'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

The aftermath of the last of those battles leads to a visit by Col. William Stryker (Danny Huston, playing a younger version of the character Brian Cox took on in "X2.") He asks the guys if they want to be "part of a special team with special privileges." Which means joining Team X, a mutant-heavy Army unit that functions as a kind of Dirty Half-Dozen.

In an odd parallel to his last film, "Defiance," Schreiber again plays the more blood-thirsty of a pair of brothers. So much so that the younger brother, now known as Logan, quits the unit and ends up six years later living an idyllic life as a lumberjack in the Canadian Rockies and sharing a cozy cabin with the fetching schoolteacher Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins).

But if Logan thinks the evildoers from his past have given him a pass, he has a lot to learn. Not only is nemesis Col. Stryker the oiliest, most nefarious guy in the entire military, but screenwriters Benioff and Woods have put all manner of twists into the story, saving the very last one for a post-final-credits moment.

Director Hood, best known for his Oscar-winning South African film "Tsotsi," came in without Hollywood blockbuster experience, and news reports indicate that he took some advice from action veteran and executive producer Richard Donner. Whatever actually happened, the explosions all go off on time, which in a film like this is all that really matters.

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kenneth.turan@latimes.com

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'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'

MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence and some partial nudity

Running time: 1 hour, 48 minutes

Playing: In general release