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The Wolverine poster

CAST
HUGH JACKMAN
RILA FUKUSHIMA
FAMKE JANSSEN
SVETLANA KHODCHENKOVA
WILL YUN LEE
TAO OKAMOTO
HIRAYUKI SANADA
BRIAN TEE
HAL YAMANOUCHI

BASED ON COMIC SERIES BY
CHRIS CLAREMONT
FRANK MILLER

SCREENPLAY BY
MARK BOMBACK
SCOTT FRANK
CHRISTOPHER McQUARRIE

PRODUCED BY
HUGH JACKMAN
JOHN PALERMO
HUTCH PARKER
LAUREN SHULER DONNER

DIRECTED BY
JAMES MANGOLD

GENRE
ACTION
SCIENCE FICTION

RATED
AUS: M
UK: 12A
USA: PG-13

RUNNING TIME
126 MIN

LINKS
IMAGES
MOVIE POSTERS
TRAILERS & CLIPS

THE WOLVERINE (2013)

An antithesis to recent overblown blockbusters, The Wolverine contains a strong story that delves into the many complexities of the popular comic book character without sacrificing the action spectacle that these films are known for.

While blockbuster season has showcased one overwhelming action movie after another, solitude has been found in this most unlikely of places. Not to say that The Wolverine is as quiet as a church mouse, but it is a superhero movie that values the moments in between the action sequences & manages to keep our interest while doing so.

When looking at the people involved, perhaps it should not be a surprise. Director James Mangold has quietly created a filmography of varied, solid character rich works ranging from the urban western Copland to quintessential biopic Walk the Line. Action is also something that Mangold has done before, and he very well knows that to make a good superhero movie is to invest in the heroes themselves, which esteemed screenwriters Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects), Scott Frank (Out of Sight) and Mark Bomback (Unstoppable) do in their take on a popular story-arc from the 1982 Wolverine limited series comic book, where the popular mutant hero spends time in Japan.

That is where The Wolverine opens with a stunning sequence on Hiroshima, the capital of Japan’s largest island where the United States Air Force dropped a nuclear bomb and effectively ended World War II, chillingly re-enacted here to set the stage for an action drama about death and immortality as Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) saves a Japanese soldier from certain doom. 50 odd years later and that same soldier (Hal Yamanouchi) wants to repay his debt by offering an emotionally and spiritually wounded Logan the one thing he can’t have: to die an honourable death.

The use of Japan as a backdrop is a welcome change to the usual metropolis-to-be-destroyed setting which most of these films utilise, as to is the use of Japanese warrior culture which adds dimensions to a character that five film appearances in is still a mystery when compared to the open books of Spider-Man and Batman, with the labelling of Wolverine as a Ronin (that is a “samurai without a master”) the perfect description for a superhero whose honour bound commitment to do what is right is countered by his anti-authoritarian and anti-tradition stance.

Built like a brick shit house and snarling like a champ, Jackman once again delivers a committed performance in what has to be one of the more dedicated relationships between a major actor and character. The internal angst which Logan/Wolverine suffers is kicked up a notch here, and Jackman perfectly expresses those emotions with the same intensity in which he slices a baddy in two with those adamantium claws.

The Wolverine features its title character at his most vulnerable, most savage and –above all- most human. It is an existential superhero movie without the overbearing weight of Man of Steel or distracting smarminess of Iron Man 3. Many will pay top dollar for the action sequences, but will truly get their money’s worth from the moments in between.

Note: Stay during the credits for an extra scene that will set up the next chapter in the X-Men franchise.

***1/2

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