Every time I see an X-Men movie I spend the next several days pondering which mutant power I’d most like to have. Shape-shifting, perhaps, which could come in handy in any number of circumstances. Invisibility… definitely a contender. Telepathy would certainly be intriguing.

Wolverine’s power is perhaps the most appealing on its face — healing powers that grant him (near) invincibility and eternal life. The adamantium skeleton and claws are a bonus — installed in him, as we witness in this film, by power-mad military man William Stryker (Danny Huston). But his real power is that he can’t be permanently injured.

But what practical benefit would that give you in day-to-day life? If you’re, say, a banker… does invincibility give you a leg up over other bankers? No. It will allow you to survive any accidents that might befall you, sure, but otherwise your life would be unchanged. No, if you had Wolverine’s power, your only real avenue would be to become a warrior.

And that’s what Wolverine does during the very cool opening credits sequence of X-Men Origins: Wolverine — he and his similarly-mutated brother (played by an excellent Liev Schreiber) fight side-by-side in every American war of the past 2 1/2 centuries, shaking off bullet wounds and shrapnel like paper cuts. Unfortunately, those opening minutes are the most compelling moments in the film.

The rest of the movie is a paint-by-numbers origin story depicting Wolverine, hungry for revenge against his sadistic brother (who turns quickly to the dark side), as he allows Stryker to fill him with metal and turn him into an even fiercer fighting machine. He meets other mutants along the way, some ripe for spin-offs, including Taylor Kitsch’s Gambit (whose powers aren’t very clear to me). Kitsch brings to the big screen the same easy charm that makes him Friday Night Lights‘ biggest heartthrob.

Jackman is great in this role, though I prefer his performance in the first three X-Men films to the more brooding and angry work he does here. Stripped of his memory, he struts through those films with a sardonic smirk and a bevy of one-liners, as charming as he is dangerous. In this film, he’s in the thick of his dark back story and unable to have much fun. Kudos, though, to Jackman for his commitment to an insane workout regimen that has rendered his body into something worthy of a visual effects Oscar of its own.

I don’t have any major complaints about this film other than its lack of surprises. The effects work is strong for the most part and a few of the action sequences are well-staged. But the lack of any real stakes (most of these characters appear in later films so we know their fates already) is a problem. Popcorn in hand, you’ll pass an enjoyable 100 minutes sitting back in your seat but you’ll never find yourself on the edge of it.