On a scale of Spider-Man 3 (lowest) to Avengers (highest), X-Men Origins: Wolverine got a Superman Returns. The Wolverine on the other hand gets a cushy place between Batman Begins and The Amazing Spider-Man. And that's a good thing.
That said, The Wolverine was a breathe of fresh air in the tumultuous wave-like quality of the X-Men movies that plummeted with X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins: Wolverine but started an upward climb with X-Men First Class, (a movie in which Wolverine's cameo was a bright spot in an already good film.)
The Wolverine is basically a character study in "what's next for the hero?"
After the events of X-Men 3, Wolverine deals with the repercussions of being the hero and (spoiler alert) killing Jean Grey who had given into the Phoenix Force, becoming the X-Men's worst villain to date.
The movie opens with Wolverine dreaming and remembering the past; reliving actions taken during WWII, where he saved the life of a Japanese soldier. Decades later this soldier goes on to become a very powerful technology magnate and summons Wolverine to his deathbed in Japan. He tells Wolverine that his "curse" of healing and never aging can be transferred and that he wants to be the recipient. Wolverine declines, but regardless, his healing factor is ultimately compromised. From there Wolverine begins his adventures in Japan, wounded and pissed.
There is so much lore from the comics that my inner (mostly outer) geek was thrilled to see so much of the lore. Wolverine is described as a ronin; a master-less samurai. Somewhat romanticized in Japan and it's a perfect description. He's lonely, deadly, emotionally wounded, and drop dead fucking sexy, all elements from the comics that make his character so well beloved.
The lack of being faithful to the books has always been my biggest complaint with comic movies. The stories are there, they are already written. The writers who do the adapting should have an easy job, but they still needlessly change things (ie: the terrible characterization of Deadpool, Superman having a son, Rogue dating Iceman, Spider-Man's "organic" web-shooters, nipples on the Bat-suit, etc.)
There are still some changes made in The Wolverine, but not anything detrimental. In fact it's a short list: Wolverine has a very long Japanese history and speaks Japanese in the comics whereas in the movie he does not. Mariko has a step-brother (Keniuchio Harada) whom in the comics is the mutant, Silver Samurai. He is not in the movie, and they write around him using other family members for story elements. Ultimately Silver Samurai (as seen in the trailer) is an eight foot tall robot in the film.
Favorite Parts of the Movie, (though the whole film was quite enjoyable):
- Anything with Rila Fukushima as the red haired Japanese beauty, Yukio. Her character feels so honest and she simply elevates every scene she's in.
- I love that the people at Fox and the overseers over the X-men franchise save their single use of "Fuck" in their PG-13 movies for Wolverine himself to say. It makes him that much more bad-ass, singling him out that way.
- BONECLAWS!
- (Bit of a spoiler here) Jean Grey has a thru-line, not just a quick cameo. Her memory is Wolverine's mental reminder that he's put so many people in the ground and he continues to walk the earth. Jean Grey = Survivor's guilt
As a comic fan, (or as a good movie fan) I definitely recommend The Wolverine.
Also, stay through the credits. It's a Marvel movie and you don't want to miss who shows up, and for that matter why they show up.
Disclosure: This is a non-sponsored review. All product was purchased by me and the purpose of this review is based solely on my love for the product/company. No product or monetary compensation was given to me by said company.
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