REVIEW: THE WOLVERINE

Marvel Comics has unleashed their second movie this summer based on their stable of comic book superheroes. Wolverine, famous for being part of the mutant band called X-Men, returns to the big screen again in The Wolverine which sees his character riding solo for the second time from his superhero friends. Wolverine is one of my favourite characters. I even had my hair done to resemble Wolverine's hairstyle. I will reveal the photo at the end of the review.

The Wolverine is a follow-up to the character's stand alone film after the success of X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). It is without a doubt that Hugh Jackman would return to play Logan a.k.a. Wolverine. The film is now directed by James Mangold (Knight & Day, Walk The Line). The film co-stars Tao Okamoto, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rila Fukushima, Will Yun Lee, and Svetlana Khodchenkova.

As you can tell by the names of the actors, the film has a Japanese theme to it. In the world of Marvel Comics, Wolverine in Japan is one of the famous storylines among fans. But will the movie adaptation live up to it?

Hugh Jackman as Logan a.k.a. Wolverine

SYNOPSIS:
After the death of Jean Grey, Logan has gone into hiding and becomes a recluse. Lately, he has been experiencing nightmares about a past history in Japan. As he struggles to survive, a young Japanese woman shows up and request Logan to meet her master, an old friend of Logan. Once in Japan, Logan discovers an elaborate plot to destroy his old friend and works his way to protect his family.

Logan and Yukio (Rila Fukushima) arrives in Japan

SCRIPT:
Written by famous screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie, Mark Bomback, and Scott Frank, the film is quite a good adaptation of the superhero character. Somehow, it veers off by focusing too much on backstories. Good characterization for the main cast. Not too cheesy lines too. There were pretty good comedic moments though I felt there should be more.

The Wolverine and his claws

ACTING:
It is a Hugh Jackman film. Most of the scenes have him in it. He towers over the other actors (in terms of performance and height). The rest of the cast did okay with the exception of Hiroyuki Sanada who plays Shingen. The inclusion of a vixen didn't help boost the acting credibility.

Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper

FILMING:
Director James Mangold was never quite good in action films. His action-driven films such as Knight & Day and 3:10 to Yuma were flops. However, his dramatic-based films such as Walk The Line and Girl, Interrupted were very good. Mangold's direction is just okay at best. The action scenes were pretty lame and had minimal exciting moments. The visual effects was not too grand either.

Jackman and Sanada filming a scene

PACING:
Good start, punchy and exciting. Very very slow in the middle and draggy. Great ending but I felt it could be better.

TONE (MOOD):
Superhero in action trying to make right of what went wrong and in the meantime, tries to rescue the damsel in distress.

Wolverine battles his enemies

DOWNSIDE:
Great script and great storyline but doesn't sustain long enough to keep the audience interested. Many unknown supporting characters.

UPSIDE:
Hugh Jackman improving his performance compared to the previous film. Nice comedy insertions and beautiful Japanese girls.

Japanese actress Rila Fukushima as Yukio

OVERALL:
Yet another summer popcorn movie. Mildly entertaining but a good storyline. Do STAY for the middle of end-credits for an EXTRA scene that teases the next movie in the X-Men universe which is X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). You won't want to miss it.

RATING:
6.5 out of 10

My 'Wolverine' hair