Xmen – Legend of Wolverine

Just in time to cash in on the Big Screen theatrical release of the first X-Men sequel, Disney has released this anthology of animated TV episodes.

And they’re pretty good.

As the title would suggest, this anthology focuses on Wolverine, the Canadian loner who can extract hard metal claws from his hands and who’s played in the movies by Hugh Jackman. We find out quite a bit about from whence Wolverine came as he’s lured into a trap by his one time love Lady Deathstryke, a nasty piece of work who’s looking for revenge.

We also find out how Wolverine's body got its interior metal frame, which was only hinted at in the first X-Men movie.

In the "Nightcrawler" episode, we see Wolverine and Nightcrawler attacked by a mob of paranoid villagers in a scene almost out of an old Frankenstein movie. Then, in "The Lotus and the Steel," Logan goes looking for inner peace at a Buddhist monastery in Japan, only to find himself in a plot that could be right out of “The Seven Samurai”.

The DVD also includes some are special features, including another interview with Stan Lee and the bonus episode "The Final Decision," which features big time baddie, Megneto. There’s also an interview with X-Men writer Chris Claremont.

The picture quality of the DVD is fine, but owners of 16x9 TV’s should remember that since this disc’s material originated on network TV they’ll have to stretch the 4x3 image to fit their screens. This is always a shame, but it beats burning in the bars beside the squarish picture or cutting the top and bottom off of the original picture to give a pretend widescreen image.

Audio is Dolby Digital and it’s okay, though we don’t get a lot of surround here. Still, considering the “Saturday morning cartoon” origins, the disc is fine and fans of the X-Men franchise will undoubtedly get a kick out of it.

X-Men: The Legend of Wolverine, from Buena Vista Home Entertainment
79 min. full frame (1.33:1), not 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital audio 

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