"What kind of monster are you?"
The Wolverine review
I think I can honestly say I have never seen a comic book movie quite like The Wolverine. This is a new kind of animal.
Following the disaster that was Origins to fans even if financially it did well, even star Hugh Jackman has eluded to this it seems
fox decided to go in a VERY different direction to bring the adimantium one back to the big screen and went for something nobody was
quite expecting or quite prepared for, critics or fans, which is probably the reason why opinion on it is so very split at this current
time and will continue to be so no doubt, but it makes for something far more interesting and engaging in the comic book movie world.
It is a far more cerebral, adult and introverted comic book film than any other Xmen, Marvel or hell even any comic book movie to date, actually delving into the hero's psyche unlike any we have seen with maybe the exception of Batman Begins, seeing what is actually going on inside his head, motivating him (or at the start of the movie de-motivating him!) to do and say what he does. This is a risky and bold direction for a summer blockbuster to go in forgoing, mostly, the usual big bang for your buck ideas that put bums on seats, this is one for fans of the character more than most comic book movies, but for most of this unusual ride James Mangold steers the ship on an exhilirating, beautiful and down write brutal ride only once or twice coming close to the rocks.
It is true, like many other Marvel films (Magneto aside) there is no great villain unearthed here, the main antagonists are well done, have suitable motivation to do what they do and serve the story well but again not on the level that the DC movie universe can boast to date, but this is because Logans greatest battle is with his own demons, or within his own head to be more precise. This is another pointer to the conclusion that this is not a typical CBM, it is not a battle of good v evil with millions of lives at stake but just one, his own. As the film starts, Logan has the claws but he does not know in which direction to point them, a stray animal with no master.
But for the lack of an outstanding enemy there are two outstanding allies, enter Yukio, and later Mariko, one a whirling dervish of an assassin, flame haired and a great foil to Logans rough and brooding nature and the other the heir apparent and a breath of fresh air to the CBM world, a new beauty to tame the beast. Both are expertly played by Rila Fukushima and Tao Okamoto. Both are first timers. Both must surely come back again.
The pace and tone of the first hour and a half are more like a noir thriller than a summer blockbuster film, but this is the very reason it soars above its competition, its builds character, Logan's arc here is probably the best for a super hero in a movie since Bale's Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, it develops relationships, told via gut wrenching and heart breaking flasbacks for one, that are not only believable but also natural not forced because the story demands it.
However there is still plenty of time inbetween the character development to include some of the best action sequences ever displayed in a comic book movie. A funeral that starts with one death but ends with many more is beautifully shot in daylight and Japan as the backdrop is more visually rich than normal settings for Marvel comic book movie action. A fight on top of a speeding bullet train is both exhilarating and original, a game of chess at 300mph with the losing pieces scattered to who knows where across Tokyo.
The crowning piece however is a three way royal rumble of samurai proportions,a spectacular bladed fight of sword on sword on claw, with some outstanding choreography and cat like moves which not only dazzles as a spectacle but also mesmerize's the senses, all done without a single pixel from a computer (take note Snyder and Wheedon) and culminating in a climax that satisfies in every way. (You really will believe Hugh Jackman is "The Wolverine").
But the best part about these fights is not the bodycount or the way yakuza's and ninja's are despatched but that you will care about the characters and the outcome of them because the director has allowed breathing space to let the audience get to know the antagonists and protaginists in the opening acts so that by the time the climax does come the stakes and motivations are clear.
Ah yes the difficult third act, a sticking point for many a film, how to go out with a flourish, to leave everyone wanting more or closure to the proceedings before it, in truth, as well documented the Wolverine does end on familiar territory but no worse than what he
have seen before from the likes of Ironman or The Avengers, its just a reminder that we were watching a comic book movie all along
even though it felt like something else before, something evolved, that different kind of animal we first met. Yet despite its perceived flaws in the third act there are still some outstanding moments of pain that will effect characters in the longterm, action that finally shows Logan against a superior opponent we have longed to see and emotional pay off that tugs at the heartstrings.
There are other drawbacks and missteps however, but they are few, Viper hisses and spits but never really bites, Harada is the dark mystery potential that remains that way, never evolving from it, potential lost. Thankfully they do not eat up much screen time or hurt the bigger picture.
Like any movie, however, and even more so in a comic book movie some may argue, it is only as good as the message it conveys so that we can take something away and apply it to our own lives and it is in this area that The Wolverine trumps most other comic book movies. It conveys to us that no matter what we lose in life, no matter how far lost we think we are beyond redemption, hope will always give us a chance, sometimes in the strangest of places and people and lead us back on the road to recovery and if we decide to take that chance we can move on and we can let go of the past to make a brighter future for ourselves.
So overall to the score or rating of the wolverine and it was not an easy one, it has taken two viewings to fully explore everything
in this film, as the first was such a shock to the system so unexpected, so very different to what came before to take it all in in one
sitting was impossible. There are new things tried here, risks taken and cliches avoided and for the most part they work together unlike any other CBM made before it, of course this means that there is greater chance for things to go wrong but they are few and far between and worth paying the price for to finally have the wolverine film fans have always craved since his first appearance all the way back in X1.
This isnt you normal comic book movie.
But then this isnt your normal comic book hero.
This is THE WOLVERINE!
9/10
t:
. So he made sure they really did it right this time. Now we have THE definitive Wolverine movie that's getting love from the fans and received fairly well by critics.
