The Wolverine (2013) Review



Wolverine is given another chance for another solo film. Taking place after X-Men The Last Stand, Logan is in the woods for his Revenant audition. There's even a bear who urinates instead of fighting him. Real classy. He's very despondent about killing Jean Grey, and even sees visions of her very often. But things begin to turn when a mysterious woman named Yuriko comes to him. In a flashback at the beginning,  in a POW camp in Japan during WWII, Logan saves a Japanese soldier from an H-bomb dropping. It turns out the soldier named Yashida is dying and wants to see his mutant saviour. Logan reluctantly agrees to go to Japan with Yuriko who has her own power of seeing in the future. When he meets with Yashida, Logan is offered a chance to have his powers removed and become human. He refuses Yashida's offer. However, his healing is slightly stalled by another mysterious woman named Dr Green who has the power of spreading toxins in people. Not only that, Yashida's granddaughter Mariko is being hunted by Yakuza thugs and it's up to Wolverine to protect her, despite his powers not helping him.

From what I heard, the reception for this movie wasn't as negative as X-Men Origins Wolverine, but I skipped it since it seems like no one was praising it also. Nonetheless, I had to watch it and judge it for myself. Firstly, I thought some of the ideas were good like what if Logan didn't have his powers to protect him? While we've seen this story formula of how a hero has fallen into self-doubt and depression and has been dragged into doing more heroic things to believe in himself, I felt it could work if it was done in an interesting way. The action was a little better, but the only one I like is Logan fighting thugs on top of a bullet train. It's very cheesy how they jump and fly around but it's so unusual that I find myself enjoying it a bit.

But the execution of the whole film doesn't land home for me. The story is not done in a unique way, Mariko is not interesting, it's very boring and drags a lot, and the climax is so far-fetched when it's revealed what this has been building up to. Hugh Jackman does his best, but the material is just so subpar that he couldn't really save it. 2013 didn't prove to be one of the best years for comic book movies, but there's one I have a different opinion on, though I'll get to it later. While I think this is slightly better than X-Men Origins Wolverine, it is still a big yawner. Still, with a teaser at the end showing what the X-Men will be up against next, there was something to be excited about. And let's hope to God the third time is the charm for Wolverine.

RATING: MODEST DISFAVOR

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How THE GRINCH Scared and Delighted Me for 25 Years!

Image
NOTE: My feelings for this movie are…complicated, as I’ve had different opinions about it over the years, but I’ll set the record straight. I love everything about The Grinch, from the character to the story to the classic animated special. I can recite the entire book from beginning to end. So, at the age of 9, when I learned they were making a live-action version with Jim Carrey, my initial reaction was pure anxiety. Why, you may ask? Because the teaser trailer freaked me out with its thriller tone, song choice of In the Hall of the Mountain King , and the moment where Cindy Lou Who encounters the Grinch in the mailroom with a creepy close-up that has always spooked me. Every time I see a promo of the film, I avert my eyes for fear that scene will pop up.  Still, a part of me was intrigued. The day came when my mom took my siblings and me to watch the movie in December 2000. But I chickened out and walked out of the auditorium, just standing in the hall. My mom went to look ...
Read more

Spider Man 2 (2004) Review

Image
Spidey swings back into action in Spider-Man 2 , which many consider to be the best Spider-Man movie even to this day. Peter Parker has trouble balancing his normal life with his superhero life, getting fired from jobs, being late for his classes, and not being able to pay his rent. However, he gets an opportunity to meet a scientist he admires named Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina). Octavius shows people his fusion experiment and mechanical arms that help him put it together. But the experiment goes wrong, Octavius' wife is killed, and the arms take control of him. Given the name Dr. Octopus by the Daily Bugle, he sets out to continue his work but make it bigger. At the same time, the stress Peter is facing affects his powers and he decides to give up his superhero persona. But he is called back to don his suit again when Mary Jane is threatened by Dr. Octopus. I will confess I kinda liked the movie when I first saw it, but I didn't like how bad things were constantly ...
Read more

Top 10 Worst Movies of 2019

Image
Now, it's time to go over the worst movies I've seen in 2019. To be honest, I don't think I've seen enough bad movies. Compared to 2018 where I watched hundreds of movies thanks to my Moviepass subscription and then my AMC A-List subscription, I try to cut back on going to the theater and allow time for more valuable things. But I've found 10 films that range from subpar to disastrous. 10. Gemini Man Will Smith plays an assassin who has retired but is called back into action when he finds himself pursued by a mysterious somebody who turns out to be himself but younger. Despite it being in development hell for over 20 years, it sounded like an interesting premise. But the ending result falls short due to a very weak script from three writers from different backgrounds, including David Benioff of Game of Thrones . They also shot the movie in a very high frame rate, 120fps, which I didn't see it in but judging from other people's feedback, it was best n...
Read more