Wolverine is summoned to Japan by an old friend who makes him an offer that may be too good to be true.

Rating: 6/10 (9 June 2014)

Rating a movie based on a comic book is always hard. I want to take points away when they change things and divert from the original comic, but in a sense these movies are a re-envisioning, so I strictly rate them without bias. The Wolverine, which is mostly set in Japan, holds its own on the action front, but I find the story line to be predictable, even for someone who is not a comic book fan. Hugh Jackman, who seems to have the role as Wolverine down to a science, does do the character justice, but I think a lot of movie goers are tired of seeing him. This is Jackman's fifth time playing Wolverine (excluding first class, which he was in for about 1 minute).
Aside from Wolverine there were only two other mutants in this movie, Yukio and Viper. Although Viper's powers were interesting, Yukio's mutant abilities fell short. Her fighting skill did indeed add action, but I think you either need to go all in or not at all when making a movie based on a comic book. To the film's credit, it does have a strong story which is conveyed to the viewer in a more focused manner, unlike Wolverine Origins.
I would have rated this movie higher, but I think that it fell apart towards the end. The "twist" and climax were not as exciting as I had hoped and certain aspects of its conclusion were disheartening. I give the writer's credit for trying something new, not including a slough of mutants, and using a more traditional story telling structure, but the strength of the movie fades as it progresses, and by the end I am not as attentive as one would want their viewer.