Review of The Wolverine (2013) by Thai W — 11 Jun 2014

While all of the X-men films may not have been great, each one builds the mythology, develops the characters and enhances the experience you will get watching them. "The Wolverine" is one of the better entries, tying up some of the loose ends left in the last chapter (X-Men 3: The Last Stand), introducing some interesting ideas, new characters and delivering when it comes to the character development and action. After the events of X-Men 3, where Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) had to kill his beloved Jean Grey, he's retreated into the Canadian wilderness and just wants to be left alone. Pulled out of his hermit state, Logan is summoned to Japan by Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), an old friend of his. Yashida is on the verge of death offers to take away Logan's mutant healing ability and essential turn him into a normal, mortal human. He will no longer have to suffer through an eternity of seeing his loved ones die while he heals back to normal (as he did in "Last Stand"). Although Logan is plagued by the thoughts that he will outlive everyone he has or will ever love, he isn't exactly eager to part with his abilities, particularly not when Yashida tells him that the healing factor will then be transplanted into himself. Logan refuses and finds himself grateful to have done so because he is suddenly in the middle of an underground war. Yashida's company is under attack by the Yakuza and other hidden enemies. Wolverine and a new ally, Yukio (Rila Fukushima) are now stuck defending Yashida's granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) while trying to figure out who is on who's side and how to combat a powerful new enemy.

This time around, we see Wolverine given the opportunity to give his immortality away and for a while, you think he's actually pretty tempted by it. In the last film, he was forced to kill the woman he loved and it's still haunting him (Famke Janssen reprises her role as Jean Grey in dreams and hallucinations). This guy isn't a moron though. He knows that trouble follows him constantly, which is why he doesn't act like the typical superhero that just wants to give up the cape by being normal. When Yashida asks him to give up his immortality, he tells him flat-out no! Good thing he did too, because Japan's a world of trouble for Logan. Early on, he's infected with some kind of poison or virus that really puts a nerf on his healing ability. He's got to deal with an army of ninjas and gangsters, protect the girl and get to the bottom of this sinister plot... all at half strength. All of a sudden our enigmatic hero is faced with a real danger. Not only mutants this time (which honestly I think there may have been a bit too many of in these films; when there are armies of them running around they sort of lose their impact) but just regular guys with guns pose a threat and that's a really refreshing change.

The best part about following a long series is seeing your favourite characters evolve and seeing new characters introduced. We've got some good ones here, and hopefully we'll see Mariko and Yukio, return in future instalments. Both of these have some good moments with Wolverine and you can see a lot of potential for future stories here. We also see some more of Jean Grey and if the ending of the previous film left you a bit lukewarm about how her relationship and Logan's was quickly brought to an end, this one really wraps it up nicely. It actually improves the previous film so when you watch the "X-Men" movies, make sure you watch them as a marathon. You will have a much more satisfying experience seeing them at regular intervals and you'll be able to appreciate the character arcs throughout. When it comes to the villains, we get a nice mix of random cronies to be chopped up by Wolverine's claws and some powerhouse threats. I actually found myself a bit disappointed whenever a key character was killed off; that's not a flaw in the movie, it's a compliment. How often do you hear someone say they thought the bad guys were so interesting that they deserved more screen time?

There are some really spectacular moments of action in this film, the best of which is on a high-speed train. Wolverine is injured and has to take down a couple of bad guys. That would be a piece of cake except for the fact that he's got Mariko to worry about and the fight in question is taking place on top of the train! It quenches that thirst for action and delivers some big laughs too. It's so refreshing to see that even after five films, the series can bring in new and creative moments to dazzle its audience. I also found one sequence towards the end, where Wolverine is being assaulted by a real army of ninjas to be a lot of fun. I also want to note the cinematography here. Take a good look at the final sword battle that takes place about two thirds into the movie. Those are some great uses of shadow and lightning and a really well framed combat scene that would make an awesome poster for your man cave. The only real complaint I have is the final action sequence. It feels pretty conventional, with the big boss battle, big dramatic revelations about evil schemes and all that. It isn't really out of place with the whole X-Men franchise, but it feels out of place with this chapter. It isn't a big thing, but it did make me wish they had come up with a climax that didn't feel so... comic book-y. I realize the film is derived from a comic book, but this film, more than any of the others feels more grounded in reality and I wish they had stuck with it. I'm not entirely sure the science during the big fight makes much sense either, but I'm willing to give it a pass because it is a pretty cool development and makes for some really interesting changes in the way you will see Wolverine after the movie is over.

"The Wolverine" fits neatly in your collection of X-Men films and if you've been a fan from the beginning, you'll be pleased with this one. If you're not familiar with the franchise, and that's something that's not totally unlikely considering we were first introduced to Hugh Jackman's character in 2000, this is not the film you want to begin with. It is a sequel to "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" and like I said, that film might be mediocre but it becomes better once you've seen this one. I realize that I have been referring to the other films in the series a lot, but that's the beauty of this film, that it doesn't let its long-time fans behind. With that, some pretty cool scenes of action, some interesting characters and an interesting story arc for Wolverine, it's exactly what you wanted to see in a solo adventure. Another note as well; If you buy the 3D Blu-ray combo, you will find that Disc 3 (of 4) is the unrated/extended version of the movie. That's the one you want to see. It does contain more swearing (I think I counted 4 F-bombs in total) so it might not be for the kids, but there are 3 added scenes that improve the overall story by filling in some holes and the action sequences are improved by adding a whole lot of blood (some people have been waiting for that for a long time). With the new X-Men movie coming out, this one gets you pumped for more action after the disappointing last chapter in the series. Don't forget about "The Wolverine" when you begin your X-Men marathon. (Unrated/Extended Version on Blu-ray, June 7, 2014)(3D Theatrical version on the big screen, Sept 26, 2013)(2D Theatrical version on the Big Screen, Sept 17, 2013).