He's the best there is at what he does and what he does
isn't very nice.
Wolverine first appeared in the final panel of Incredible Hulk #180 and matched his
claws up against the Hulk's gamma powered fists in the very next issue. But, it
was his appearance in Giant Size
X-Men #1, when he became a full-fledged member of Marvel's premiere mutant
team, that truly launched him into the pop culture stratosphere. Since then, he
has stood as one of Marvel's most popular and enduring characters. His past was
shrouded in mystery and his no-nonsense attitude clashed with the squeaky clean
morals of his more colorfully attired peers. It's no surprise that the big
screen version has gained equal popularity. A huge part of that is owed to his
portrayal of Hugh Jackman, who was virtually unknown before he was cast by
Bryan Singer in the first X-Men
movie. To think, he almost didn't get the part. Russell Crowe's name was
originally bandied about before Dougray Scott was chosen. However, Scott had to
drop out due to filming Mission:
Impossible II, Jackman popped the claws, and the rest is history. Now,
Jackman sports the epic mutton chops of everyone's favorite Canadian superhero
for the sixth time in The Wolverine.
The Wolverine is a
title meant to signify the filmmakers' desire to capture THE definitive version
of the character on screen. This latest installment serves as an apologia to
the critically derided X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which suffered from too many characters, shoddy special effects,
and a poor attempt to shoehorn Wolverine's origin into the movie continuity. Rather
than a prequel, The Wolverine
is a direct sequel to X-Men: The Last
Stand, another mess of an X-film that also met with a poor response from
fans.
The Wolverine
opens during WWII with Logan as a POW outside of Nagasaki. Thanks to his
healing factor, he manages to survive the atomic explosion and saves the life
of a guard named Yashida. In the present, Logan lives a solitary life in the
Canadian wilderness, haunted by memories of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who he
was forced to kill during Last Stand.
Wolverine's hermit existence is interrupted by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a former
orphan and current employee of Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), who has since
become a captain of industry and now lies on his deathbed. Upon arriving in
Japan, Logan is shocked by Yashida's proposal to take his healing factor and
allow our hero to grow old and live a normal life. Logan also stumbles onto a
whole mess of political and corporate intrigue involving Yashida's granddaughter,
Mariko (Tao Okamoto), who stands to inherit the entire company. The Yakuza are
after Mariko and it seems her father, Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada), and fiancé (Brian
Tee) want a piece of the pie too. Then, there's the Viper (Svetlana
Khodchenkova), a mad scientist with her own agenda for stripping Wolverine of
his mutant powers.
The Wolverine is a
refreshing change of pace from the usual comic book movies where entire cities
are reduced to rubble. The movie is surprisingly light in action and heavy on introspection.
The script credited to Scott Frank and Mark Bomback (who rewrote an initial
draft by Christopher McQuarrie) used the 1982 mini-series by Chris Clairemont
and Frank Miller as a springboard to explore the title character's existential
crisis. While superheroes bemoaning the burden of their powers have become cliché,
it fits Wolverine perfectly. Director James Mangold (who replaced Darren
Aronofsky) draws on a variety of inspirations including film noir, spaghetti
westerns, and Japanese masters like Kurosawa and Mizoguchi. The tender romance
between Logan and Mariko blossoms when they seek sanctuary in a seaside town
will immediately bring forth thoughts of Ozu.
Jackman makes the noir and western comparisons apt by giving
a performance that evokes Clint Eastwood and Robert Mitchum. He's the gruff
tough guy smoldering with rage and ready to explode in a violent fury. Practically
stealing the show is newcomer Rila Fukushima as Wolvie's pixie punk sidekick. With
her large and expressive eyes, Fukushima looks like a Japanese Christina Ricci
or a girl who just stepped off the page of a well-worn manga. Forget about more
X-Men movies; give us the adventures of Wolverine & Yukio. Perhaps, take
them to the isle of Madripoor?
The Wolverine
isn't entirely about soul searching and belly gazing. Mangold, who gave us the
excellent remake of 3:10 to Yuma,
puts together several solid action sequences. The highlight sees Wolverine
doing battle against Yakuza thugs on top of a speeding bullet train. We also witness
the amazing visual of Wolverine being turned into a human porcupine when he
takes on a clan of ninja archers. Yukio gets in on the fun with a swordfight
against Hiroyuki Sanada, who is terrific for the limited part he plays.
Where Wolverine
goes off the rails is during the third act when all the character work is
tossed away in favor of mind numbing spectacle. It's as if someone forgot they
were supposed to make a comic book movie and threw in a giant robot samurai.
Meanwhile, the Viper is thrown into the mix without much thought with
Khodchenkova (who was quite good in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) sounding like she should have gone after moose and
squirrel instead of Wolverine. The story only requires a cursory knowledge of
the franchise. In fact, being steeped in X-Men lore may be a curse and not a
blessing as it reveals numerous hiccups in continuity. For one thing, how does
Logan suddenly have all his memories?
Third act aside, The
Wolverine differentiates itself from the majority of recent comic book
films by not relying heavily on tired tropes or expensive effects. Just be sure to stay through the first half of
the credits to see a teaser for X-Men:
Days of Future Past.
Rating: *** (*****)
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