At the Theater - "The Wolverine" - What we have here, for the most part, is a refreshingly stripped down, harder-edged action-movie with Hugh Jackman's, gruff, hard as nails titular mutant chewing major Eastern scenery and slicing his way through human foes in the streets (and railways) of Japan- a showdown atop a bullet train is pretty damned thrilling. The majority of this enters the best X-Men movie ever made territory, though it's somewhat disheartening to report that the film's third act suffers a tonal schism that knocks the overall experience down a notch or two. As is, it's leagues better than 2009's awful "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and the best Superhero movie of 2013.
This film marks Hugh Jackman's sixth cinematic appearance as the adamantium-clawed mutant that most have come to know as The Wolverine, though the character has often gone by "Logan". Living a loner's existence in the mountains of the modern day Yukon territory, a disheveled and destitute Logan is tormented by nightmares and racked with guilt over the death of his former lover, "Jean Grey" (Famke Janssen) by his own, um, claws. After a certain element contacts him and subsequently requests his presence in Japan, the Wolverine reluctantly decides to accept the invite after a major disagreement with the locals. I wish there had been a bit more footage of the Wolverine in this environment, though I could have done without a lame early segment featuring the wonky effects regarding a Grizzly bear and the tired, liberal Hollywood depiction of hunters as sadistic, simpleton rednecks- why hasn't this garbage petered out yet?
Shortly after reaching Japan, our Hero finds himself embroiled in an assassination attempt and thrust into the role of protector. Hounded by a host of Yakuza and Ninja enemies out to kill him, and after certain events leave his healing abilities impaired, audiences are treated to a version of the Wolverine that's uncharacteristically vulnerable. I appreciated this approach in that it worked to make his human antagonists, and their many weapons, much more of a weighted threat- there's plenty of footage where an injured Logan must cope with gaping, bleeding bullet and knife wounds that don't heal as they have in past X-Men films. Expect plenty of foot chases, hand-to-hand and sword-to-claw confrontations, with competently filmed action sequences to please those so inclined- people die left and right, and the violence isn't relegated to or lost upon special-effect creations.
The first two acts of this particular narrative should prove to be a decidedly lesser-scaled, much more intimate experience than fans are accustomed to, as well, with an element of mystery throughout and a substantial love story thrown into the mix for good measure. The majority of this film is a welcomed departure from the large-scaled bloat and computer-generated chaos that has recently dominated the theaters lately- the Japanese setting and on-location footage (Tokyo, Hiroshima and Tomonoura) does wonders for providing a grounded, real-world tone that effectively anchors the story.
Jackman is as game and as ripped as ever- I believe he's one of Hollywood's top three leading men, with range and presence to spare. The Aussie's excellent in what has become his defining role and there's little reason to believe that he won't continue his run as the character for many years to come. He's often at his crowd-pleasingly grittiest here- if Hollywood ever sees fit to reboot the Dirty Harry franchise, I think Jackman would be a no-brainer...
Hal Yamanouchi (The Way Back) portrays the elderly and dying "Yashida", a powerful corporate billionaire and tech giant who offers Logan a chance at mortality in return for a past good deed. Ken Yamamura portrays his younger, WWII era self. Fans of the X-Men film franchise may recognize that a previous film's story-line has set up what can only be seen as a major plot hole concerning The Wolverine's memory of past events in this particular film.
Russian actress Svetlana Khodchenkova (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) portrays "Viper", a vampish scientist who happens to be immune to all toxins- watch out for this chick's breath, it will melt your face off! I couldn't shake the notion that the actress bares an uncanny resemblance to a younger Kim Cattrall, and I wished that the filmmakers had somehow utilized her character more.
Japanese model Tao Okamoto makes her silver screen debut as Logan's potential love interest, "Mariko". The heir to her grandfather/tech-giant's throne, Mariko soon finds herself marked for death by the Yakuza and other unseen deadly forces. Okamoto is solid in the role and is very pretty to look at, though I couldn't get over how very thin the actress/model was- apparently this isn't just an American issue...
Rila Fukushima also makes her Theatrical debut as "Yukio", a shifty, sword-wielding assassin with the Shingen clan who possesses precognitive abilities. Most will probably recognize an intended, anime-inspired look regarding Yukio, while Fukushima is an athletically talented sort that will probably land future roles based on that particular prowess coupled with an interesting appearance. There's promise of a future traveling partner for Logan, as well.
Hiroyuki Sanada (The Last Samurai) plays "Shingen", Mariko's Father, while Will Yun Lee (Total Recall 2012) is "Harada", a deadly archer and Mariko's protector. I must admit to becoming quite confused with these two characters' allegiances and motivations by film's end. Brian Tee (We Were Soldiers) makes a couple of appearances as a corrupt city official.
Famke Janssen (Goldeneye) makes a handful of flashback-style appearances as Jean Grey, often haunting our Hero's dreams in negligee (and I'm A-O.K. with that). As major Comic Book characters never really die, I'm sure we'll see her again in future X-Men films and more than likely in a more substantial role.
James Mangold is a streaky Director (Cop Land, Identity, 3:10 to Yuma 2007) who can't seem to put a homerun film together. He's come very close a few times and I've enjoyed a handful of his movies, though there always seems to be some particular aspect of his films that doesn't quite gel. The Wolverine is no different...
A climactic title fight between Logan and a massive, robotic "Silver Samurai" isn't staged as well as it should have been while Viper's comeuppance is disappointingly lame. Throw in a poorly handled, 11th hour twist/reveal and a couple of ill-conceived one-liners and most will find the third act to be the weakest portion of what was previously a highly entertaining film. By no means does the flashier approach ruin the film, but I found myself wishing that the narrative had kept the grounded, realistic tone throughout- there will be plenty of opportunities to go bonkers with garish CGI and cartoonish mayhem in future films/sequels, so why ditch a formula that (at least in this viewer's opinion) was working so well? I also have to wonder about the disappearance of an army of ninjas from the climax, but then again, isn't that what ninja's do best? Disappear, that is...
All things considered, The Wolverine is still well worth watching for those interested- stay a few minutes into the post movie credits for one of the more solid tack-ons. Recommended.
8.0 out of 10
FWIW- The Fims in the X-Men Franchise-
X-Men (2000) - 7.5
X2 : X-Men United (2003) - 8.5
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) - 6.0
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - 5.0
X-Men: First Class (2011) - 8.5
The Wolverine, along with a host of your other favorite mutants, will return in 2014's X-Men: Days Of Future Past...
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