The Wolverine

Is there any doubt that Wolverine is the face of the X-Men? Even before the movies, he was probably the most recognizable and popular character, in the comics and on the classic animated show. So when the film series finally got made, it’s no surprise that they centered the narrative on him. If there was one role for which they needed to get the right guy, it was this one.

And they did. Hugh Jackman perfectly captured the character’s attitude, humor, seething temper, and tortured soul. Not a bad idea bringing in a well-trained actor of substantial range, instead of just an action star. Jackman gave the character a swagger and aplomb that carried the series very well, even in its weaker third installment X-Men: The Last Stand (not so much with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but that was a film nothing could really salvage). He also makes The Wolverine, an otherwise marginal and standard comic book action vehicle, quite watchable at the very least.

Set some time after The Last Stand, the film finds Wolverine living as a recluse in the Canadian wilderness, where he’s visited by the clairvoyant, sword-wielding Japanese mutant Yukio (Rila Fukushima). Yukio brings news of the dying tycoon Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), whose life Wolverine saved during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki (shown in flashbacks with Ken Yamamura playing a young Yashida). Wolverine travels with Yukio to Tokyo, where Yashida’s family is entangled in drama involving Japanese politics and the criminal Yakuza. When Yashida’s daughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto) is targeted by assassins, Wolverine travels with her across Japan as her protector, while mysteriously starting to lose his healing power.

The film is based on the 1982 Wolverine limited series by Chris Claremont (the God of X-Men stories) and Frank Miller (who I’ve spoken about before), a more character-centric story that casts the character as a would-be samurai. While not a direct adaptation (though readers will immediately recognize some specific elements), the movie does follow in the same vein. There’s plenty of action, both the abundant CGI kind and the old-fashioned hand-to-hand and sword-to-sword (or sword-to-claw) kind. But the gaudy visuals and mutant power effects are kept to a minimum (or at least held off until the end), while the focus is more on character.

Unfortunately, there are two stories jammed into a movie that only has room for one. Yashida’s family drama is confusing and hard to follow. It doesn’t get adequate time to develop into something coherent, let alone compelling. And all the while, Wolverine seems like he’s just tagging along in someone else’s movie, as the reason he’s dragged into this state of affairs isn’t revealed until quite late. He's just as detached and confused as we are watching it.

Famke Janssen appears in flashbacks as Jean Grey, who Wolverine killed in The Last Stand when she turned evil and destructive. Ostensibly meant to show Wolverine’s guilt and loneliness, they don’t really reveal anything new about the character. Neither does anything else.

Really, the picture should have just chosen one of these two plots and gone with it, either given Wolverine a bigger, more direct part of the Japanese family drama (which he had in the comic), or just explore his inner pain. Instead the movie gives us both, and not enough of either.

Still, the film ranks above the dreadful Origins. Rather than just haphazardly filling in the blanks of the character’s past while throwing in so many new characters for no reason, The Wolverine at least attempts to tell a good character story. Even though it doesn’t quite succeed, it’s an admirable effort. And the fight scenes and Jackman’s mastery of the character (especially the humor) keep it from being boring. If nothing else, it shows that he’s still got it heading into next year’s Days of Future Past.

Speaking of which, I’d advise against heading out of the theater too quickly as the credits start to roll. But if you’ve seen any comic book movies the past few years, I didn’t need to tell you that.