Logan is called to Japan to say his goodbyes to a man he once knew, but then finds himself in a whole lot of trouble in The Wolverine. Review after the jump.
On the edge and living in the woods, James Logan is distraught and suicidal. Nightmares of Jean Grey fill his dreams and he wishes nothing more than to die, but his healing power won’t allow him. He soon finds himself in the middle of an altercation with some hunters in a bar, but he is stopped from killing them by a young Japanese lady by the name of Yukio. She delivers him a sword and asks him to pay her master – Yashida, a visit to say goodbye. It turns out that Logan saved his life many years ago during the war. 
Once in Japan, Logan comes to the realisation that Yashida wants to transfer The Wolverines power to himself, as he isn’t ready to die. Logan obviously doesn’t accept.
A battle with the Yakuza (Japanese mafia), ninjas and mutants soon gets underway and Logan soon starts to feel pain as his ability to heal has soon disappeared.
The Wolverine is a massive improvement of Wolverine: X-Men Origins. That film made a mockery of such villains as Sabretooth, The Blob and the much beloved anti-hero Deadpool. This year’s instalment looks great and sounds great. Hugh Jackman is a good as ever as the titular hero and the (mostly) Asian cast do great. We feel for the hero throughout and sometimes even wish that he is put out of his misery at the start, but he soon finds that his time is not up and he has a purpose in life.
Some of the set-pieces, like the fight on top of the train, look spectacular. The film also makes good usage of the Japanese history of warriors and assassins. The ninja sequences are especially welcome.
If I had to pick out one thing I didn’t like, it would be the under usage of the Silver Samurai. A great Marvel villain, the Silver Samurai could have been a menace for our hero throughout the two hour running time, yet we have him on screen for the last fifteen minutes only.
The Wolverine is a welcome return to the big screen and serves as the perfect starter for next year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Watch it now Bub.
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