Not a bad film but could have been a lot better

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2013)

This film works well on many levels. The action sequences are solid, especially the scene on the bullet train. The score is excellent and the sets, costumes, etc. are well done. Acting is also good with a solid cast including of course Hugh Jackman reprising a role he is very familiar with. Okamoto does reasonably well, but she is just a bit too weak and waifish - almost skeletal - it would have been better if she had put on a few pounds of muscle for the role.
There are several plot holes but these are also problems in the source material apparently. The most annoying one is the bombing of Nagasaki in the opening scene which shows Japanese soldiers performing seppuku as if they knew what the bomb would do. The reality is that the bombs were a surprise to everyone and the scene at Hiroshima after the first one was mass confusion - there is no way the soldiers could have known what was about to hit them. Also, it was a cloudy day, etc...
But finally, the entire movie is just a tad bit anti-climactic. It's hard to say why, but there is never really a sense that Wolverine or his friends are truly in mortal danger. The action sequences feel just a bit too staged.
This is still a decent movie but you will be left thinking it could have been so much more.