[have no fear the following post is completely spoiler-free and contains no mention of the film's plot at all]

If you’ve been following all the buzz surrounding 20th Century Fox’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, then you’ve likely already heard that a copy of the film was leaked onto the ‘interwebs’ a few weeks ago, a full month before the films scheduled release. I was fortunate enough to catch a screening of said film at a friends house a few nights ago and I learn one incredibly interesting fact. A rough cut of a film, with only partially completed special effects, is incredibly compelling.

The copy of the film that was leaked is not the final cut of Wolverine. Many shots included ‘pre vis’ animation sequences,  rough (beyond poor) green screen keying, text explaining what effects would eventually be added, wirework that had yet to be rotoscoped, and dialog edits that appeared as subtitles. I figured that all of these things would make the film cheesy. But you know what? As the film progressed, I actually found myself wishing that there were more unfinished shots in the cut I was watching.

Before sitting down at my friends house, I had about zero interest in watching the film. Sitting through it though, it really held my attention. Sure, it is an action film designed to do that, but I was drawn in by more than just explosions. I’m the kind of guy who seeks out DVDs just for the extras on the second disc. I just love seeing how shots were set up, how stunts were pulled off, and how much of a shot is practical, digital, real, or completely added after the fact.

The problem with most ‘making of’ segments is that 1) they only cover a few key scenes, and 2) those scenes are never shown in their entirety or in any real context at all. Which ultimately brings me to the point. Every film that can be considered a ‘big effects movie’, should have in it’s extra features the option to watch it, in it’s entirety, with all the effects turned off.

I’m sure the average person wouldn’t initially be that interested in the feature, but that’s just because most haven’t experienced it yet. Provided you started with the right one, by the time you finished your first ‘De-FX Film’ (I’m trademarking that btw), you’d be hooked.

My name is Christopher Schnese
and this has been my reel perspective

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