Wait, so now WHO is the bad guy?
"The Wolverine" is the latest summer blockbuster that has allowed Hugh Jackman to don the trademark sideburns and wife beater for the fifth time...Jesus, he must want to get away from this by now. The fact is, Jackman has been playing this character for about a decade-and doing a fine job of it-and the impact of the character is starting to dilute, in my opinion.
"The Wolverine" starts with the titular character living alone in the North American wilderness, having taken a vow to never hurt anyone again. This vow lasts about five minutes into the movie, as expected, and he seems to have no problem slicing through dozens of people later on. Logan is plagued nightly by the centuries of memories he's lived through including the ghost of Jean Gray, who appears in his bed most nights to taunt his thoughts and actions. The movie starts with a flashback to Nagasaki, where Logan rescues an officer named Yashida in a scene that is about as pleasant as you would expect for viewing an atomic bomb devastate a country.
Back in present day...meaning the future, I guess...it's never really established, which is kind of a trope for X-Men at this point. Anyway, back in the future, Logan is picked up by a Japanese mutant working for Yashida, one of the most powerful men in Japan. Yashida wishes to thank Logan for saving his life, as well as making him a strange offer. Yashida seems to understand what Logan has been through, and offers him a release from his immortal life. Logan refuses and Yashida dies, unable to convince Logan further. However, Logan is attacked in the night and finds the next day that he is not healing as well as before when Yashida's funeral is attacked and Logan is put in charge of protecting Yashida's granddaughter.
From the title, I thought this would be a sequel of sorts to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." However, it is more like a sequel to "X-Men: The Last Stand," as it takes place an undisclosed amount of time later. It is a spiritual successor to "Origins," in that it focuses entirely on Wolverine and his life, as well as answering the question "How many times can we murder Wolverine in the most gruesome ways possible, just to have him heal again?" Also, "How many times can this dude fall in love with every girl he meets?"
This is one of those movies where there are three acts that are so vastly different that they don't seem to be driving towards any sort of goal. Also, there are a bunch of random villains and even after the movie was over I'm still not sure who the main antagonist was because there are so many surprise enemies. It starts with Logan being brought to Japan. Then he is protecting Yashida's granddaughter at a small cottage in a quiet village. Then he is attacking an enormous facility wherein a giant mech suit of adamantium was built. There are so many twist and turns that half of the movie I was wondering who were the real bad guys and what was their motivation.
The plot kind of peters out halfway through the movie and is replaced by standard save-the-girl movie bullshit. Wolverine is simply too damn powerful to ever be killed, though they come pretty damn close. As with the latest Die Hard movie, I am tempted to say that fans of the series would enjoy watching it, but that is too cheap for a blog with such integrity as this one!
"The Wolverine" earns an Avoid It rating for lackluster writing, poor pacing, and confusing storytelling. Despite some memorable acting performances, including those of Mr. Jackman and the enormous veins in his arms, this movie ultimately fails to deliver.
Until next time, please leave your thoughts on the movie in the comments. I love to hear the opinions!
-kmaker
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