Hugh Jackman is the PERFECT Wolverine. GREAT film!

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2013)

The Wolverine is a movie that manages to carve a smarter, fresher niche in the genre that Fox has had trouble reaching before now. It's a wonderful character study first and a great adventure film second. I applaud this smarter approach.
In this film we finally get to see the depth of character that makes Logan one of Marvel's best all-around anti-heroes. I'm not one of those crybabies that hated the Origins movie but I always felt they could have done better with the character. Wolverine deserves better than any "7/10 not bad" movie. Well, Logan FINALLY gets a high caliber pay off with this film.
A true movie first, Wolverine is the most entertaining film of the summer season because it plays it just right. It didn't try to jump on the dark film bandwagon just for the sake of playing with grim emotions. The balance and depth it finds makes it a special film and what results was a true joy to watch on its own. Honestly, other releases this summer have disappointed because they couldn't deliver intelligence or heart with their characters. Wolverine should have patrons intrigued and enthused as they savor a movie done right. It's a perfect balance of intensity, pathos and action. It's the story that only Logan in Japan could deliver and it's as close as we've seen to getting the Logan from the books.
I don't expect any movie version to become the literary version because you really can't compete with 40 years of character development and you also can't make any movie figure an unstoppable killing machine. Yet, they come very close. As a fan, I did have a problem with the character's power level in the movie franchise. He seemed to get KO'd so easily in the trilogy. Sabretooth KO'd him (for hours?) with one swing from a tree branch. Magneto KO'd him on the train by slamming him in to the back wall. Also, a single regular (non-adamantium) bullet to the forehead sends him down in X2. They make Logan tougher and formidable in this film yet they flip it all and make him vulnerable. This adds texture and ups the stakes. Thus, it makes the film so much more intense and enjoyable. Hugh Jackman is the PERFECT Wolverine and now maybe certain fanboys will be forced to acknowledge just that fact. For those of us that already enjoyed his work, this film is a special treat because it's the best the character has ever looked and been portrayed in live action.