Directed by:
James MangoldCinematography:
Ross EmeryComposer:
Marco BeltramiCast:
Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Brian Tee, Will Yun Lee, Famke Janssen, James Fraser, Ian McKellen (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
In modern day Japan, Wolverine is out of his depth in an unknown world as he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before. (20th Century Fox UK)
(more)Videos (21)
Reviews (10)
A completely different take on the character of Wolverine than last time. At first it seems that the psychological approach might work, but appearances are deceiving. Jackman just goes to Japan for a bit of meditation, which goes a bit awry, only to have everything go back to the way it was. The action, however, is at best amateurish this time, and its intertwining with the drawn-out plot can't work without a quality villain. When it finally comes to a proper clash between Wolverine and the entire clan of ninjas (ala Neo versus the mobs of Agents Smith in Matrix: Reloaded), he takes out about two of them and then they ridiculously run on motorcycles. If I gave credit for the excellent Hugh Jackman in the previous episode, I won't do it this time after two hours of boredom.
()
Another comic book protagonist had to go through the inner darkness of his soul, tormented by the demons of missing memories of his own past. It starts off great. Wolverine against the devious yakuza doesn't take the traditional comic book route but rather weaves a complex mafia-political web that would put any CIA field agent-analyst to shame. And he also lacks the essential skills. The problem arises when the adamantium claws pierce the skin to slice up the evil minions by the dozens. Hugh Jackman can look all sorts of cool (and we can be assured that absolutely no one has ever fit any other comic book role better), but when you send him into serious action, it feels somehow out of place. This is somewhat because it’s an extra aspect compared to the rest of the film, just to meet the demands of it being a blockbuster. And the mental autopsy itself? Barking about how great B.S. was at it is boring, but Matthew Vaughn actually did it better. It's not a bad movie, it's just that routine comic book characters should be left to routine directors.
()
A slow and very personal drama that loses it toward the end when it turns into the comic far too heavy-handedly. A shame that Aronofsky didn’t make it. Not that Mangold didn’t do a good job, but his signature isn’t as pronounced, tending too much toward the mainstream. But maybe the producers wanted just that. The shift to Japan, where Wolverine is a little out of his depth (but doesn’t try to adapt), is like manna for the viewer. Although we aren’t bombarded with the exotic (was it a problem to film the chase at night with the neons switched on?), but it adds to the scope of the X-Men universe. Jackman is awesome and after the thirteen years he’s been playing his role, it’s become second nature, and worked out for this movie and looks like a huge, invincible gorilla in the fight with Sanada. All the more I was disappointed with the very cursory encounter with the seven hundred ninja’s which I almost didn’t notice. The finale, if a little over the top, had its moments and overall I took utterly positive feelings away with me. Hype can be harmful.
()
It's a shame, but The Wolverine didn't do it for me. Not that this movie was outright bad, but I enjoyed it a little less than the last Origins and a lot less than the first two installments of the saga. Hugh Jackman tries really hard, he loves Logan and knows what fans want to see and hear. But unfortunately, the futile script makes it difficult for him. The plot was inspired by the excellent comic book by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, but it basically took only the names of the characters, Japan and a few situations. It did not use the powerful yet simple story. Instead, the film is at times overwrought and at times too simple, the intimate moments between Wolverine and Mariko are probably the best, and of the action scenes I liked the one on the express train the best. The rest was pretty much short and stout in terms of imagination or Wolverine's rampage (the school ambush scene from X-Men 2, where Wolverine is at his most Wolverine-like, still leads in this regard). Apart from the opening in Nagasaki, this time there were no moments to remember, which the previous film was in fact full of. And where did the fun go? Who knows... A few good lines (about three) and nothing else. The ending was ridiculous, and clearly the best moment of the whole film came in the middle of the credits. Actually, I think Wolverine was filmed just for that scene and so Marco Beltrami could compose another good soundtrack.
()
Wolverine doesn't fit well in Japan, and it was beautifully evident throughout the whole 130 minutes. It started with a fantastic retreat in Nagasaki, continued with a solid romance in the style of The Last Samurai, and ended with dull action scenes and a "surprising" outcome reminiscent of B-movies from the 1990s demons. Logan is a likable character with a suitably dark past, but so far no one has been able to exploit it properly. Either it's an action flick or an attempt at a mysterious adult blockbuster that is awkward to the point of being unappealing, and appropriately disparate.
()
Ads