The Wolverine

Okay first of all, let me say that I'm a big Wolverine fan so my fanboyism might take over.

And warning: THIS IS FULL OF SPOILERS

Okay so the movie begins with Logan at his lowest. He's lonely and has that Hugh Jackman-Jean Valjean beard going on. That is probably the most cliche way to show that the character is sad. But it totally makes sense, so I'll let it slide. The movie actually begins with a younger Logan saving a Japanese man, Yashida, from the bomb in Japan. We see him totally heal from intense wounds. I mean, he was caught in an atomic bomb...what do you expect? Then he wakes up in another dream, with Jean. And she's being a total psycho. At this point, I'm already like: What? They ruined the Phoenix in X-Men 3 and I don't really want to see more of that. Logan out of all people shouldn't dream of Jean of being this bad person. However, it does bring an insight to how Jean has affected him. He feels guilt for killing the person he loves. People around him tend to die while he barely ages. He wakes up again and we're shown the bear scene. Now I'm pretty happy because I understand the inspiration from Claremont/Miller's Wolverine. The bear scene carries more weight than most people realize. The bear is in pain and can easily be put of its misery. On the other hand, Logan is in a ton of pain and depression but nothing he does can kill him. This is an element of a good story: recurring themes. The theme of immortality/curses is repeatedly brought back, introduced in the beginning and becomes a main focus point.

Logan confronts the hunters and he intimidates him. This is classic Wolverine, not much else to say! Finally, the story gets rolling as, Yukio comes onto the scene. They talk about the basic points of the movie and then head on to Japan.

There is a funny scene that stands out to me: when Logan is being forced to get in the bath and get washed by a couple of Japanese women. Hey, this movie isn't too dark and gritty! We later find out in the movie that there are some scenes that make this movie possibly the darkest X-Men movie. But it doesn't let itself get too dark and adds in some really funny bits. As the beautiful Mariko is introduced...it's way too obvious that she will be the protagonist's love of the movie. Even for non-comic book readers, it is obvious.

Fast forward a bit, and then yet another Claremont-Miller inspiration: the funeral scene. There's a fight scene, which is average at best. Logan somehow can flip people in the air with his claws...that's odd...I mean if I had claws, I would stab people. Guess it takes real skill to be able to flip people with claws. I was sort of distracted by Asian Hawkeye Harada, jumping on roof tops. He was kind of pointless and I did not care for at all. Logan's healing factor is wack and Yukio does typical female samurai moves.

At last, we get the bullet train scene that has been shown in the previews. It is not like the videos on youtube. The one in the movie is much better and has went through final editing. I've never a train scene like this. It was thrilling and just plain awesome. Also, I get that Mariko wants to be left alone, but why so pissy to get help from Logan? Come on!

They end up at a love hotel with the "mission to mars" theme. This is a very funny scene and I'm glad the movie isn't too, too serious. I don't get why Logan doesn't to a hospital. He knows his healing doesn't work but instead he just stands outside in the rain until he passes out. If he doesn't want to leave Mariko, he should at least do some self-medical procedure to help with the bleeding. But nope.

Next, the movie slows down a little bit, which is fine. It is obvious that they tried to show more of Mariko and Logan's growing relationship. This is actually my favorite Marvel movie relationship, to be honest. It is so predictable that they will fall in love, but I like it nonetheless. Unlike Man of Steel, it doesn't go for nonstop fighting.

The scene where Logan interrogates Noburo is amazing. That is the perfect Wolverine that I read in the comics. it was one of the funniest, and most badass scene in the movie.

One gruesome scene that stood out to me was when Wolverine cuts his chest and tries to pull out that weird bug out of his heart. Then Yukio suddenly becomes annoying and talks about how she's never wrong. She personally said that she doesn't see the whole picture when she sees the future. They have to take a risk if they want to save Mariko. Oh and speaking of that, I hated how they made Yukio a mutant who can see the future. It's bold move but it seems more of a plot device.

A few moments later, we are treated to yet another crazy Wolverine fight scene. Logan's mad and he's just slashing through. But why don't Shingen's swords break when Wolverine hits them? That's weird and doesn't make sense at all. Either way, it was a great fight scene.

Fast forward a little more, and Viper gets more screen time. She seems kind of unnecessary. She's pretty evil and intimidating but was sort of out of place. I didn't see her part of the plan...what does she benefit from all this? A ton of money or something? The scene where Wolverine is fighting a ton of ninjas is too cool. A movie about Wolverine and ninjas...what more do you want?

Now finally, the final showdown between Wolverine and the Silver Samurai...except that's not the Silver Samurai...it's a robot! I guess it ain't so bad, though. While not as cool as the bullet train fight, it's a cool fight nonetheless. Here again Asian Hawkeye distracts from the actual fight and jumps around shooting arrows. I really don't want to see him. I want see Wolverine face off the Silver Samurai! We're already getting Yukio vs Viper, so I don't want to see another person in the mix, especially since Mariko is somehow also in the fight...sort of. I guess they want to teach us the power of friendship. Hmmm

Now I may just be slow, but I didn't expect Yashida to be the Silver Samurai. I thought it was just a simple robot in the movie. Having him in there makes the Silver Samurai to be a much better villain. I don't understand how sucking out Logan's healing factor would make him younger. That doesn't make sense. It should just give him powers and keep him that age.

Then after the fight, there's yet another dream with Jean. This is bad, just bad. I wish they took out this scene from the movie. Wolverine needs to move on and yet he tells Jean that he will always love her. Because of this dream sequence, he sort of moves and sort of doesn't. The scene it ends with, it's a little bit awkward and doesn't feel like a proper ending. I expected an epic ending or something like that.

The after credits scene is great and I can't wait for X-Men: Days of Future Past!

All in all, The Wolverine is a great movie that I've been looking forward to ever since watching the first X-Men movie quite a few years ago. I was skeptical after watching Wolverine Origins, but this is does not disappoint at all. I don't think it's as good as The Dark Knight, The Avengers, or Man of Steel but it's probably the best X-Men movie as of now. Hugh Jackman definitely gives out his greatest performance as my favorite Marvel hero, supporting by a cast of mostly obscure actors, who happened to be great. The Wolverine has thrilling fights and a lot of good things going on in between.