Quite good superhero fare, but never great

Rating: 6/10 (2 December 2015)

THE WOLVERINE is a second spin off from the X-MEN franchise centred around Hugh Jackman's titular character. The first, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE was a distinctly average viewing experience, although this one's a little better. It's not the stuff of greatness, but it has novelty value which makes it more entertaining than others I've seen.
The story in a nutshell is Wolverine in Japan. The good news is that this allows a cast of Japanese supporting actors to shine, although most of them have very thin characters that seem based on cliché rather than experience. There's the damsel-in-distress, the evil black sheep family member, the old man obsessed with immortality. However, I was delighted to see Hiroyuki Sanada in a Hollywood film again (even though he's once more given a one-dimensional role, just like in RUSH HOUR 3) and surprised to notice Hal Yamanouchi (star of ENDGAME and a dozen other trashy Italian sci-fi flicks of the 1980s) in a pivotal role.
The film's execution is fine, although the story is never quite as thrilling or expertly-made as I'd been led to believe. It's Jackman and his love interest against various competing bad guys. Jackman is bulked up but his acting is on autopilot. There's a ton of bloodless action scenes, and they do feel a little grittier than in the usual superhero outing, although the train set-piece has the same about of cheesy CGI as in the Thai flick VENGEANCE OF AN ASSASSIN. THE WOLVERINE does the job, and if you're a huge X-Men fan you might like it more. Me, I lightly enjoyed it, but it's not something I'd be in a hurry to watch again.