A little underrated; this is much better than the eponymous hero's first solo outing but nowhere near as good as his last.

Rating: 8/10 (25 April 2018)

Though the final confrontation does get a little silly (no doubt caused by studio interference), this small-scale story features some of the best action in the series, by using less wire-work and keeping it mostly practical, as well as a more realistic tone. Jackman also turns in what was perhaps his best work as the character up until this point. The story is appropriately tragic and was, at the time of its release, arguably the closest the character came to being 'comic accurate' on the big-screen, sans yellow suit (aside from its deleted scene, of course.) You can really see what they were going for here and when it works, it really works. The 'Unleashed Extended Edition' on Blu-Ray adds a lot to the experience, with additional blood and violence bringing the violence closer to the original intent. It does feel like a lite version of 'Logan (2017)', but in no way reaches the quality of that, while still being tethered to the studio's idea of what a commercially viable 'X-men' film 'should' be. It's an entertaining and interesting film, all the way until it's rather clunky and disappointing finale, but it still remains leagues better than the eponymous hero's first solo outing and is, I think, a little underrated. 8/10