In the year 2009, us lovers of cinema were granted several fascinating works of art: Watchmen, Inglorious Bastards, Avatar and Star Trek. Among these spectacular films, there was one disaster. X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
It was almost impossible to accept such a blasphemy of a film that focused on the titular character of the cinematic X-Men franchise. Until now.
Here we are living in the year 2013 where we can forget about the nonsense we had to go through.
James Mangold’s The Wolverine helps us forget about our dreadful past experience and brings us the film we were longing for, without cliché or predictability.
The Wolverine follows Logan (Hugh Jackman) several years after the third X-Men film, The Last Stand, where he is exiled into the wilderness and damaged after making the traumatic decision to take the life of his one and only purpose, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) after she had turned into the villainous Phoenix.
When Logan is spotted by the clever and unique Yukio (Rila Fukushima), he is summoned to Japan by the request of an old acquaintance (Hal Yamanouchi) to say a final good bye as the old man faces death. Little does Logan know that his visit entails much more than he had expected, ultimately having to face his demons as well as go head to head with his biggest challenge of all. The reformation into mortality.
The Wolverine overcomes the sectors in which most of the recent Marvel movies are failing in, packing a punch without giving a damn. From its over the top and comic-like violence to its dark yet crafty dialogue, it includes just about everything you would expect from a Wolverine film. Although there are a few minor flaws with some special effects and an awkward ending that should’ve commenced 5 minutes before it did. The Wolverine satisfies in ways you wouldn’t expect.
What I found impressive about the film is it didn’t much feel like a superhero movie at all, instead it came off as an all out science fiction action movie which happened to star Wolverine. The Wolverine also pays respects to the popular storyline from 1982 by Chris Claremont, Joe Rubinstein, Tom Orzechowski and Frank Miller, which is a fan favourite.
The movie displays a mesmerizing and stunning take on the character that Hugh Jackman has done thus far, making every scene worth while by expressing desperation, as well as emotion in order to feel alive and worthy in a world he isn’t accepted in. It is noticeable that Jackman's acting has progressed profoundly from the earlier movies.
The Wolverine waits for your attendance; it’s the closest we will be getting to the Wolverine film we’ve been waiting for. Bring on the next of the X franchise!
