The Wolverine is the follow up to the disappointing X-Men Origins movie. This film takes the elements we like about the character and takes it to the next level. What we get is a Yukuza action flick which isn't a bad thing. The action sequences are marvelously staged and the cinematography is above average. Director James Mangold is at the helm of this sequel spin off. Mangold's previous work includes 3:10 to Yuma and the forgettable Knight and Day with Tom Cruse and Cameraon Diaz. 
We first see the Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman locked in a cage for some unspecified reason just before the H-Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. Wolverine saves a guard from the nuclear blast by using his bodies healing ability to absorb the flames. Years later Wolverine is living like a nomad presumably still devastated by the events of X-Men 3. In the previous film he is forced to kill Jean Grey aka The Phoenix and becomes so traumatized by this event he chooses to live off the grid. Conflict happens when his only friend a burly grizzly bear is severely injured by a gang of hunters and Wolverine is forced to end the bears suffering. 
Seeking retribution Wolverine tracks down the hunters and lets them now how unhappy he is about the situation. I had a problem with this scene because it is a bit of a stretch how he randomly runs into a character named Yukio played by Rila Fukushima. She is a deadly assassin with precognitive mutant abilities. I would assume she used her psychic abilities to find Wolverine at that particular bar because it isn't explicitly stated in the movie. Yukio convinces Logan to fly to Japan to meet an old friend who we find out is the guard he saved from nuclear blast years ago and is currently on his death bed. He summoned Wolverine because he wants his mutant healing ability. Logan is unwilling to help him because he believes death is a natural end.
From this point on the story is about everyone trying to rob the Wolverine of his mutant powers. I get the feeling that this film largely caters to the Asian film market with it subtle and not so subtle nods to Asian culture. The movie is very much a Yukuza action flick where we see Wolverines use his claws as deadly weapons, slicing and dicing foes explicitly riding the line between PG-13 and R Rated violence. I enjoyed the creative action sequences particularly one taking place on top of a 300mph bullet train. The set design is phenomenal and the cinematography is exceptional giving the movie a particularly slick look.
The pacing doesn't seem to slow down and stays centrally focused on the Wolverine character. I would have liked some acknowledgment of the bigger events going on in this expanding marvel universe. I wanted to know what The Avengers and Shield were currently up to. My only complaint is that the computer graphics are quite obvious in certain scenes and particularly unnecessary in others. There is one where Jackman as Wolverine is in the woods walking along side a computer generated bear. I don't know if it was an insurance issues but the filmmakers could have had a real bear for that shot. I have to acknowledge the rigorous training regiment Jackman must have endeared to look the way he does on camera. According to fit magazines Jackman is taking training advice from former professional wrestler Dwayne Johnson.
The Wolverine is quality entertainment and a recommended travel movie. Stay for the credits as they lead into the next instalment Bryan Singer's Days of Future Past. See The Wolverine in theaters B+!
1 comment:
Fine for what it is, mainly because it isn't aspiring to be a heartfelt drama, made to have us sad. It's meant to have us enjoy ourselves. Good review MC.
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