A few days ago the producers of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” put on a great show of righteous indignation when it was revealed that a work print of their not-yet-finished movie had been bootlegged out to the Internet. Without their permission, they claim.

I used to live in southern California, where it was common to go to a local theater and find an unannounced showing of an upcoming movie. The effects were incomplete, the music was sometimes rudimentary, and I even saw one with multiple endings. Instead of buying a ticket, the audience had to fill out little questionnaire forms after the screening. It was worth the price of a movie ticket later on to see if they took my suggestions to heart. A tidy combo of market research and word-of-mouth advertising, pure and simple.

Now we have this so-called leak of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” If it was not sanctioned, then yes, a head or two should roll. But really, this can only help ticket sales. The first two X-Men movies were very satisfying, but the third tripped over its own expectations. This re-loaded X-Men movie has the potential to get the franchise back on track, and what better way to get our attention than to make it forbidden fruit?

For those of you who haven’t seen this work print, let me describe it to you. I’ll skirt any spoilers, and I won’t tell you any plot points that you can’t pick up from the official movie trailer or IMDB.com. First of all, it’s well-branded, with all the producer logos up front and the product placements taken care of. The opening credits roll over an ultra-cool war montage that beautifully establishes character. The closing credits are a copy-and-paste of “X-Men: The Last Stand,” so stay tuned there.

The special effects are half done, and this is where those of us who can’t wait for the official release of the “Making Of” and “Behind the Scenes” DVDs will drool. You see strings and green screens and missing CGI props and on-screen ADR prompts throughout. The music seems all there, but who knows what tunes lurk in the hearts and minds of composers?

The storytelling itself has all the elements of a rousing adventure, both on personal levels and on a grander scheme. There are almost as many second chances as betrayals, but for my 80-cents-on-the-US-dollar Canadian money, it all works. Testosterone squirts off the screen from every direction!

The plot strays far and away from the original comic book plot, as is the wont of Hollywood (well, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand) producers trying to claim these classic characters as their own. Sure, a 5-foot 3-inch 300-pound Wolverine would be a tougher sell than Hugh Jackman, so screw artistic integrity, right?

Liev Schreiber takes over the role of Victor Creed (Sabretooth), and I’ve never liked him better. He and Wolverine are shown with an earlier X team, along with gun guy and fast guy and muscle guy and sword guy and lightbulb guy. Trust me, they’re way cool - before things go awry. There’s even an evil XI-Man here for some extra oomph. But the real threat to one and all is the inner demon that virtually every character seems to have.

An odd Ma and Pa Kent sequence makes a nod to a certain DC Comics superhero. The laws of physics are stretched to the point that confirm my steadfast belief that you’ll survive if you jump up just as a falling elevator hits the basement. And there are even a couple of quotable lines that I’ll refrain from exposing here (but email me if you really must hear them now!).

The work print runs only 1 hr, 46 minutes, and 50 seconds, but if more scenes are to be added, I think they’re unnecessary. This is shaping up to be a superior movie. I’d hate to see them water it down.

If you see this work print, you’ll feel absolutely compelled to buy the big screen ticket to see how the final product compares. If you don’t see this preview, make sure you go out and see the best X-Men movie since the original.

Six-Eye Jackson

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