The Wolverine (2013)

After the somewhat lacklustre 'The Last Stand' and a reboot/sequel/something much better that was 'First Class', maybe there was some need to reinvigorate the character of Wolverine, especially seeing as his origin story was, shall we say, less than satisfactory? And because Hugh Jackman owns the character in every way, he needed a better standalone film. Because that is what this is: a standalone Wolverine adventure, that does tie in to 'The Last Stand' but only in expanding his character a little and giving him a starting point, that is to say his pain about losing Jean by his own hands/claws.

This time, nearly all of the story takes place in Japan. Again, this makes sense, because in the comics, Logan has a close connection to the land of the Rising Sun and a change of locale could do the character some good. We've kind of seen him run around in a forest, now let him run around a city.

I admit, that sounds a little silly when put like that, but it is what happens.

Something that also brings in more stakes is the fact that early on, his healing power disappears more or less. Suddenly, the unbeatable warrior has to tread lightly, because he cannot shrug everything off. This also explains that Wolverine has the Achilles/Superman-syndrome: how do you make his battles interesting, seeing as he pretty much can survive anything? So they pulled the trick of taking away his power and that works, for the most part.

The most interesting character this time around is Yukio, by far. Not only does she have a very distinct look, but she can see glimpses of the future. Kind of handy, but it's Rila Fukushima who sells it with a lot of enthusiasm and cheekiness. Love interest Mariko is a little bland, but that's mostly the fault of bland writing.

Most of the complaints about this one are directed towards the depiction of the Silver Samurai and I get where they are coming from. He is only introduced very late in the film and to be quite honest, he seems more like one of those hulking videogame bosses we've all grown accustomed to and are - quite frankly - a little bored with. But that is a minor gripe.

'The Wolverine' brings Logan back to where he should have been in an enjoyable romp. It does help if you have some affinity or interest in Japan, because that could raise your enjoyment level. If not, this is one of the better mediocre X-Men-films. It's not one of the best, but by far not one of the worst.

Also: you've got to admire Jackman's physique.

Damn.