Review by Galen Garner
DIRECTED BY: James Mangold
SCREENPLAY BY: Mark Bomback, Scott Frank
STARRING: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamota, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada
With the summer of blockbuster bombs that have decimated the silver screens of America, The Wolverine was a breath of fresh air to the smoke filled Hollywood backdrop. Today, I decided that it was time to drop into the local theatre to see The Wolverine starring the famed Hugh Jackman for his sixth time over the past decade as the clawed super mutant.
If you have ever seen any of the other X-Men movies or read any of the comic books about Wolverine then you are aware that he is a very quiet and to himself guy that just wants to be left alone. He comes across as a guy that doesn’t have any problems with anyone, but if you get on his bad side he could be as mean as an old grizzly bear. The best thing to do is stay out of his territory and don’t take what belongs to him.
The Wolverine is a little different of an angle to the world of mutants and obviously the world that surrounds Logan (Wolverine). Director James Mangold decided to specifically hone in on that very fine line that overlaps Logan the man and Wolverine the animal. The movie is full of deep emotion that surrounds Wolverine as he gallivants across the island of Japan protecting the granddaughter of a man he rescued back in World War II. We learn about his past and more about what goes into living forever. The movie gives you glimpses of his continual pain, unrest, and inability to completely love someone because of his immortality.
As I mentioned this movie takes place mainly in Japan and I’m not a guy that really likes Japanese fighting movies. Nothing personal to Jackie Chen, Jet Li or Bruce Lee, but I just don’t find them all that interesting. Maybe it was The Last Samurai that did me in, but I have always felt like sleeping when someone cranks out a samurai sword. With that in mind, The Wolverine did a superb job of maintaining the gritty Canadian punch and slice style of Wolverine with that of your dojos favorite Bruce Lee flick. Good choreography makes a superhero movie and Mangold definitely paid close attention to that in this film. The last twenty minutes of the movie are dedicated to the best Wolverine fight sequence that has ever appeared in an X-men movie.
The special effects in The Wolverine aren’t over the top except for a sequence that involves a train that is moving at 200 mph with Wolverine and the assassin that he is fighting doing Cirque du Soleil tricks. Again, the choreography of this movies makes the extra special effects not really all that necessary.
This film has only been out a few days and really hasn’t done all that great domestically in the box office, but has killed it internationally by grossing over $86 million to make up 61.8% of the film’s current gross income. I’m really happy for that because this movie really does deserve respect when it comes to the X-men fold. It could possibly be the second best movie next to X-Men: First Class. Not to mention that this movie contains an incredible post-credit sequence that teases some familiar characters that will be in the X-Men: Days of Future Past.
I also have to say that I am a little peeved that there is no way to get Wolverine into the next Avengers movie. Come on! What are the Avengers without Wolverine? I realize that this is the age old battle, like the Red Sox or Yankees and Coke or Pepsi, but I really wish that 20th Century Fox could work out their petty differences with the people over at Disney to make this happen. Hugh Jackman isn’t getting any younger, although he is getting more cut, but its unlikely that he will ever be teamed up with the likes of Captain America and Ironman. That brings tears to my eyes, but what are you going to do.
So, the big question – do you go see The Wolverine? Yes, it has a fun story and has great action sequences. The dialogue is a little watered down, but who goes to a superhero movie to see people talk. I am happy to give The Wolverine a “BAG IT” on behalf of the staff at Bag & Bored.
BAG & BORED 