The Wolverine

 

Hugh Jackman has always been the perfect actor for the role of ‘Wolverine’ and the latest instalment within the ‘X-Men’ franchise is no exception. Amazingly this is his fifth time taking on the role and like the previous films, Jackman is sufficiently unhinged as the mutant with metal claws and an accelerated healing ability.

The movie focuses on Logan’s (Jackman’s) life post the events of the original X-Men trilogy, tying in quite nicely to that story, but still holding up well as a standalone movie. It also has a slightly darker edge than the previous X-Men films, which is effective given the story and the character the action is set around.

The film begins with Logan being in what could be described as a bad place. Emotionally devastated from the events in the last X-Men film, he has become something of a hermit as he tries to distance himself from the world and the people in it. He is then summoned to Japan by an old friend who wishes to free him from his curse of immortality. This is where things get interesting and the action kicks off. Surprisingly, the movie has more plot twists than your average action film, which keeps you engaged even if the action scenes and special effects weren’t enough to do the job.

James Mangold is the director for ‘The Wolverine’. He has an impressive list of films in his resume, including the likes of ‘Walk the Line’ and ‘Girl Interrupted’. Interestingly though, he doesn’t have much in the action genre, so it was always going to be interesting to see how this one turned out. As a first run at a proper action film (if you don’t count the likes of ‘Knight and Day’) I’d say he’s done a pretty good job. Aside from a slow patch in the middle of the film, the movie was well paced. The action sequences and fight scenes were well executed. Even the comedy had me laughing out loud, as it didn’t fall victim to the cheese that most action flicks do when they try to be funny.

As far as performances go, not only does Jackman look the part of the rugged and wild Wolverine, but he also has the acting ability to pull off the more dramatic scenes, as his character battles with the loss of so many of his friends in the previous X-Men film. The supporting characters will be largely unknown to western audiences, save only for Hiroyuki Sanada who featured quite prominently in ‘The Large Samurai’. Rila Fukushima plays a great sidekick to the Wolverine, saving him from a few dicey situations with her own set of ninja moves.

‘The Wolverine’ was hard to fault and is a definite improvement on the previous ‘Wolverine’ film. It has a good story, exciting action scenes, sufficient drama and even some laughs along the way. It wasn’t exceptional though, so perhaps most aptly described as a jack of all trades but a master of none. I give it a 7 out of 10.