Rating of
3/4
What Makes a Man Mortal?
Chris Kavan - wrote on 07/28/13
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 hunter to lay down some adamantine wisdom. But before he can dispense justice, a samurai-sword wielding woman, Yukio (Rila Fukushima) steps in the save the day. She is there at the behest of Yashida, head of a powerful tech corporation in Japan and a man who, during the bombing of Nagasaki, Wolverine had saved.
Yashida is now old and on the verge of dying and he has one request: to free Logan from his immortality - which he sees as a curse for the the troubled man - and transfer it to himself so he can continue his lifelong work. Wolverine is not so sure about the idea - especially as his family, his son Shingen (the versatile Hiroyuki Sanada) and granddaughter Mariko (newcomer Tao Okamoto) are at odds with each other. Throw in the Yakuza and things are looking a bit hairy for our merry group.
What makes the film work on a different level than Origins, is that the action is a bit more subdued (though you don't have to worry, the claws come out plenty of times) and the main reason for this is that for a good chunk of the movie, Wolverine is vulnerable. He's human - he bleeds, he gets tired - he needs help - which means relying on another person (in this case, Mariko). Vulnerable and Wolverine are two words you don't expect to go together - but it works. By making an immortal man into someone who can be hurt - even killed - it makes him so much more easy to relate to. Wolverine is compared to a Ronin - a samurai without a master - and that's a valid comparison. This is a character who has always been a loner and very hard to get close to. Much of the movie also shows his pain - not just physical, but emotional - much of it going back to having to kill Jean Grey (according to the timeline, the film follows X-Men: The Last Stand). Mortality is something many of us take for granted and Wolverine has to live with the opposite end of the spectrum.
The main weakness for Wolverine is that while the story is compelling, the villains are weak. You have the poison-spewing Viper -whose role amounts to little more than an extended cameo - and don't even get to The Silver Samurai until the climactic final battle. I realize they wanted this to be more of a character-driven film, but the lack of a strong villain is a bit of a letdown. Trusting your two main female roles to unknowns is also a pretty ballsy move - but the pair do a pretty good job of going up against the likes of Jackman. Like any good superhero movie, they could have trimmed about 10 minutes off here and there, but otherwise it flowed pretty smoothly.
In the end, the movie not only gives some depth to Wolverine, it actually makes you able to relate what a near-immortal, metal-clawed mutant actually has to deal with. Make sure to stay after the first part of the credits for a nice seguay into the next film.
