Review of The Wolverine (2013) by Gavin P — 22 Jun 2016

The action-packed sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a must see for Marvel fans everywhere.

The Wolverine was directed by James Mangold and released in 2013. This movie is Mangold's first Marvel movie and won't be his last because he has already started preparations on a Wolverine 3 said to be released in 2017. While the production budget came to $115,000,000, this movie was still a commercial success because the worldwide box office income was $416,456,852.

Wolverine is now living his life as a drifter, staying away from people because he realises how dangerous he can be; However he is invited to Japan to say goodbye to an old, dying friend. Things get complicated while in Japan. Wolverine starts to lose his healing abilities and finds out that his mutant "gift" is the reason he is wanted in Japan. As he tries to survive and finds out that he may need help on this adventure, Wolverine, who is usually the hunter, becomes the hunted.

I loved this movie.

This movie was overall highly entertaining. There was a lot of action, romance, some pretty shocking plot twists, and has you excited to see what's coming next. As a huge Marvel fan and seeing a Wolverine movie, I was expecting for at least one or two of the other X-Men to be involved, but to my disappointment, that didn't happen. I don't know much about the Japanese part of Wolverine's past, which is what this movie mostly revolves around, and I couldn't really get a hold on the basics of where this lies in Wolverine's life. I rated this movie four out of five stars. It wouldn't be a three for me because it's a Marvel film with a childhood hero of mine in it, so it automatically earns a three for bringing out my inner "geek". The fourth star is because the movie was entertaining to the point that if you had never seen a Marvel movie and knew nothing about it, after seeing this you are going to want to see more of Marvel and more of Wolverine.

This movie leads up to X-Men: Days of Future Past and is after X-Men: Last Stand. It's expected at the end of every Marvel movie for there to be a tease or a sample of what's coming next, and at the end of this movie, it foretells the government building a weapon that brings about the extinction of the mutant race. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was the telling of how Wolverine gained his adamantium claws and this movie is a telling of how he lost them.

The Wolverine is a large promoter of Marvel Entertainment, especially because it was a success. If the public liked this movie, then it builds the bridge to the next movie. If the movie had of failed, then it's a reflection of what's to come, which is why it's so crucial for their movies to be great.