Plot
SPOILER FREEWolverine travels to Japan to pay his final respects to Ichirō Yashida, a man who he saved from the atomic bomb. He then lands up trying to save his granddaughter, Mariko Yashida from Yakuza, whilst finding out that he's lost his healing factor.
Review
This was a very good film, and although it was far from perfect, it was a vast improvement over X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as there wasn't much that I hated as a comic book fan. The main thing that let the film down however was that it was a little too slow paced at times, centring more around character development, and interaction that story. It did however have the explosive fight sequences that you'd expect from a Wolverine film, and there was plenty of it. James Mangold did a decent job at directing this films, as although it's not quite as good as some of his other films (eg. 3:10 to Yuma, and Knight and Day) it wasn't the worse film that he's directed, and he showed that he understands the tone of this story.
The cast was something that I had mixed feelings on, as although I liked most of the chosen cast members, there was a couple of choices that didn't work in my opinion. I'll start with the star of the film, Wolverine, who was once again played perfectly by Hugh Jackman. Jackman has been playing this role for thirteen years now, and although he's slightly taller than Wolverine should be, he's perfect in all the other categories, showing the emotions, and broodiness perfectly, as well as giving explosive action performances. This film would also see one of Wolverine's love interests shown in the form of Markio, who was played by Tao Okamoto. Okamoto did a great job of the character, showing the kind heartedness of her character, as well as the strength of character, and was perfect in the role. The other cast members such as Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Ichirō Yashida, Rila Fukushima as Yukio, Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida (though this character wasn't as you'd expect), Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada, Brian Tee as Noburo Mori, all did good jobs of their roles. It was however Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper that disappointed me, as she didn't suit the role.
The Feeling of Mortality |
This issue would also show the start of Wolverine's relationship with Mariko. To be fair this is the only part that is taken from Chris Claremont, and Frank Miller's Wolverine series, with the rest being fairly original. The relationship itself was however shown perfectly in this film, as although it was the main thing that slowed the pace of the film, it was still very emotional, with lots of depth. I also liked how it gradually built, and how it was put into a modern setting, which was also handled perfectly (though some other transitions to the modern setting in the film didn't work as well).
Rise of the Phoenix |
The Viper Strikes |
Clash of Adamantium |
There was also some other great action scenes, including a phenomenal scene with Wolverine fighting Yakuza on a bullet train, as well as other scenes that would see him against samurai warriors, more Yakuza, and even ninjas, making for some of the best action scenes in any of the X-Men films.
This film would also have a mid-credit scene at the end, and although I won't go into details as to avoid spoilers, I will say my thoughts on it. It was a very interesting scene, leaving me with even more questions than I already have. I also thought that I'd mention the scene so you don't walk out of the cinema and miss it.
Final Verdict
Although this wasn't quite as good as I hoped, it was much better than the last Wolverine feature film, as well as X-Men: The Last Stand, being a very entertaining film. It also had some of the best action that I've seen in an X-Men film, with very explosive, and at times humorous scenes. It was however slightly slow at times, and the villain Viper wasn't portrayed well. Besides this I'd still recommending giving this film a go, as although you may not enjoy it as much as I have, I'd be surprised if you liked it less that X-Men Origins: Wolverine, or X-Men: The Last Stand.
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