August 5, 2013

 

*Spoiler Alerts*

 

I’ll start off by saying that I was a little disappointed in The Wolverine, but not surprised with the film. Hugh Jackman does a great job as the ‘mutant with the trouble past,’ as usual. Also, he’s really, really beefed up, so ladies, you have something to look at while your man gets his Marvel, X-Men geek on.

 

The film starts in 1945, Logan, the Wolverine, (Jackman) is being held captive at a POW camp in Japan, just as the atomic bombing in Nagasaki occurs. He saves one of the officers, Yashida, by shielding him from the blast. Fast forward to present day, where Logan is living in solitude somewhere in the Yukon, where he is battling his usual demons and mourning the loss of his former lover, who he was forced to kill in the last X-Men, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). He is tracked down by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), who is not only a mutant who can see people’s deaths, but also an adopted granddaughter of Yashida. She is tasked with bring Logan to her grandfather’s death bed, so he can say good-bye.

 

When Logan arrives in Japan, it turns out Yashida has an ulterior motive. He offers to ‘relieve’ Logan of his immortality, basically so he can live. Logan refuses and Yashida dies. During the night, Yashida’s doctor, Dr. Green/Viper, (Svetlana Khodchenkova) implants a device that will weaken Logan inside him, though he brushes it off, thinking it was a dream.

 

During Yashida’s funeral, his granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto) is almost kidnapped. Logan saves her and they go on the run. They are attacked a few other times and get away. Finally, she is kidnapped and Logan goes back to Yashida’s complex to team up with Yukio again. Meanwhile, each time Logan gets injured in a fight, he doesn’t heal right away. In the lab, he’s forced to remove the implanted bug that’s attached itself to his heart (gross!)

 

After a few more fights, including one with a huge robot, which is actually Yashida, that sucks Logan’s ‘immortality’ from him, all the bad guys are defeated. Logan bids farewell to Mariko, who has taken over her grandfather’s company. He and Yukio then board a plane to ‘anywhere.’

 

In a credits sequence, it’s two years later and Logan is at an airport. He runs in Magneto and Professor X. It’s a good set-up for the next X-Men installment. I’m curious to see how Professor X ‘came back to life,’ which I’m sure they will address in the next film.

 

The fight sequences were pretty awesome. And as I mentioned, Jackman is jacked up and pretty hot. He fulfills his role as the elusive and troubled Logan with ease. When he gets angry, you can feel his pain. And when he is injured, you just want him to get up and win! But, after all the fights, in the end, I just think this film missed the mark. While it digs deeper into the Wolverine’s past and addresses some of the Jean Grey sadness, he seems to move on pretty quickly with Mariko. It was nice to have Janssen back in his flashbacks, as I like her acting.  And we get introduced to Yukio, who is considered one of the deadliest assassins in Shingen’s clan. I’m curious if they will explore her character more in future films. However, from what I’m told, the storyline slightly differs from the comics, which again, is disappointing.

 

My advice, skip this one, wait for Blu-Ray and go see Pacific Rim for bigger, badder and better robots!