The Wolverine Review

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was terrible, plain and simple. Start to finish it was dumb and a complete disappointment. I remember watching X3 (which was also bad) for the first time and thinking, "the next X-Men movie can't be this bad;" it was. The biggest problem was that they made a bad movie for the coolest character in the series. Wolverine is a badass, he's the main reason people watch the series. So when I heard they were making another movie revolving around him I was worried. Fortunately, I wasn't disappointed this time. The events of the movie take place a couple years after the events of X-Men 3. A battered and broken Logan (Wolverine) is living in solitude out in the woods. He's devastated by the death of the woman he loved, Gene. He's given up; he no longer wants to be a super hero and is alright with just living out his days by himself. One day he is approached by a young woman who tells him that her employer, who lives in Japan, wishes to see him; reluctantly, Logan agrees. When there he learns the man he is to meet was someone he saved many years ago, and as a thank you for letting him live a full life he offers Logan something no one else can give him; he can take away his immortality. While Logan is tired of the life he has, the last thing he wants to do is die. Not long after someone important to the people he is staying with passes away; out of respect Logan attends the funeral. While there something goes wrong, some members of the mafia ambush the funeral to kidnap a young woman; and in the process Logan gets shot. Immediately he can tell something is wrong, he's not healing. So he sets out not just to save the day but to save himself. To my surprise, this movie is pretty cool. Probably one of the best aspects of the movie would be Hugh Jackman, at this point it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Logan; he is the Wolverine. The fight scenes in this movie are where it's at, it's pretty awesome to see the Wolverine carve someone up like a turkey. The movie is surprisingly violent for pg-13, unlike the other films when he stabs someone with his claws there is actual blood on them. While the movie does several things right it does some wrong as well. The writing in the movie isn't great, especially near the last act. It felt pretty weak towards the end. And other than Jackman, no one gives a worth wild performance. This movie isn't a tour de force; it's a fun summer popcorn flick and nothing more. If you like X-Men, I don't think you'll be disappointed with The Wolverine. 

3.5/5 Stars