The Wolverine

I am glad that another Wolverine movie has made it to the cinemas and I think that the fans feel the same. The studio must be quite satisfied. With $55 million in the first weekend in the US alone, it is a pretty good result considering the $100 million budget. Depending on how much the film earns internationally, the basic budget will be recouped during the first week. That is good and it only pleases me that good movies based on comics still attract attention. I'm not saying it's great, but it's good. "Wolverine" is a good movie, sometimes a bit pathetic and other times too chambered, but as a whole, it is good. The fans, both comic book fans and X-Men movie fans, will leave satisfied. More: http://www.comics-blog.cz/2013/07/221-wolverine-2013-70.html (07/30/2013)

A completely cut-and-dry flop – that’s how I’d describe this Wolverine. The authors might have forced it a little and gave us a solid atomic explosion right in the first scene, but it’s all downhill from there, which can’t even be stopped by the well-oiled machine called Svetlana Khodchenkova. In any case, it’s hard to say what exactly the problem is here. I think it’s the story itself. For a few years now, I’ve thought that X-Men lacked any sort of concept. The authors are popping out one movie after another and it’s a hard job to try to find a connection between them. For example, I think it’s pretty brainless to shoot two movies called Wolverine over the span of just 4 years. You can be a little forceful at the beginning, but you can’t blackmail us with artificial movies. On the other hand, Marvel never had a problem with recycling and so I’ve got a feeling that there’s a whole array of useless superheroes waiting for us in the future, all under the wings of talented directors. For example, it’s a shame that this movie was directed by Mangold, as I’d much rather see him do other movies. And when I see his upcoming movie – Untitled Wolverine Sequel – it makes me sick to my stomach. That’d be a third Wolverine movie over the span of ten years. However, the X-Men saga still remains to be the moneymaker of the decade, if not the century. I’m surprised it’s still doing well. (07/04/2014)

A slow and very personal drama that loses it toward the end when it turns into the comic far too heavy-handedly. A shame that Aronofsky didn’t make it. Not that Mangold didn’t do a good job, but his signature isn’t as pronounced, tending too much toward the mainstream. But maybe the producers wanted just that. The shift to Japan, where Wolverine is a little out of his depth (but doesn’t try to adapt), is like manna for the viewer. Although we aren’t bombarded with the exotic (was it a problem to film the chase at night with the neons switched on?), but it adds to the scope of the X-Men universe. Jackman is awesome and after the thirteen years he’s been playing his role, it’s become second nature, and worked out for this movie and looks like a huge, invincible gorilla in the fight with Sanada. All the more I was disappointed with the very cursory encounter with the seven hundred ninja’s which I almost didn’t notice. The finale, if a little over the top, had its moments and overall I took utterly positive feelings away with me. Hype can be harmful. (07/28/2013)

It's a shame, but The Wolverine didn't do it for me. Not that this movie was outright bad, but I enjoyed it a little less than the last Origins and a lot less than the first two installments of the saga. Hugh Jackman tries really hard, he loves Logan and knows what fans want to see and hear. But unfortunately, the futile script makes it difficult for him. The plot was inspired by the excellent comic book by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller, but it basically took only the names of the characters, Japan and a few situations. It did not use the powerful yet simple story. Instead, the film is at times overwrought and at times too simple, the intimate moments between Wolverine and Mariko are probably the best, and of the action scenes I liked the one on the express train the best. The rest was pretty much short and stout in terms of imagination or Wolverine's rampage (the school ambush scene from X-Men 2, where Wolverine is at his most Wolverine-like, still leads in this regard). Apart from the opening in Nagasaki, this time there were no moments to remember, which the previous film was in fact full of. And where did the fun go? Who knows... A few good lines (about three) and nothing else. The ending was ridiculous, and clearly the best moment of the whole film came in the middle of the credits. Actually, I think Wolverine was filmed just for that scene and so Marco Beltrami could compose another good soundtrack. (07/25/2013)

Compared to a more recent origin story, Logan's purification has the exact opposite effect, but when it comes to a rating, I see it as virtually identical. This time, I understand the criticisms and objections, but I balanced on the edge of my seat for two hours in the cinema and devoured every minute. And yet, our wild Kuzuri doesn't have to just fly on the roof of a train or slice enemies. It's enough for him to wander around, frown, protect Mariko, and search for himself. Because that animal inside him audibly purrs, even when he's asleep. (08/11/2013)