Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
2/4
It's not that super ...
ikkegoemikke - wrote on 12/01/2017
"What they did to me, what I am, can't be undone."
Despite the fact that "The X-Men" were never my favorite superheroes, this film could still fascinate me. The script wasn't entirely accurate and you ended up with a huge number of questions in some situations. It's a long time ago I've watched the original X-Men movie. And "The Wolverine" is the most imaginative character off course. It's therefore normal there are apparently a number of spin-offs about him. By choosing Japan as the location, the interference by the Yakuza was a logical consequence. The positive result is that you sometimes get flashy and highly entertaining action moments, with a mix of "Martial Art" and the cutting and slicing actions of "The Wolverine" as an excellent combination, presenting exciting movie …
Rating of
3/4
"The Wolverine" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/18/2014
Logan has renounced violence after the death of Jean Grey but becomes embroiled in the affairs of the Yakuza whilst protecting a dying friend's grand-daughter in Japan. The original Wolverine mini-series by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller has always been ripe for a big screen interpretation and although The Wolverine is hardly a faithful adaptation, it does contain enough of its elements to do it some small justice. It's essentially just another "damsel in distress" story, but the Wolverine character is finally done with a grittier, harder edge, despite the still frankly implausible lack of blood involved. The backdrop of Japanese culture makes for an interesting "stranger in a strange land" flavour and it's nice to see an episode from Logan's past play out. Although James Mangold is …
Rating of
2/4
The Wolverine
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 11/18/2013
This was pretty much dull for an action flick. One character can see the future while another is mutant that spits acid. The twist was not that impactful and the final battle was somewhat laughable, an armored samurai is the best they can think of. Its disappointing how uninteresting the franchise of Wolverine is compared to the X-Men, filled with wonderful character development, appropriate action, timely humor and enticing plot (except for the 3rd though where they kill off almost everybody). Having Logan's healing powers removed and near-death experience were one of the highlights, but other than that nothing much interesting in the story. Most scenes felt a bit preachy about life, death and repaying debts. If there was more background on Yukio (Rila Fukushima) then this would …
Rating of
3/4
Different Approach, but still Fun to Watch!
MovieAddict - wrote on 08/17/2013
Great opening as we witness our tormented hero trying to forget the past in the stark Alaskan mountains but it doesn’t take long for Logan to get drawn back into his old kick-ass ways as he is forced to protect the weak and stand for what is right after some hillbilly bear hunters wound his only friend, a grizzly bear with a toxic dart and leave him for dead.
The agile, red headed sword-wielding wrath, Yukio (Rila Fukushima), tracks the Wolverine down to a tavern as he is about to kill the bear hunter. She is on a mission to invite Logan to Japan on behalf of a Japanese guy Yashida (Ken Yamamura) whose life he had saved during the Nagasaki bombing in the Second World War. Yashida, a humble army commandant then, is now the most powerful man in Japan spearheading an industrial …
Rating of
3/4
pretty good
Amy - wrote on 08/13/2013
pretty good! I was surprised at how nice a job they did with Japan. Hollywood movies usually only have two or three things they're willing to show about japan (Hyper Modern! Solemn Tradition! Kinky Sex!), and while this movie did hit all those expected notes, it also showed a lot of like... back alleyways and small towns and architecture that was neither traditional nor futuristic. It felt much more like the Japan I've actually been to than say, Lost in Translation or Enter the Void did. Plus like, nice job on having a ton of non-white actors with major roles (even if there were a number of expected orientalizing cliches). Don't ask me about the plot, though, because I have no idea. people were fighting over stuff I guess? I was mostly looking at the painted screens in the background.
Rating of
3.5/4
An intense, brooding and serious Wolverine
Norrin - wrote on 08/08/2013
"The Wolverine" is a solid X-Men solo movie, that opts for character development and ninja action, rather then non-stop over the top CGI action sequences- not that there is anything wrong with non-stop over the top CGI actions sequences. If you want that look instead to the first solo Wolverine outing, the overly criticized "X-Men Origins: Wolverine." I am probably one of the few who actually really enjoyed the first Wolverine movie. This second solo Wolverine outing is completely different in tone and style, but is just as much fun. Hugh Jackman's Wolverine is a highly entertaining cross between "Batman" and "Dirty Harry." If you want a cranky, pissed off hero- here you go. The fight scenes are intense and very well done. All production values are solid. The only negative is …
Rating of
2/4
Redundant and Emotionally Empty
Looneymanthegreat - wrote on 07/28/2013
The X-men are one of the most popular super hero teams ever, and Wolverine is by far the most popular X-men, so a spin-off movie makes sense. That was the thought process when X-men Origins Wolverine was green lit. Unfortunately Wolverines first solo outing has a less then stellar reputation, but still made a lot of money; so I suppose it made financial sense to do this again.
I on the other hand did not really need more then one Wolverine spin-off flick, and I kind of doubt anyone else did either. The character is a lot of fun, and bounces off the other X-men well, but I’m just not sure he’s a complex enough character to hold a movie all to him self.
What we learn about Wolverine and his character don’t really add to what we learned about him in the first three x-men …
Rating of
3/4
The cat's comeback.
memento_mori - wrote on 07/28/2013
Please note that X-Men, X-Men First Class and the Wolverine were the only X-Men movies I had seen at the time of writing this review.
So far this year, The Wolverine is the second summer movie that I could really appreciate, because it is self-aware and at the same time exceeds expectations.
James Mangold is quite a good director. I like his style, it has lots of close-ups and good framing. And visually, The Wolverine is great.
Hugh Jackman really brought the Wolverine character to life. Rarely do I say that, but he actually felt like a superhuman who didn't feel super. At all. in fact, he is quite haunting and troubled, and I loved what the movie chose to show and make of his character.
The image and flair of Japan is captured boldly and significantly well. Not since The Last …
Rating of
3/4
What Makes a Man Mortal?
Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/28/2013
Out of the many superhero films that 2013 has given us, I have to say, I had my doubts about The Wolverine. The last film didn't exactly inspire me to seek out a sequel. Yet after details started to emerge, I began to be more open to this new outing by everyone's favorite mutant. And I'm glad I went because this manages to give Hugh Jackman more to do than scowl, kill and crack wise (though there is plenty of that too) - it actually develops the character.
As we open, Wolverine is a broken man - living off the grid, suffering from nightmares about Jean Grey (which happens throughout the film) and generally avoiding any and all humanity. When a group of hunters puts a large bear through some major pain and suffering (with many of them paying the price) he goes to visit the surviving …
Rating of
3/4
More To This Mutant Than Claws and Anger
Unknown - wrote on 07/27/2013
A solid entry to the X-Men series. Though, you don't necessarily have to have seen any of the films in the franchise to enjoy this (certain backstory elements are favorable knowledge). It stands alone strongly as a solo piece that is surprisingly, for the most part, a character development arc for Wolverine. And don't be expecting any other recognizable hero/villain mutants. This IS the Wolverine show. Really, the only other mutant is a villainess that feels tacked on for the sake of having a mutant opponent. Other than a few needless scenes to fill out a longer running time, the overall story is quite good. Wolverine faces new, tougher challenges and there are a couple of good twists. The action is great! CG is used sparingly and effectively. The scene on top of the bullet …
