The Wolverine

***The Wolverine*** is a 2013 superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. The film, distributed by 20th Century Fox, is the sixth installment in the *X-Men* film series. It serves as both a sequel to 2009's *X-Men Origins: Wolverine* and it follows the events of 2006's *X-Men: The Last Stand*. Hugh Jackmanreprises his role from previous films as the title character, with James Mangold directing a screenplay written by Scott Frank and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series *Wolverine* by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. In the film which follows the events of *X-Men: The Last Stand*, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his immortality, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai while struggling with guilt.

The film's development began in 2009 after the release of *X-Men Origins: Wolverine*. Christopher McQuarrie was hired to write a screenplay for *The Wolverine*in August 2009. In October 2010, Darren Aronofsky was hired to direct the film. The project was delayed following Aronofsky's departure and the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. In June 2011, Mangold was brought on board to replace Aronofsky. Bomback was then hired to rewrite the screenplay in September 2011. The supporting characters were cast in July 2012 with principal photography beginning at the end of the month around New South Walesbefore moving to Tokyo in August 2012 and back to New South Wales in October 2012. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

*The Wolverine* was released on July 24, 2013 in various international markets; and was released on July 25, 2013 in Australia, and on July 26, 2013 in the United States to generally positive reviews. The film earned US$414.8 million worldwide, nearly 3.5 times its production budget of $120 million and is the third highest-grossing film in the series.

## Plot

In 1945, Logan is held in a Japanese POW camp near Nagasaki. During the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Logan rescues an officer named Ichirō Yashida and shields him from the blast.

In the present day, Logan lives as a hermit in Yukon, tormented by hallucinations of Jean Grey, whom he was forced to kill a year ago. He is located by Yukio, a mutant with the precognitive ability to foresee people's deaths, on-behalf of Yashida, now the CEO of a technology zaibatsu. Yashida, who is dying of cancer, wants Logan to accompany Yukio to Japan so that he may repay his life debt.

In Tokyo, Logan meets Yashida's son, Shingen, and granddaughter, Mariko. There, Yashida offers to transfer Logan's healing abilities into his own body, thus saving Yashida's life and alleviating Logan of his immortality, which Logan views as a curse. Logan refuses and prepares to leave the following day. That night, Yashida's physician Dr. Green (also known as Viper) introduces something into Logan's body, but Logan dismisses it as a dream.

The next morning, Logan is informed that Yashida has died. At the funeral, Yakuza gangsters attempt to kidnap Mariko, but Logan and Mariko escape together into the urban sprawl of Tokyo. Logan is shot and his wounds do not heal as quickly as they should. After fighting off more Yakuza on a bullet train, Logan and Mariko hide in a local love hotel. Meanwhile, Yashida's bodyguard Harada meets with Dr. Green who, after demonstrating her mutant powers on him, demands he find Logan and Mariko.

Logan and Mariko travel to Yashida's house in Nagasaki, and the two slowly fall for each other. Meanwhile, Yukio has a vision of Logan dying, and goes to warn him. Before Yukio arrives, Mariko is captured by Yakuza. After interrogating one of the kidnappers, Logan and Yukio confront Mariko's fiance, corrupt Minister of Justice Noburo Mori. Mori confesses that he conspired with Shingen to have Mariko killed because Yashida left control of the company to Mariko, and not Shingen.

Mariko is brought before Shingen at Yashida's estate when ninjas led by Harada attack and whisk her away. Logan and Yukio arrive later and, using Yashida's X-ray machine, discover a robotic parasite attached to Logan's heart, suppressing his healing ability. Logan cuts himself open and extracts the device. During the operation, Shingen attacks but Yukio holds Shingen off long enough for Logan to recover and kill Shingen.

Logan follows Mariko's trail to the village of Yashida's birth, where he is captured by Harada's ninjas. Logan is placed in a machine by Dr. Green, who reveals her plans to extract his healing factor and introduces him to the Silver Samurai, an electromechanical suit of Japanese armour with energized swords made of adamantium. Mariko escapes from Harada, who believes he is acting in Mariko's interests, and manages to free Logan from the machine. Harada sees the error of his ways and is killed by the Silver Samurai while helping Logan escape.

Meanwhile, Yukio arrives and kills Dr. Green as Logan fights the Silver Samurai. The Silver Samurai severs Logan's adamantium claws and begins to extract Logan's healing abilities, revealing himself to be Yashida, who had faked his death. Yashida starts to regain his youth, but Mariko intervenes and stabs Yashida with Logan's severed claws while Logan regenerates his bone claws and kills Yashida. Logan collapses and has one final hallucination of Jean, in which he decides to finally let go of her.

Mariko becomes CEO of Yashida Industries and bids farewell to Logan as he prepares to leave Japan. Yukio vows to stay by Logan's side as his bodyguard, and they depart to places unknown.

In a mid-credits scene, Logan returns to the United States two years later and is approached at the airport by Magneto, who warns him of a grave new threat to the mutant race and Professor X, who Logan previously thought was dead.

## Cast

* Hugh Jackman as Logan / Wolverine, a mutant whose prodigious healing abilities and adamantium infused skeleton combine to make him virtually immortal. Jackman also portrayed the character in the previous *X-Men* films. In terms of his character Jackman views Wolverine as "the ultimate outsider" and that "the great battle, I always thought with Wolverine, is the battle within himself".[9] Regarding Logan's struggle with immortality, Jackman said, "He realizes everyone he loves dies, and his whole life is full of pain. So it's better that he just escapes. He can't die really. He just wants to get away from everything."[10] Jackman stated that he ate six meals a day in preparation for the role.[11] Jackman contacted Dwayne Johnson for some tips on bulking up for the film. Johnson suggested that for six months, he gain a pound a week, by eating 6,000 calories a day which consisted of "an awful lot of chicken, steak and brown rice".[12]
* Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida, Yashida's granddaughter. Logan protects Mariko as her life becomes threatened as a result of her grandfather's will. About her character, Okamoto said that Mariko is no pushover and is proficient in karate and knife-throwing.[13]
* Rila Fukushima as Yukio, a precognitive mutant and one of the deadliest assassins in Shingen’s clan.[14][15][16] Fukushima said, "My character's very physical. Yukio and Wolverine have a lot in common. She really takes care of him and he also cares about her."[13] Mangold described Yukio as a lethal fighter who is "both sexy and almost kind of sprung from the anime world."[10]
* Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida, Mariko's father and corporate rival.[14]
* Svetlana Khodchenkova as Dr. Green / Viper, a mutant, who has an immunity to toxins.[10][17] About her character, Khodchenkova said "Viper doesn't really have many people that she cares about, most of them she just uses for her own purpose."[13] Mangold said, "as her name would imply, she's kind of snakelike," and that Viper views Logan "like a great hunter might view hunting a lion in his quarry."[10]
* Brian Tee as Noburo Mori, a corrupt minister of justice who is about to marry Mariko.[18]
* Haruhiko Yamanouchi as Yashida, the head of Yashida Industries, a technology zaibatsu who develops the Silver Samurai weapon suit. It is Yashida that Logan saved years previous, and who seeks out to take Wolverine's powers from him.[14] Ken Yamamura portrays young Yashida.
* Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada, a former lover of Mariko and head of the Black Ninja Clan, sworn to protect the Yashida family. Lee said that he underwent rigorous sword training for the film.[13][18]
* Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, a mutant and former member of the X-Men, who Logan killed at the end of *X-Men: The Last Stand*. Jackman said, "There’s no doubt that the most important relationship in his life is — we’ve seen through the movies — is his relationship with Jean Grey. Yes, we saw her die at the end of ‘*X-Men: The Last Stand*,’ but in this movie, she has a presence, which I think is vital to the movie, particularly for him confronting the most difficult thing within himself."[19]

Additionally, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen reprise their roles as Charles Xavier / Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in cameo appearances during the mid-credits scene.