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Many
people were confused as to why we would be seeing another Wolverine
movie so
soon after 2009’s X-Men Origins:
Wolverine. Surely we now understand how Logan came to be Wolverine
by
seeing the first film. What else could there possibly be to say on the
matter
that we don’t already know? There was speculation that The
Wolverine was to be a remake of X-Men Origins:
Wolverine, which now seems quite absurd. The Wolverine
takes place after X-Men: The Last Stand, but
begins with a
memory of Logan’s from when he was a prisoner of war in Japan and he
saves a
soldier from his certain death.
In the present, Logan is living a
solitary
existence in the woods out of fear of hurting all those who he becomes
close
to, but his world is turned upside down when he meets Yukio (Rila
Fukushima),
who wants Logan to travel with her back to Japan as his friend who he
saved his
dying and wants to say goodbye. He soon finds that Yashida (Hal
Yamanouchi) was
after a bit more than a farewell and becomes intertwined in a world of
family
politics and the appearance of the mutant Viper (Svetlana
Khodchenkova), who is
wickedly evil and has her sights set on Logan.
Straight
off the bat, The Wolverine is not
your typical X-Men film. It is purely
a one man show with the presence of only one other mutant. It doesn’t
have the
same superhero feel that is present in the series of films. It is more
the
story of a conflicted man (mutant) finding his way again. Even though
the film
isn’t stereotypically a superhero action film, there is plenty of
action to go
around. The film is at its best if it is witnessed in 3D, with its
spectacular man
on man (and often woman on woman) combat scenes, which contain Logan’s
chosen
style of combat mixed with Japanese martial arts.
However,
the story is mostly dependant on the action of the film. The story is
not a
particularly interesting one or very well constructed either. One thing
that
many people will find is that the character of Logan and his abilities
will not
make any sense if you haven’t seen the X-Men films.
There is almost no character background of Viper, but
unlike Logan
she does not have any past films to help people out on this front. It
may
disappoint those who have seen and are fans of the X-Men films
that this is so different from the others, but on the
flip side it doesn’t entirely work as a standalone film. While not a
particularly strong storyline, it is interesting enough. The setting
for the
film being Japan and the integration of Japanese culture with the
figure of
Wolverine makes this action film different from the huge flow of action
films
that has occurred over the past few months.
Hugh
Jackman has no problem playing a role which he has made his own. It
would be so
hard for him to give a bad performance as Logan/Wolverine as it is all
his and
he knows the role so well. Yet you still can’t help but think how well
he does
on screen. He’s a harsh character who still has no problems obtaining
sympathy
from the audience for his trials and inner turmoil. Plus there is no
doubt that
he is a very entertaining character. Rila Fukushima is also very
entertaining
and great to watch on screen as she is, again, not a stereotypical
action film
girl. She isn’t the damsel in distress, yet she isn’t one with absolute
superpowers either. The Wolverine isn’t
a film to absolutely delight, but it does provide entertainment and
keeps the X-Men wheel in motion whilst waiting for
the release of the upcoming X-Men: Days
Of Future Past.
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