I think it's safe to say that X-Men Origins: Wolverine was a disappointing mess. While Hugh Jackman has pretty much owned the character since he first popped the claws in 2000's X-Men, his first solo effort was a let down, a waste of talents and characters that is best swept under the carpet. Try as hard as we might to erase the memory of that movie, it has hung over The Wolverine since the sequel's announcement, with a lot of people wondering whether or not history would repeat itself. Thankfully, I can report no it doesn't, with director James Mangold delivering an enjoyable, if not entirely flawless, superhero movie, based on one of the character's most famous story lines.
An unspecified amount of time after X-Men: The Last Stand, Wolverine is living rough in the Yukon, haunted by the memory of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), the love of his life who he was forced to kill. Granting the dying wish of a man he once saved during the bombing of Nagasaki, the mutant travels to Tokyo, where his healing powers mysteriously start to fade away. Dealing with mortality for the first time, he gets caught up in a plot on the life of the daughter of technology magnate, Mariko Yashida (Tao Okamota).
Kicking off with a fantastic scene showing the extent of Logan's powers, The Wolverine takes it's time before showing anything vaguely superhero-ish. It's a page taken from the current crop of 'grimdark' comic book movies, but here it works better than most, building the characters (even though he's being in five movies, this feels like the first time we get to really know get under the skin of Wolverine) and relationships we will follow for the next 126 minutes. It kicks into high gear rather quickly, but after an event filled funeral, which leads into an impressive fight atop a speeding bullet train, the story slows down, focusing on the budding romance between Logan and Mariko. This makes up the bulk of the movie, and it's a refreshing change from the usual superhuman dust up most comic movies end up being, but it doesn't entirely work in The Wolverine's favour. From this point on, the film continues at a slightly uneven pace, Mangold's decision to go down a realistic path (which is in keeping with original story line) at odds with it's more fantastical elements. How out of place these elements are is really noticeable in the film's third act, which devolves into the usual good guy versus bad guy fight. Another problem is the villains. Their overall plan is painfully predictable (you'll pretty much figure it out 20 minutes in), and needlessly over complicated. With three main villains, none of them are compelling, with Svetlana Khodchenkova's Viper, complete with ability to spit venom, feeling like she walked in from another film, her over the top act completely out of place with the more serious tone Mangold is going for.
It may feel like I'm coming down hard on The Wolverine, but I did really, really enjoy this film. Jackman is the best he has being in the role, bringing the character's savagery to the fore. This film can be absolutely brutal at times, one fight ending with Wolverine pulling a sword from his chest, and the actor totally sells it. He's also fantastic in the quieter moments, with some genuinely heartbreaking exchanges with the ghost of Jean, adding layers to his character that haven't being explored in that much depth in the previous movies. Unfortunately, the other actors don't really touch him in terms of character development, but that's not to say they don't add anything to proceedings. Okamota plays off Jackman perfectly, making their relationship much more believable. Rila Fukishima's Yurikio is a great character, looking like she wouldn't be out of place in an anime, coming across as a more fun loving Wolverine (but with her own "gift" to deal with), and getting in some great action scenes herself.
I have to hand it to James Mangold for trying something different, bringing the characters to the fore over the usual comic book heroics, but it doesn't entirely work here. Uneven in places, The Wolverine is a whole lot of fun, and an entirely enjoyable superhero movie.
Oh yes, and be sure to stay during the end credits for an awesome scene that nicely sets up X-Men: Days of Future Past.
An unspecified amount of time after X-Men: The Last Stand, Wolverine is living rough in the Yukon, haunted by the memory of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), the love of his life who he was forced to kill. Granting the dying wish of a man he once saved during the bombing of Nagasaki, the mutant travels to Tokyo, where his healing powers mysteriously start to fade away. Dealing with mortality for the first time, he gets caught up in a plot on the life of the daughter of technology magnate, Mariko Yashida (Tao Okamota).
Kicking off with a fantastic scene showing the extent of Logan's powers, The Wolverine takes it's time before showing anything vaguely superhero-ish. It's a page taken from the current crop of 'grimdark' comic book movies, but here it works better than most, building the characters (even though he's being in five movies, this feels like the first time we get to really know get under the skin of Wolverine) and relationships we will follow for the next 126 minutes. It kicks into high gear rather quickly, but after an event filled funeral, which leads into an impressive fight atop a speeding bullet train, the story slows down, focusing on the budding romance between Logan and Mariko. This makes up the bulk of the movie, and it's a refreshing change from the usual superhuman dust up most comic movies end up being, but it doesn't entirely work in The Wolverine's favour. From this point on, the film continues at a slightly uneven pace, Mangold's decision to go down a realistic path (which is in keeping with original story line) at odds with it's more fantastical elements. How out of place these elements are is really noticeable in the film's third act, which devolves into the usual good guy versus bad guy fight. Another problem is the villains. Their overall plan is painfully predictable (you'll pretty much figure it out 20 minutes in), and needlessly over complicated. With three main villains, none of them are compelling, with Svetlana Khodchenkova's Viper, complete with ability to spit venom, feeling like she walked in from another film, her over the top act completely out of place with the more serious tone Mangold is going for.
It may feel like I'm coming down hard on The Wolverine, but I did really, really enjoy this film. Jackman is the best he has being in the role, bringing the character's savagery to the fore. This film can be absolutely brutal at times, one fight ending with Wolverine pulling a sword from his chest, and the actor totally sells it. He's also fantastic in the quieter moments, with some genuinely heartbreaking exchanges with the ghost of Jean, adding layers to his character that haven't being explored in that much depth in the previous movies. Unfortunately, the other actors don't really touch him in terms of character development, but that's not to say they don't add anything to proceedings. Okamota plays off Jackman perfectly, making their relationship much more believable. Rila Fukishima's Yurikio is a great character, looking like she wouldn't be out of place in an anime, coming across as a more fun loving Wolverine (but with her own "gift" to deal with), and getting in some great action scenes herself.
I have to hand it to James Mangold for trying something different, bringing the characters to the fore over the usual comic book heroics, but it doesn't entirely work here. Uneven in places, The Wolverine is a whole lot of fun, and an entirely enjoyable superhero movie.
Oh yes, and be sure to stay during the end credits for an awesome scene that nicely sets up X-Men: Days of Future Past.
