The Wolverine Review

Hugh Jackman clearly has the character of Wolverine down, and James Mangold directs this feature that revives the hope for future X-Men associated productions.

The X-Men series has taken a beating lately. From Wolverine's first solo film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, to the huge Brett Ratner disappointment X-Men: The Last Stand, audiences and critics alike have been let down by the quality of X-Men movies being released. Luckily, Hugh Jackman has better material to work with this time around. It's fair to say, Brett Ratner is no James Mangold. The Wolverine finally shows audiences that Wolverine can carry his own motion picture and keep you thoroughly entertained from start to finish. With X-Men: Days of Future Past coming to theaters in early 2014, it was extremely important to leave off the X-Men franchise with a movie that would make you want to come back for more, and that is what this does. The story is very interesting and lets you know enough to keep you invested. It doesn't let you know too much about what's really going on under the surface, just the right amount to keep you interested and in the end, surprised. Wolverine as a character has always been extremely tough, vulnerability was never really shown in his character, or at least not well. Finally, Wolverine's vulnerability is portrayed realistically and tragically, making his character have more depth than ever before. The Wolverine has a much different feel than the previous X-Men movies, mostly due to the heavy Japanese influence throughout the movie. Fortunately, a change of pace proved to be what this series truly needed. The cast, with the exception of Hugh, Famke Janssen, and two special cameos shown in the middle of the credits, are mostly unknowns. However, their performances give the impression they have been in this business for a while now. The final fight scene in this film was perhaps the scene that "jumped the shark". Without giving away any spoilers, we'll just say the film takes a turn for the worst and wounders into cartoony and campy territory. Overall, in comparison to the last couple Wolverine films, this is far superior and restrained. Jackman and the rest of the cast give good performances, and while the final fight scene was a bit silly, the action was well done.  Final Rating- B