Wolverine is the latest in a recent (last ten years or so) rash of superhero, ripped-from-the-comic book-pages movies that defy the expectation of films lacking substance in exchange for big splash. This film has the big explosions, fight scenes, and blockbuster-style delivery one would expect from such big movies, but in the vein of Batman Begins, Spider-man, Iron Man, and the like, Wolverine strives to provide us with both the story and the entertainment we're looking for. But is this one more like the first X-Men movie, providing background and some action but leaving us wanting more?

I was struck by the social consciousness of Wolverine, much the way that I was in the original Spider-man. If Peter Parker's lesson learned was that "with great power comes great responsibility," then Logan AKA Wolverine's must be that "we always have a choice." Wolverine's subplots and origins are all touched on within the first Hugh Jackman solo mission, but the way that we explore our world through Logan's is in his choice to wreak havoc and revenge, or use his killing-machine powers for good.

In a way, Logan's choice is basic, and complicated all at once: should he avenge his slain lover and kill his enemies, or should he use the powers to keep those enemies at bay without taking the joy in the outcome? We would say that he has the need to combat Stryker because it's his duty; but at the same time, will he long to take pleasure in the infliction of pain on others like his halfbrother Sabretooth, or simply do what he needs to do?

Basically, again, Wolverine proves to be the anti-Stryker. I don't consider him an anti-hero, because it's not that he isn't heroic. He sacrifices himself (and subsequently his own happiness and memory) by saving those that Stryker has enslaved. He turns back from his own "sinful" ways, as implemented by the training he received and the enhancements of Stryker, rejecting his true "nature" like Angel (of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Hellboy. Wolverine fights "the beast," "the animal," within him, and overcomes. That's heroic. Wolverine wants to be peace-loving, gentle, and quiet, but his own powers and the people he associates with keep that life from becoming a reality.

In the end, I'm not sure Wolverine is as solid as Batman Begins, Spider-man or Iron Man, but it's an entertaining, exciting, funny movie that incorporates the ensemble flair of the X-Men series, but keeps the focus on Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. We all have choices, and a good one on your part would be catching this flick on the big screen.