The Better Man of Steel

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2013)

When it comes to superhero movies we've had more than a decent share in recent years: Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Avengers, Thor (and the upcoming Thor 2), Dark Knight, Man of Steel, you name it, it's been done, sometimes overdone and overkill if you ask me. Still, no word about Wonder Woman... We've come to expect the greatest in CGI effects, settings and graphics, state of the art 3D effects that will make the audience come back for more. The one thing that I have gotten pretty tired of lately is such overload of special effects that almost takes over the story instead of enhancing it, leaving us without much substance and fulfillment. Such is the case with Man of Steel which I had expected it would bring something new to Superman that I hadn't seen before, a side of weakness and humanity that will make us relate to the hero everyone already knows and loves. And, although it brought us the familiar story of a boy sent to Earth after his home planet Krypton was destroyed and gave us great eye candy to look at with Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel, it lacked something, the side of Superman that we yearn to see: ourselves. In order for any superhero to grab the audience's attention is that it should be relatable and, quite frankly, I could not relate much with a man in tights with a giant S on his chest without having a strong actor and a great, smart script that will make me believe in him. Luckily, Superman is not the only man made of steel in theaters this year: Wolverine has come to the rescue. Once again, Hugh Jackman comes to reprise his role as Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine, for the eighth time (that's right, boys and girls, eight times!) and he is better than ever. This time is the story of just Logan, a man that has left the mutants league and is found living in the woods, away from civilization yet close enough to gather whatever he may need, like batteries for his FM radio. The image of his lost love Jean Grey (reprised by Famke Janssen) haunts him and tortures him to the point where there's not a day that goes by when he doesn't blame himself for her death. A struggle that makes Logan very vulnerable by the minute. Soon Logan is summoned by an old friend from Japan, a man he saved from the atomic blast of the bomb thrown to Hiroshima right after the Pearl Harbor attack. The man is an honorable and noble businessman who looks to live forever and proposes to turn Logan into a mortal, to end his curse that is to live forever. I am glad that The Wolverine doesn't tap much into the X-Men universe and we never get to see Logan step into his tight superhero suit, although the ladies (and some gentlemen, too) will be glad to know that Hugh Jackman shows his ripped body quite a bit throughout the movie, an intense workout routine and a diet that consisted of eating six whole chickens a day has really paid off for the 44 year old and even landed him in Fitness magazines everywhere. I never thought of Logan as a comic superhero here but a man cursed with steel claws, the ability to heal and his immortality. And there is a difference. Specially when his powers get taken away and all we have left is a man that hurts, bleeds, gets tired and is vulnerable like the rest of us. Someone we humans can relate to. I also enjoyed the Japanese settings, the hustle of Tokyo, the scene atop the bullet train that kept me at the edge of my seat, the cheap motel with different themes to choose from, the serene setting near Hiroshima, the Japanese costumes like the beautiful kimonos the heroine wears (Mariko played by Tao Okamoto), the samurais with their fight choreographies, the Japanese warrior and everything else that elevated The Wolverine into an unexpected and, why not, artistic side that I didn't expected to see in a movie inspired by a comic book. Expect to see even more Wolverine when X-Men: Days of Future Past comes to theaters in 2014. In the meantime, make sure not to miss The Wolverine, arguably the better Man of Steel we'll see this year. Sorry, Superman!