The best at doing what Wolverine is - and that *is* very nice

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2013)

With the X-Men disbanded(no, this doesn't retcon The Last Stand or Origins) and Jean gone(albeit she does appear in this - I won't give away how, but it's perfect for dealing with this part of the aftermath of the previous entries; and Janssen does brilliantly), Logan(Jackman, nailing the role again, hard-drinking and brooding without making it dull - and in the best shape yet) is about to give up. He won't use violence(except for how brutal and bloody this is for being PG-13...), and he's facing inner demons, and the curse of immortality. What good is it to live forever, when those you love die horribly? Yashida(Yamanouchi/Yamamura, given a major arc, and bringing up the further themes of integrity and honor), the dying leader of a huge corporation who he saved at Nagasaki(...!), offers him a chance to die naturally. His granddaughter, Mariko(Okamoto, arguably the lesser of the all-strong female-dominated supporting, all Japanese, cast, who still holds her own) is targeted, and Wolverine protects her.
When you add her mysterious, acrobatic childhood friend Harada(Yun Lee), her abusive father Shingen(Sanada) who both do well in their performances, the pixie-like short badass Yukio(Fukushima, who steals the whole movie - I demand a trilogy devoted to her) who recruits our hero, and the cold doctor Viper(Khodchenkova, who gives the sole poor performance - given that this is about the only English title on her filmography, maybe it's a language barrier thing?) who there may just be something more to, it might sound like this makes the usual mistake of far too many people. I am happy to report that nothing could be further from the truth. The character relationships in this are compelling, dialog well-written, and everything holds up to scrutiny(in fact, this does a tremendous job with subtle setup and payoff) until the third act where all of that and the plot implodes, as we patiently sit through a tedious climax-in-placement-only of a fight.
As this might tell you, this is a stand-alone. While not ignoring continuity, it is far more about giving us a gripping portrayal of our protagonist. Every so often, a standard Summer blockbuster comic book flick will claw its way to the surface. Yes, this does lead to a feeling of genre schizophrenia, and this certainly isn't without its flaws - some of them substantial - still, the inspired elements make it well worth your attention, even if they don't all gel. That is, if you're already a fan. If the berserker rage and Adamantium doesn't already get you going, this one will not change anything. This is a great place to start, if you haven't checked these out so far - it's self-contained and explains everything you need to know well, without spoiling anything it doesn't need to about the others. The action is well-choreographed, and at its best, gets the mano-a-mano, high physicality and intensity that Mangold went for - at its worst, the go-to of shaky-cam makes it hard to follow. There is an appropriate amount of it and none of it goes on for too long.
As an adaptation of the beloved Claremont/Miller mini, this doesn't stray excessively, or stay chokingly close(*cough*Watchmen*cough*). The 3D is barely noticeable - not only a post-conversion. I'd go for 2D; as long as you do go. FX are convincing, save for one early thing, and this doesn't disappear into a heap of CGI - the martial arts are clearly real, stunts and practical work heightening the credibility in a thoroughly realistic world - that does have some superpowers. This makes it fit with the Singer two-logy - further enabling this to wash out the bad taste the earlier attempt at a solo outing. The 115 minute running time before the credits that you should stay through(at least to the midway point) passes by smoothly. I wasn't always at the edge of my seat, but I was nearly always engaged.
There is a lot of disturbing content and a little strong language. I recommend this to any fan of these - graphic novels and motion pictures alike. 8/10