Today's Mini-Review: The Wolverine

The Wolverine: ***/*****, or 7/10

Hugh Jackman returns to the role of Logan, the X-Man with the healing factor and adamantium skeleton and claws, for the sixth time (after only a brief but hilarious cameo appearance in X-Men: First Class (2011)). Several years after the cataclysmic events of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), that witnessed the death of his beloved Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) at his own hands for the greater good, Logan is still in agony, travelling through Canada aimlessly in search for something to believe in again. When young female ninja Yukio (Rila Fukushima) finds him at a bar picking a fight with irresponsible hunters, she offers him a chance for redemption, of sorts. Her employer, the powerful Japanese clan leader and major industrialist Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), is dying and wants to thank Logan for having saved his life back in 1945, when an atom bomb was dropped on both their heads at Nagasaki. Logan haphazardly accepts the invitation but is dismayed to learn the old man's offer of taking his “curse” of “immortality” – not wholly accurate, as Wolverine isn't truly immortal, he just ages much slower than everybody else – for himself so he won't have to die,and Logan can live a normal life if he so chooses. All too soon, Logan finds himself immersed in a complicated web of intrigue in the clan's affairs, revolving around Yashida's legacy and his decision to leave everything to his granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) upon his demise. Before long, the girl has to run for her life, dodging Yakuza bullets and ninja swords, but fortunately Logan has taken a liking to her and aims to protect her from harm. Matters turn worse when Yashida's shady physician, a sexy mutant poisoner named Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), manages to disable Logan's healing abilities, thus rendering him vulnerable. 

Credit has to be given to Jackman for sticking to the Wolverine character for so long, which prohibits the use for a reboot at some point as most other superheroes with movie careers have already experienced. It also allows for Logan's emotional and sensual side to be explored, something director James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma) doesn't amply succeed in. It seems odd for this typically 'loner' character, who finally found a family with his fellow mutants, to just go and get himself caught up in what's basically a very private affair in a family he doesn't know, in a culture he hardly understands, even though he had nothing to lose. The various family ploys and their ramifications for Japanese and Yakuza politics hardly feel coherent, as everybody has his or her own motivations for gaining power, some of them underexposed, others needlessly complicated and layered so their bigger picture proves difficult to grasp. Logans romantic entanglement with Mariko is a typical Hollywood love plot, except for Logan being plagued by inexplicable, pointless visions of dear deceased Jean: of course her death still haunts her, but apparently her mental powers have left some sort of astral imprint upon Logan, or so I surmise since the writers never bother to fully explain this aspect of the plot. It just seems like an overly simple, lazy excuse to get Famke Janssen back for a few short sequences. Whatever the movie lacks in character logic it mostly makes up for in action, with a knife fight on the roof of a high speeds train as the most intense moment in that category. Otherwise however, the action scenes seem somewhat repetitive with their focus on samurai and ninja clichés, culminating in a big action piece between Logan and a mecha-warrior with a burning sword, which is this movie's take on Marvel's original Silver Samurai character. The make-up of some featured characters sure deviates from their original comics counterparts, as was to be expected but necessarily appreciated. Similarly to Silver Samurai now being a robot-armour instead of a kinetically charged mutant in shiny, traditional Nippon warrior garb, Viper has transformed from a typical assassin dabbling in assorted toxins to a full fledged snake like mutant, complete with silly forked tongue, the ability to spit poison and skin shedding issues. The only character who stands out next to the ass-kicking Wolverine himself is the tough, lite and wise-cracking Yukio, both dangerous and playful, who brings some much needed lightheartedness in an otherwise all too dramatic and emotionally heavy superhero film. The Wolverine is only a minor improvement over Logan's previous solo adventure X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). Though more room is given for Logan's personal turmoil, the side characters for the most part aren't as colourful and compelling this time around, nor is the action delivered in a diverse manner to keep capturing the audience's imagination. Nevertheless, the short teaser for the next X-flick, next year's X-Men: Days of Future Past, wedged in halfway into the end credits, sure makes the levels of anticipation rise tremendously, considering what other popular characters make a comeback.