[Films] The Wolverine

The summer blockbuster deluge continues with another superhero movie. This time it's the latest in the X-Men set of films, and the second one to focus on one of its most popular characters - Wolverine. The first standalone, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was an average film with some interesting but poorly executed ideas. Does "The Wolverine" rise above it to match "First Class" or "X2", or is it more of the same?

The poster for this film is very, very cool. (Credit: thewolverinemovie.com)

I'll preface this by saying that, much like "Man of Steel", I was interested in this film but not hugely excited. I like the character of Logan/Wolverine, but prefer his cartoon version to the Hugh Jackman portrayal (I have nothing against Jackman, who I think is a very good actor). To me though the more interesting X-Men characters from the films were Professor X and Magneto, and my favourite mutant has always been Gambit from the cartoon series (he throws energised playing cards for crying out loud). "Origins" also sort of ruined my enthusiasm for the character; as I said it was a decent action film, but not really an "X-Men" film. But I thought I'd go to see this anyway, to see if there was some kind of link to the upcoming "Days of Future Past", about which I'm very excited. 

"The Wolverine" turned out to be a better film than "Origins", but sadly was not as good as the best instalments in the X-Men franchise. Whilst Origins went back in the past, exploring the reasons for Wolverine's behaviour and attitude in the original X-Men trilogy, this film fits into the canon after the events of "X3: Final Stand". Wolverine is haunted by visions/dreams of Jean Grey, who he loved buy had to kill when she became the Phoenix, and is hiding in the wilderness. Through a series of events he ends up in Japan to meet a man who's life he saved in World War 2, and inevitably gets caught up in a a plot regarding the line of succession for that man's company.

Wolverine hiding in a hole. This flashback is seen several times during the film, developing the backstory

time. (Credit: thehollywoodnews.com)

One of the best, and most interesting, aspects of this film is the character development experienced by Wolverine. Watching him evolve from a hatred of civilisation and a desire to stay away from other people, and seeing how he gets drawn back into humanity, is very interesting. It does happen very quickly though, which stretches incredulity a bit, particularly the relationship that is the catalyst for the whole process (and indeed the whole film).

The plot is rather confusing, and in the end doesn't really make a lot of sense. There seem to be several different factions, who ultimately all want the same thing, but seem to be fighting over it. None of them seem to be aware of the goals of the other factions, and it takes Wolverine a surprising length of time to realise that it's actually him who's being targeted, not the young lady he's fallen in love with. There are some good fight scenes, but as usual the ability of his claws seems to vary according to plot requirements which is frustrating.

It's the Silver Samurai! He's pretty cool, but ultimately not a very satisfying villain. There are

some very interesting consequences and implications of his interaction with Wolverine though. (Credit: villains.wikia.com)

Speaking of fighting, there are some great action scenes here that make use of some classic Japanese tropes. There's the fight on top of the bullet train, which is very well done and one of the highlights of the film. Then there are the samurai swords everywhere, the involvement of the Yakuza, and Wolverine's altercation with a bunch of ninjas (which oddly seems to lack one of the scenes from the trailers and isn't really much of a fight). Not to mention the fact that the big bad guy is a giant samurai robot made from adamantium!

For an X-Men film there are very few mutants involved. There are basically only three - Wolverine, his 'sidekick' who can see the future in a limited fashion, and the evil scientist, appropriately named 'Viper', who has some crazy snake-like powers. That's actually a strength though; the film becomes more about the story rather than the number of different mutant powers, which was were X3 fell down.

Viper is a seriously weird lady. She's got some very interesting abilities, but is a little underused

I feel. (Credit: mrmoviefilmblog.wordpress.com)

In the end, if you're not a fan of the X-Men then I'd give this film a miss. If you are, then this is a better experience than "Origins", but still not great. It's a enjoyable action film though, and if you go to see it you should definitely stay through the credits.