I’d estimate that 30 to 35 minutes of this 40 minute feature consists of an uninterrupted chain of gratuitous, occasionally gory fight scenes, involving not just the title characters but also a small ensemble of totally nineties villains (Sabertooth, Deadpool, Lady Deathstrike, Omega Red) that essentially function as a Greek chorus of eviler, more over-the-top Wolverines. All punching, all stabbing, all making elaborate threats and roaring at each other—it should be ridiculous, and it is, but fortunately it knows as much and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Wolverine and Sabertooth get batted around like baseballs at a homerun derby; severed limbs are treated with all the gravity of a Monty Python sketch; the Hulk calls everyone by funny names like “claw people.” Either it’s a goofy action romp or else it’s a vision of hell in which everyone has claws and anger issues and nobody can die.
Since it ends on a cliffhanger and is explicitly set in a version of Wolverine’s early history, you’re free to imagine a sequel in which the ol’ Canuckle head joins the X-Men, finds his moral center, and becomes a troubled hero instead of just a stab-happy asshole. As a prequel to that (never to be created—or else already told) story, this is just about perfect.
