A Movie With So Much Angst

Rating: 7/10 (25 July 2013)

"The Wolverine" begins with a scene at the end of World War II with the bombing of Nagasaki. Under such harsh circumstances, Logan (Hugh Jackman) strikes a friendship with a Japanese soldier, Yashida (Ken Yamamura).
Fast forward to the present time, Yashida (now played by Haruhito Yamanouchi), now the taipan of a big business enterprise (on his amazing futuristic deathbed), summons Logan to Japan to say his parting words before he dies. When he gets there though, Logan got more than what he bargained for, as his very immortality lay on the line.
Hugh Jackman is the perfect Wolverine. By now, we all know looks the part and acts the part from previous X-Men films, and this film is no different. Logan will experience something new from this film that challenges him like never before, and Jackman was more than able to project that challenge. We will feel his pain. He carried this heavy film like no other actor could.
Logan will have two Japanese ladies behind him. First is Mariko (the beautiful Tao Okamoto), the statuesque granddaughter and future heir of the Yashida fortune. Second is Yukio (the anime-cute Rila Fukushima), a quirky red-haired ward of Yashida who was also a very able fighter. Both ladies performed very well in their respective roles.
This film is a very heavy drama with occasional bursts of exciting action. Some fans looking forward to nonstop slash fights may be disappointed. The best fight scene was that one on the roof of the bullet train, and that happens in the first hour. I also enjoyed all the well-orchestrated Japanese-style sword fights and archery scenes, but these were fewer than I expected.
Save for a brief scene about a bath near the start, there was absolutely no relief from the overwhelming angst that pervades this movie. Everybody was frowning or angry almost the whole time. And this film lasts for more than two hours. Some viewers may find all this rage too much to bear.
I found this a very well-made film by Director James Mangold. I liked the intense Wolverine it painted. I liked the Japanese setting and cultural references. I liked the artsy scenes featuring Famke Janssen as Jean Grey. I really like the extra scene during the final credits, now that is really exciting.
However, as a whole the tone may have been too turgid or intense to be considered entertaining. Fans should go watch it as it is a very good film, but do not expect it to be as commercial as the other X-Men films for the average moviegoers. 7/10.