The Wolverine

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Brian Tee, Hal Yamanouchi, Win Yun Lee, Famke Janssen, Patrick Stewart (uncredited), Ian McKellan (uncredited)
Directed by: James Mangold
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Logan (Hugh Jackman) travels to Japan to see an old acquaintance and gets caught up in a family conflict.

Review:

Tim: What I enjoyed so much about The Wolverine was the fact that this was a smaller scale film. Superhero movies are always trying to be bigger and bigger, and that isn't always a good thing. Real story gets lost as the size of the spectacle increases. James Mangold reverses that trend here, telling a self-contained story that is both smaller and more intimate than the other X-Men movies. That is one big reason this is such a great film.

I was really excited to see Wolverine's adventures in Japan unfold on the silver screen. That storyline is one of the most famous in the comics and it demanded a film version. It was so good to see an X-Men that was set completely outside of the United States and so unlike the majority of the films. This movie was solely focused on one character (unlike X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which pretended to be) and allowed that character time for development. We get to know the supporting characters in a way that doesn't happen in the bigger ensemble movies. This is a slightly quieter, slower movie, and the story benefits great because of that.

The cast is good and I really appreciate that it's mostly made up of Asian actors. Hugh Jackman is one again very good as Wolverine. It's so hard to imagine anyone else in this role, as he's been playing it well for over a decade. I really, really like him in this role and it was fun seeing his talents showcased in this film. Tao Okamoto was okay, but I don't know if she is truly a good actress. I thought she was fine, but did leave something to be desired. Rila Fukushima was better, and it was fun seeing her as Logan's sidekick. Svetlana Khodchenkova was okay as Viper, but again, she wasn't the best actress. The rest of the cast did feature a number of strong performances.

The film had a number of good action sequences, although these were of a smaller scale than we are used to in the X-Men universe. I was okay with this- we don't always need to see huge explosions and massive fights. The fight at the funeral was pretty good. I really liked the crazy battle on top of the high speed bullet train- that was small in scale, but very cool to watch. The final battle with the Silver Samurai was good, too. Again, it's much smaller scale than we are used to, but it provided an intimate look at Logan that we have not had before. I really liked how this film balanced out character development, a bit of a love story, and action sequences. The balance of this was quite strong. I also liked the use of Famke Janssen as a reminder of how this film connected to the other X-Men movies. The elements were all in place here.

I've always been a fan of the X-Men movies, and The Wolverine is another solid entry into that impressive franchise. It gives Hugh Jackman an opportunity to showcase his talent in this incredible character that he has worked so hard to bring to the big screen (he's absolutely jacked in this film). This is his 5th time playing the character (6th if you count his cameo in X-Men: First Class) and I love that he has put so much of himself into Wolverine. This is a great movie and I love the departure from the norm. For the X-Men franchise to continue to stay fresh, it needs more movies like this.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class