X-Men Origins: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 superhero film based on the Marvel Comics' fictional character Wolverine. It was released on April 28, 2009 in the Netherlands and worldwide up to May 1 2009. The film is directed by Gavin Hood and stars Hugh Jackman as the title character. It is a prequel to the X-Men film trilogy and is primarily set roughly ten to seventeen years before the film X-Men.

The film focuses on the violent past of mutant Wolverine and his time with Team X, before Wolverine's skeleton was bonded with the indestructible metal adamantium. The plot also details his early encounters with Colonel William Stryker (Danny Huston), the Weapon X program, Wolverine's interactions with other mutants and his complex relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber). The film was mostly shot in Australia and New Zealand.

Wolverine was released to mixed reviews; critics praised Hugh Jackman's performance, but considered the film and its screenplay uninspired. It opened at the top of the box office, grossing $85.1 million domestically on the opening weekend, and has grossed over $210 million worldwide as of May 12, 2009.

In 1845 Canada, young James Howlett sees his father killed by groundskeeper Thomas Logan. The trauma activates the boy's mutation: bone claws protrude from James' hands, and he kills Logan. In his dying breath, Logan tells James that he is his real father. James flees with Logan's abused son and James' half-brother Victor Creed. The two survive for over a century as men in their prime, living out their violent urges together in the American Civil War and both World Wars. During the Vietnam War, Victor kills a superior after he stops a rape attempt, James defends his brother and the two are executed by firing squad, which they survive. Major William Stryker approaches the two and offers them membership in Team X, a group of mutants which includes marksman Agent Zero, mercenary Wade Wilson, teleporter John Wraith, invincible Fred Dukes and electricity-controlling Chris Bradley. The duo joins the team, but the group's questionable actions cause James to leave.

Six years later, James-now going by the name Logan-lives in Canada with his girlfriend Kayla Silverfox. Colonel Stryker locates Logan and warns him someone is killing members of the team. Shortly afterwards Victor murders Kayla and brutally beats Logan. Stryker offers Logan a way to beat Victor. Logan undergoes an operation to reinforce his skeleton with adamantium, a virtually indestructible metal. Before the procedure, Logan asks for new dog tags inscribed with "Wolverine". Stryker orders Wolverine's memory to be erased, but Wolverine overhears him and flees, with former team member Zero tracking him. Wolverine takes refuge in the barn of an elderly couple who take him in for the night. Zero kills the couple and attacks, but Wolverine subdues and kills him.