Release date:
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July 26, 2013
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Director:
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James Mangold
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Cast:
Language: |
Hugh Jackman,
Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Hiroyuki Sanada, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Will Yun
Lee, Brian Tee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Famke Janssen
English & some
Japanese with English subtitles
|
We all have our weaknesses. Mine is that I’d happily pay the price of a movie ticket simply to see Hugh Jackman’s face. When Jackman wanders through most of that movie either shirtless or in just a vest, the price of popcorn, coffee, parking and petrol are also fully claimed. But seriously… It is the X-Men franchise’s good fortune that they picked a star in possession of such intensity, good looks and charisma to play Wolverine, Marvel Comics’ immortal mutant with the metallic claws and incredible strength. Jackman’s take on the comic book superhero has remained consistently convincing through the series’ six films, even on occasions when the films themselves have faltered.
With half its battle already thus won, The Wolverine takes us back in time to
Nagasaki during World War II where we discover that Wolverine a.k.a. Logan
survived the nuclear bomb and saved the life of a young Japanese soldier called
Yashida. Cut to the present day, and Logan is living a life of seclusion in
unnamed woods in North America, bearded, unkempt and tormented by the reality
of his immortality. As alluring as unending life may seem to many, the truth is
that death does not look like such a terrible thing when you know that your
loved ones will inevitably pass on some day though you won’t. Logan is visited
at this point by a red-haired Japanese girl called Yukio who seems to have her
own share of superpowers: she can foresee the future and throw sharp blades
around with the same speed at which she tosses her own lithe body about in
fights.
Yukio has been sent by an aged and dying Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) who wants
to say goodbye to Logan. When our hero travels halfway across the globe for the
farewell though, we discover that the old man – now a millionaire businessman –
is actually after Logan’s immortality. From then on, Logan gets unwittingly
embroiled in a dark saga of family politics that involves Yashida’s exceedingly
young granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto), her troubled father (Hiroyuki Sanada),
a corrupt politician (Brian Tee), a nimble ninja (Will Yun Lee) and a sexy
mutant called The Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova).
Some of the film’s action sequences are stunning, in particular
one extended fight atop a speeding bullet train in which Logan and a gun-toting
assassin must indulge in all sorts of gymnastics to avoid being hit by overhead
wires and other passing objects. Equally gripping yet in complete contrast is a
nearly soundless scene in which Logan is attacked by a posse of archers on a
desolate snowy night… the result of commendable teamwork between the film’s
stunt director, cinematographer and production designer. Aided by Christopher
McQuarrie, Mark Bomback and Scott Frank’s screenplay, director James Mangold
keeps the suspense ticking right till the end when we finally discover who was
actually out to kill who and why, why some people were protecting others and precisely
why Logan was summoned all the way to Japan from his hideaway in the Western
world.
Where the film does not score is in its failure to give us a
villain to match Logan. Great heroes need great adversaries and in The Wolverine, none of Logan’s opponents
is etched out well enough or given enough screen time to seem worthy of our man
with the claws. The Viper has potential but her story is half baked. Yashida is
barely there. And though the evil Japanese neta
does provide us with one comical scene in his red underwear, he too is an under-cooked
character. Besides, the effort to steal Logan’s Wolverine powers is too
sketchily explained to be convincing. And while Yukio is intriguing, she is sadly
under-used.
The Wolverine’s other flaw is an
error of both writing and casting. Logan is almost
paternal towards Mariko throughout the film, so when he suddenly and inexplicably
gets romantic with her, it sort of feels like a Salman Khan-Sneha Ullal moment.
Model-turned-actress Tao Okamoto does not have the screen presence to
match Hugh Jackman’s. She is just too glaringly young for him anyway. And their
absolute lack of sexual chemistry is underlined by the brief appearances of
Logan’s one true love Jean Grey (Famke Janssen, hot as always) in his
dreams.
The good news is that Okamoto’s more impactful compatriot and
fellow model-turned-actress Rila Fukushima seems set to re-appear in next year’s
X Men: Days of Future Past, a teaser
to which is provided at a point in this film when you are absolutely not
expecting it. The Wolverine is not
wholesome in the way James Mangold’s 2005 Golden Globe winner Walk The Line was. This film sorely needed
more heft, but with all its limitations it’s still an enjoyable ride.
Rating (out of five): **3/4
Footnote: Don’t leave
your seats when the credits start rolling.
CBFC Rating (India):
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U/A
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Running time:
MPAA Rating (US):
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133 minutes (as per pvrcinemas.com)
PG-13 (for sequences of intense sci-fi action
and violence, some sexuality and language)
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Release date in the US:
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July 25, 2013
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