Light Years Ahead of its Predecessor

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2013)

I'd like to start this review by saying that I am not an X-men fan. I haven't seen the trilogy of X-men movies, nor have I seen any other X- men film except for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I also haven't read any graphic novels associated with the X-men franchise. Having only seen Origins, I really had no desire to delve any deeper into the X-men franchise, but after seeing this film, that all changed.
To put it simply, this film is so much better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine that it makes the movies almost incomparable. The Wolverine has a palatable story, engaging characters, and original and thoughtful action sequences, all of which were lacking in Origins.
Everything that is good about The Wolverine can be traced back to one source; Hugh Jackman. He completely embodies the Wolverine character, conveying a man so tortured by his past that he is tormented by his very existence. A role like that needed to be aced, and Jackman does just that. As the film progresses towards its conclusion, his performance becomes ever-more impressive, and by the end of the film, it's completely impossible to see anyone else playing the role.
In addition to Hugh Jackman, this film has some magnificently crafted action sequences to keep the entertainment level high. One scene in particular, which takes place on top of a speeding bullet train is a real thrill. This served as one of the film's more pleasant surprises, as all the summer's previous superhero movies suffered from repetitive and uninteresting fighting scenes (see Man of Steel and Iron Man 3).
Beyond Jackman and some thoughtful action sequences, this film has its fair share of flaws. While initially the story is pretty good, with enough slow scenes to balance the action, some incredibly engaging expository scenes with the lead actors, and some real human emotion, there is certainly a big drop in quality towards the end. I don't want to spoil anything so that's all I'll say about that. As far as the supporting cast, I honestly had a real tough time believing some of them. In particular, Rila Fukushima stood out in a negative way; her introductory scene is so ridiculous that I was laughing out loud. She does get (much) better as the movie goes on, but she never reaches the level of the cast that surrounds her. In addition to Fukushima, Svetlana Khodchenkova is rather annoying as the lead villain. I suspect this is partially due to my lack of background knowledge concerning her character, but still, she really doesn't do anything to set her aside from the legions of boring generic comic book villains. The rest of the supporting cast didn't stand out in any way, with the exception of Tao Okamoto, who was quite good as Mariko.
One thing I should add is that there is a scene after the credits that is well worth the wait. Having not seen previous X-men movies, I failed to grasp its meaning, but the gasps and general sounds of awe around the theater seemed to suggest it was pretty enjoyable.
All in all, this film is a good movie. Like every movie, it has its flaws, and some of them are difficult to ignore, but there are enough fresh ideas here infused with Hugh Jackman's brand of raw energy to keep you more than entertained.
RATING: 6.5/10