After three decades, three movies and what could possibly have been the easiest green light meeting in history; Wolverine has finally gotten his own film.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” follows Logan on his journey from a sickly young boy in 1870’s Canada, to the man audiences have come to love in the X-Men films. Along the way, he encounters a laundry list of mutants that fans have been clamoring for from the start and a few that only the most hardcore of the geek multitudes are familiar with. From Canada to Weapon X, from young Logan to Wolverine, in a 1 hour and 47 minute run time, we get to see (sort of) how Wolverine became the man/beast that he is.

Sort of, because “Wolverine” is everything one would expect it to be, but not everything it should have been. Instead of making Marvel’s leading bad ass’ foray into solo territory R rated, they made it PG-13 and did everything in their power to make it commercially successful enough to sell toys and t-shirts. The film consists of two parts: an endless cavalcade of mutants, unnecessarily thrown into the mix to further the plot along and quiet fans; and lavish set pieces.

And the lavish set pieces are really only three, and movie goers need not even pay for a ticket to see those, because they were all already shown to their fullest in the trailers. The motorcycle scene, the standout action piece of the film has already been showcased, with the clichéd “loner walking away from explosion and not noticing” angle in the two-minute trailers.

And it’s also the set pieces that contribute to the worst offenses this movie committed. With a budget reported around $140 million, “Wolverine” barely looks better than a student film. The special effects are terrible, particularly when Logan pops his claws. And when eighty percent of a characters screen time and general cool factor comes from popping his claws, this is no minor setback.

Hugh Jackman delivers more of the same here as Weapon X, and that’s not a bad thing, he redefined the character, after all, but the only thing new here is his feathered hair, reminiscent of David Cassidy, not a man bred to kill.

Ryan Reynolds turns in a standout, albeit brief, appearance as Wade Wilson, the man who would be Deadpool. There’s nothing extraordinary about Reynolds performance here, he’s essentially playing Ryan Reynolds, but anyone who has read Deadpool knows that this was pitch perfect casting.

Deadpool is just one of the many mutant multitude from the Marvel Universe that is inexplicably thrown into “Wolverine,” but his appearance is a welcome diversion when considering the other roles that are delivered here. While not exactly shining stars in the comic book world, the other performances committed are perforated worse than the floaties Wolverine uses at a pool party.

The Blob (Kevin Durand) is a lackey of Magneto, a character that is barely imposing when shown on paper, but is laughable when you see the “Fat Bastard” look he is given in the film.

John Wraith (the pretentiously named Will.i.Am) is a lesser-known mutant from the comics, whose powers echo that of Nightcrawler, a power that was much better demonstrated by the latter. Who consistently makes these decisions to let Black Eyed Peas venture into movies?

Sadly, let’s not even mention Taylor Kitsch’s Gambit, a character that has been lusted after by fans nearly as badly as the titular Wolverine.

The real standout here is Live Schreiber’s Sabretooth, a man that is so dead behind the eyes that you believe he will rip your jugular out at any second, regardless of the offense. The character is so believable because, essentially, Schreiber is an actor that is dead behind the eyes. The man is uninteresting and standoffish, but brings a certain charm that is necessary for such a tragic figure. The flipside to Wolverine’s coin, Sabretooth just wants to embrace what he is, not run from it.

The romance between Logan and Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins) is downright tragic. Not in the good, character-developing sense that it should have been, but in the unbelievable, ludicrous fashion that only a summer blockbuster could provide. Essentially the fulcrum of the movie, the end of their love is what drives Logan away from his humanity, giving him metal bones and his new code name. Problematically though, we are only told they are in love, we are never shown that they are in love. And while this may seem like an unnecessary throwaway aspect, the romance angle of Wolverine is part of what makes him so interesting. He is a multi faceted individual, one that is driven as much by love as by his animal instincts.

Oscar-winning director Gavin Hood turned in a valiant effort here. He clearly made the film that he believed fans and casual moviegoers alike wanted to see. The source material draws a fine line between laughable and epic, but with such a rich, deep mythology, the most popular comic book hero’s first outing could have been so much more. Hood just may not have been the right man for this particular job.

Hood isn’t to blame here, though. “Wolverine” was doomed to mediocrity from Jump Street. All the things wrong with film now were prevalent from the day the project was announced. The title with the semi colon (Why not just call it “Wolverine”?) the trend of making franchises PG-13 when clearly the subject matter warrants an R rating, and letting 20th Century Fox produce were all clear-cut signs that the movie would miss with fans.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” isn’t awful, in fact, it’s not even a bad film. It definitely achieves what it set out to do, fill auditorium seats and sell action figures. It’s entertaining and fun, everything one would want from a summer blockbuster. More in sync with Brett Ratner’s vision of the X-Men that the vastly superior Bryan Singer’s, “Wolverine” isn’t a bad film, it’s just disappointing.