X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a mess of a film. From it's sub-par script to it's poor quality CGI, this one was a disaster from start to finish and is undoubtedly the biggest missed opportunity in the X-Men franchise. Released in 2009 in the wake of a vociferous fan backlash to 2006's The Last Stand, Fox would have been wise to scale back, tighten the focus and deliver a strong and meaningful Wolverine origin story. Instead, fans were given an incoherent vision that created a host of problems with the franchise's continuity while in an effort to (again) throw as many mutants at the screen as possible. Liev Schreiber did his best with his undercooked role as Victor Creed aka Sabretooth (who bore no resemblance at all to the same character played by Tyler Mane in the first X-Men), but he was hamstrung with a diabolical script and a truly lame visual interpretation. Gambit, another massively popular X-Man is in the film, although he might as well not be, as he brings nothing to the table. But perhaps the worst treatment was reserved for Deadpool, one of Marvel's most enduringly popular characters. Fans had wanted Ryan Reynolds to be cast for years and were overjoyed when he was. The Merc With A Mouth seemed to perfectly suit Reynolds' on-screen persona. He could portray the sarcastic wit and deadly killing skills with a devilish verve, but what did Fox do? They gave him one scene at the beginning, then brought him back at the end with his mouth sealed shut. Um, what? Why? The upcoming Deadpool reboot and Channing Tatum iteration of Gambit have a lot of work cut out for them to regain the goodwill of fans, that's for sure. What say you? Are there any other missed opportunities in the X-Men films that warrant mention? Sound off in the comments below.
