Marvel Mania 2: The Wolverine

The Wolverine (2013)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima
Directed by: James Mangold


When news came out that they were planning another movie about Wolverine, I was terrified. We all knew that the last attempt at one was horrific, so was another one really a good idea? Not to mention, the X-Men franchise had some new life with the release of X-Men: First Class, so we were at a time for things to start fresh. If there was anything that made fans retract their claws (PUN!), it was the announcement that this film would follow Wolverine in Japan, a very popular setting for Wolverine in the comics. But for me, that only increased the amount of pressure that needed to be pushed on this film. This is a fan-favorite storyline, so they better deliver. Especially since they butchered another fan-favorite story arc when they tried to do the Phoenix Saga in X-Men: The Last Stand. The result was The Wolverine, a movie that was...just fine. Nothing overly memorable, but nothing deplorable. It was just fine. So let's look at what kinda works and what doesn't kinda work with The Wolverine.

The characters that are brought into the fold aren't overly memorable. I know I'm a casual X-Men fan, but I don't think there were a lot of characters in this film that fans were clamoring to see. The only real standout is Rila Fukushima as Yukio, serving as a semi-comic relief sidekick for Wolverine, who is able to impress in an action scene or two. Apart from that, the rest of the characters are pretty interchangeable, and I can honestly say is one of the more forgettable supporting casts I've seen in an X-Men movie so far.

One of the big factors to make this film exciting was the idea that it would follow the Japanese story in Wolverine's life. We get it all aesthetically: Japanese setting, yakuza, samurai, and more. Unfortunately, I think it's a good concept on paper but could use a little help in the execution. There's a lot of mystery and intrigue that could happen with Wolverine in Japan, but he's just kind of there for the ride. Dive into his psyche, give us a chapter of Wolverine's story that actually helps him become the mutant we know and love, or at least up the gore factor.

There's really a lot of potential for The Wolverine to be a fantastic, but it can be so boring that it's hard to sit through. Without a doubt, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine saves this film from being a disaster. He brightens any action scene, adds humor in many places, and gives us a character we love to follow and learn more about. There are some characters that are fun to see and the Japanese setting is at least unique, but not everything is coherent enough to make a memorable film. I mean, I sat through it, thought some of it was good, but couldn't really think of much to say or write about it afterwards. But I certainly didn't hate watching it. There's a bit of a grey area with this film. Not awful, but not great. It's fine. Just fine. But, with how many good X-Men movies there have been over time, this tends to tilt downward toward the lesser pile.

And to close, we have a mid-credits scene to talk about. And it's a pretty big one. Wolverine is walking through an airport when *SPOILERS* Magneto pops up behind him and has his powers again (something that was teased at the end of X-Men: The Last Stand). When Wolverine asks why he should trust or help Magneto, Professor Charles Xavier shows up alive (also teased at the end of The Last Stand). Xavier and Magneto on the same side asking for Wolverine's help? OH MY GOODNESS!!! Thankfully, fans only had to wait a year to see what would happen next because a scene like this can only have the fans hyped to see what happens next.


Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Japanese setting is interesting and there are a lot of scenes that are pretty good, but there's a minor cohesion issue with The Wolverine in trying to make sense of all of it. Add that it can be very boring at times, and you have an X-Men movie that isn't a necessity to check out, but would be a harmless effort if you did.

The Wolverine and movie images are copyrighted by 20th Century Fox