Will offend both comic book purists and intelligent fans of the Wolverine

Rating: 4/10 (6 August 2013)

From what relevant personal background do I write this review? As a teen I was a reader of the related comics and although never a fanatic, realized a high degree of enjoyment from time spent with them. Beyond that, Wolverine is one of my favorite X-men although other than in the films of the last decade, I have not closely followed his story in art and print in over twenty years. Lastly, I am a fan of intelligent, adult themed action, sci-fi and horror films running on screenplays that require some degree of thought to understand - on the part of the viewer. I most enjoy films that engage me intellectually as well as visually.
Enter 'The Wolverine'. Based on reviews read around the net, I had planned on waiting for some time to see this film. Written opinions seemed to range from absolute enjoyment, to open hatred although positive reviews continue to outnumber the negative.
The opening scene and twenty minutes that follow it are very well written, acted and visualized - although Wolverine is not one of the most outwardly complex of characters to mimic. Much like scenes in other X-men and Wolverine movies, we find Logan living in the wild, haunted by one memory or the other drawn from the subconscious of very long lived individual. Logan has been around for over a century and perhaps more, so there is no shortage of internal strife from which to draw.
In my opinion, those opening scenes of act one were the best in the entire film, alongside perhaps a minute here or there later on in the running time.
What follows is an incredibly senseless plot acted out by too many factions the writers never fleshed out enough to either make us understand their roles, or cement the need for their existence in the first place. The film has Yakuza hit men - by the dozen who attack with relentless fury, then suddenly vanish for the rest of the story. It has Ninja assassins who hop and flip and do ninja stuff, but despite a tidbit of history and backstory to establish their relevance, they seem rather unnecessary to the story.
Several characters appear as well who like the Yakuza and Ninja, kind of fizzle out before having much impact on the plot. Essentially, I suspect the film makers simply wanted to show us what if - what if Wolverine encountered a Samurai, a Ninja, a battalion of Yakuza, etc.
Pertinent to our adamantium laced hero himself, the writers take great liberty with Logan's mutant powers - so much so that serious fans might leave the theater after viewing some of the more contrived or ridiculous modifications the film makers made to them. As stated above I am not a rabid fan of the comics, however I did walk away feeling a bit aggravated and perplexed by the situations Wolverine was put into, the uses of his abilities and his variety of reactions to tough situations. The Wolverine we have in this film, is not the Logan of the comics - not even close.
The plot, or rather the logic behind its unfolding events is quite the opposite of mature or intelligent. Many events occur which either do not make sense, do not connect sensibly with later sequences, or are simply abandoned without adequate explanation. In other words, I did not feel the need to reason out or ruminate much on the plot as it took place, and nothing that did happen really qualified as food for thought.
Of course some visually stunning movies can pull off the brainless, all eye candy method by overwhelming the viewer with scene upon scene of computer generated wizardry, or explosions or other such special effects. 'The Wolverine' fails here in that regard as well. A couple of action sequences were interesting, but I never found myself thrilled or on the edge of my seat. This is neither a thinking man's film nor a completely mindless CGI fest.
Hugh Jackman pulls off Wolverine pretty well, but his is the only character in a film with many busy characters who spend extended time on screen with whom the viewer can connect. Most of the other characters are paper thin, their actions wholly unbelievable even for an alternate Earth where mutant superheroes exist.
Bottom line, any fan of the X-men, of Wolverine will naturally want to see 'The Wolverine'. I cannot blame them for that. However, is this film worth the price of admission or the time investment involved in driving to the theater, waiting in one or more lines, sitting through previews? I cannot agree that it is.