting decisions worth mentioning, the first being Ryan Reynolds as one of Wolverine’s former colleagues. Reynolds broken deadpan delivery is always effective and he steals the opening scenes of the film with ease. However the same cannot be said of rapping superstar turned actor, Will i Am whose wooden lines only serve to break the audiences focus.

At the end of the day this is a great paint by numbers film, the action is there, the characters are fun, and as far as turn-off, sit back and enjoy films go, X-Men Origins: Wolverine leaves you wanting for little; worth a look at the cinema.