The Wolverine: An Awesome Action Thriller

Director James Mangold (Walk The Line, Identity) has delivered the best X-Men film thus far with his gritty, dark turn on the Wolverine story.  Just when you thought you had heard enough about this character, Mangold breathes life into the tale and elevates it in ever surprising ways.

Premise: Logan is brought to Tokyo to confront new villains just as he confront his will to live. Result: A really fun action/thriller/mystery that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats.

Every once in a while a film comes along that surprises you.  While not necessarily Citizen Kane, The Wolverine is a brilliant edition to the Sci-Fi action genre.  Working with writers Mark Bomback and Scott Frank, Mangold manages to make this film smart, fun, exhilarating and intriguing throughout.

The film begins with Logan (Hugh Jackman) as he wrestles with his demons.  In particular, the horror of murdering his true love Jean Gray (Famke Janssen), as part of a lose-lose finale of X-Men: Last Stand. But even as he dwells in the distant Yukon, once again content to live life as a nomad, he is discovered by Yukio (Rila Fukushima) an emissary of Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) a  man Logan had saved many years ago in Nagasaki.

After some wrangling, Yukio is able to bring Logan with her back to Tokyo, here Yashida, on his death bed, offers him a proposal: transfer his immortal youth and healing power to Yashida, thereby giving Yashida the immortality he requires and Logan the death he longs for. Logan declines.

The rest of the film is a destabilizing action mystery, where it is never clear the objective or from whom or what Logan is running. Logan is ultimately running in an attempt to protect Mariko (Tao Okamoto), Yashida’s grand-daughter – Yashida’s most treasured possession.

In the interim, he must face off against the militant mafia, The Yakuza, while also navigating the waters of politics between Mariko’s father Shingin (Hiroyuki Sanada) and her arranged fiancé Noburo (Brian Tee).  In the midst there is also a ninja clan led by Harada (Will Yun Lee).

If matters were not complex enough, there is the presence of the terrifying Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), a dangerous force equal to that of Logan.  She seems to represent his exact opposite: while he can heal eternally, she is lethal at a chemical level.

All of this is fascinatingly brought within the context of Logan’s immortality, what can be done what cannot, casting doubt on his very limits.  Playing within the confines of these complex rules, Mangold heightens the suspense and intrigue.

The action and fight sequences in the film are spectacular.  Not only can they be followed, but they will leave observers with a heightened sense of exhilaration, deep to the bone.  Not only do they engage ninjas and battle sequences that are extremely fun to watch, some are simply mind-boggling in complexity, such as a really impressive battle sequence on a bullet train.

By the end of the film, audiences will have experienced an intricate series of events that should keep them guessing until its final moments.  While the film does not escape the inevitable love-interest story line, in this case it adds value as Logan attempts to come to terms with the death of Jean Gray.

The performances throughout are exactly what the film needs.  Jackman is his typically brooding self and this matches the tone and mood of the film perfectly.  Fukushima is spectacular as a ninja herself, demonstrating great versatility between her physical skills and her emotional ones. Okamoto does a good job of keeping the balance between fragility and strength throughout the film and Khodchenkova is flawless as evil incarnate.

Ultimately,  The Wolverine is a really fun film for those who are fans of action, mystery and thrills.  Certainly one of the most fun times had with a film to date when it comes to action Sci-Fi.

Rating: 8 – An expensive red wine and juicy steak