Twentieth Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, and Dune Entertainment present The Wolverine. Directed by James Mangold. Starring Hugh Jackman, Tao Akamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hal Yamanouchi, and Famke Janssen. Cinematography by Ross Emery. Screenplay by Mark Bomback and Scott Frank, based on the original comics miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. 126 minutes. Rated "PG-13" for scenes of intense sci-fi action and violence, some sexuality and language.
In Marvel's latest superhero film The Wolverine, the audience is treated to an intriguing introduction and back story that peaks interest. There are enough exciting action sequences and Hugh Jackman scenes to keep it from being a time-waster.
Logan (Jackman) is literally hanging out in the Canadian woods, holding a mutual admiration society with a huge male grizzly. After a hunting party shakes Logan out of the forest and into town, a cyberpunk-like Japanese woman, Yukio (Rila Fukushima), tracks him down at a big bar fight. An old friend, Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), is dying of cancer and wants to be able to tell Logan goodbye. Being one of the most memorable people in Logan's very long life--knowing Yashida since World War II--The Wolverine is willing to come out of hiding and see his friend one last time in Tokyo. What Logan does not expect is an offer to cure his unwanted immortal status, and an obligation to be the protector for Yashida's favorite granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Akamoto).
After this fascinating setup, the film careens between great action sequences and real pathos, and noisy, stock superhero plotting. One could argue that The Wolverine goes downhill after a chase sequence on a bullet train that is both suspenseful and technically brilliant. If only the momentum and human interest had been sustained, this story would appeal to any movie audience. But big and loud special effects overdrive takes over the latter third of the film, and it includes a plot "twist" that a junior high viewer could have foreseen early on.
However, Jackman is always a pleasure to watch as Logan/The Wolverine. He has become attached to his character like Sean Connery or Daniel Craig to James Bond. He enjoys exploring the physical and psychological boundaries of the character, being tough, gruff, or tender at the right moments, and it's his best performance as the nearly invincible hero so far. Among the supporting cast, the biggest standouts are Fukushima, who plays a ninja-like woman with spotty psychic ability, and Svetlana Khodchenkova, portraying a doctor with an evil agenda. And Tokyo and the Japanese coastline looks gorgeous.
The Wolverine is good summer action fare with an appealing lead performance. But non-comics fans should be prepared for some frustration in how the intriguing plot conflicts resolve themselves. Note, especially for comics fans and followers of the X-Men series: stay for the credits and the extra scene (and you won't have to wait for it until the end of the credits).
My rating: *** out of ****.
It was a fun movie, but also had a bit of heart and emotion thrown in there as well. Good review Gordon.
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