After a family tragedy, James Logan (Troye Sivan) is thrown together on the road with his half-brother Victor. They grow up to be soldiers who, because of their invincibility and immortality, survive the battles of Civil War, World Wars I and II, and Vietnam. They forge a bond based on their being so different from other people. Eventually, Logan (Hugh Jackman) and Victor, renamed Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber), are recruited into a band of mercenaries assembled by General William Stryker (Danny Huston). The time is the 1970s.

Among this band of mutants are Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a high-tech mercenary who specializes in swordplay; Agent Zero (Daniel Henney), a skilled tracker and deadly marksman; Wraith (Will.i.am), a teleporter; Fred J. Dukes (Kevin Durand), a strong man; and Bradley (Dominic Monaghan) who can manipulate electricity. As part of this team, Sabretooth comes to relish the violence he does against others whereas Logan doesn't believe in it. He exits and settles down in Canada with Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), a schoolteacher; he works as a lumberjack. It is a healing period for Logan who is still trying to come to terms with his powers as a mutant and the possibility of a more peaceful way of life.

Kevin Hood directs this prequel to the three X-Men films we've seen so far: X-Men, X-2: X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Hood was at the helm of Tsotsi, a powerful drama set in Johannesburg about a teenage hoodlum who becomes a nurturing man after he finds an infant. In X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he successfully mixes the action sequences with the emotional conflicts of the mutant hero.

Stryker will not leave Logan alone and draws him back into his quest to create a perfect warrior as part of his top-secret Weapon X program. The general infuses Logan's body with an impenetrable alloy that makes him indestructible. He becomes the Wolverine who breaks free of the hold Stryker has over him but he must face a series of enemies who test his mettle.

Part of the hold that the X-Men franchise of comic book fantasies has upon its legion of fans is its pop culture references. Here are some of the themes that are handled in this fast-paced movie.

1. Victor says to Logan: "We're brothers, and brothers look out for each other." Are blood ties what bond people together or are they a thing of the past in the age of Facebook?

2. Stryker says to Logan: "To beat Victor you're going to have to embrace the other side of you. Become the animal." Watching Logan wrestle with his demons, we wonder whether we are capable of embracing the dark side of ourselves. What does it mean today for us to face the animal within?

3. The old man and his wife who give Wolverine shelter use the word "decency" and it rings a bell with the mutant on-the-run. Is there any way of resurrecting the word decency as a commendable virtue and taking it away from Christian fundamentalists and prudes?

4. Stryker says to another soldier: "Preemtive action is the only action." One wonders about the fate of nations so greedy for power and so self-righteous that they would adhere to this unethical approach to international relations

5. Near the end of the film, Wolverine says "I'll find my own way." Spoken like a true superhero yet one wonders if there is a yearning within him to find community and a place to call his own.

Where and When?