The Wolverine

4.5 stars I'd say. This review is long overdue for me. I enjoyed this movie very much, but more than that, I thought it was a great film. Bryan Singer's X-Men films are breathtaking in their spectacle but this film is equally impressive in its meditative quality. Aside from the action sequences, which are great, and a bit of a wild climax, there is a good bit of downtime in this film during which the film explores Wolverine's struggle with his powers, the cost of those powers, and the meaning of immortality. I don't think the films delves into it as intellectually as it might have, but, by filming it the way he has, James Mangold shows us that the film is a least as concerned with being a story about people and legacy as much as it is with being a "superhero" movie. I have always liked the association of Wolverine with Japan in the comics. It seemed very natural, and I'm glad to see that story translated on film. The theme of Wolverine as a Ronin ties in nicely with the problem Logan has of outliving everyone he may fight for (Yoshiga) or care about (Jean). Lovely storytelling. All in all, I expected this movie to receive better reviews from critics than it did. It's underrated, not just as a Marvel movie, but as a film in general (and Mangold, as usual, continues to be underrated as a director). The movie gets around to one of the seminal events in superhero storytelling--showing us the hero without his powers. The question is, implicitly, is he still a hero? And it allows for an examination of the character's humanity. This was done in Superman II when Superman gives up his powers to be with Lois Lane; it's done in Spider-man 2, wherein we see Peter save a child from a burning building without the benefit of his powers; we saw it in Iron Man 3 when Tony Stark has to improvise an attack without the benefit of his suit; we saw it in The Dark Knight Rises when Bruce Wayne goes broke, and has to see what he's really made of as a man in escaping from the pit. And generally, showing us a superhero without his powers has basically the same effect as planting a fundamental weakness in the hero--eg. Kryptonite for Superman and Water for Bruce Willis's character in Unbreakable. The device works well in The Wolverine as Logan is repeatedly haunted by thoughts of Jean Grey forcing him to wonder if being mortal is really such a bad thing. As I said, I think this film is underrated, and I would in fact place it in the top five superhero films to come out of the genre since the release of X-Men in 2000. In no particular order, I think the top five of the last 15 years are Batman Begins, Spider-man 2, Unbreakable, The Wolverine, and X-Men: Days of Future Past. However, there are a number of others of surprisingly high quality that they could appear on such a list--Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X2: X-Men United, and X-Men: First Class, to name just a few. I continue to be amazed by the quality of Marvel films, since it seems like studio executives will inevitably screw up a good thing by trying to get too involved, thinking they know best (e.g., Superman III, and, recently, Amazing Spider-Man 2). Finally, this review would not be complete without giving props to Hugh Jackman for giving the role and the character such respect, and not playing the character with a big wink of the eye (like Roger Moore did with his James Bond films), just because it's a fantasy story. Overall, an excellent addition to the Marvel film canon.

Exceeded expectations regarding content and quality

After X-Men: The Last Stand, I kind of fell out of love with the X-movies. Then X-men: First Class got me excited again, but I had completely lost interest with the modern storyline. X2 is the best of the originals, but it still has it's hokey moments and general kid-friendliness. Xmen 1 is decent, but not my favorite. I never really loved an X-men movie until first class. So when they announced The Wolverine, I didn't get too excited. But then I heard that they wanted to do it in Japan, Mangold was a good director, but I still didn't really feel the motivation. And then I read that Mangold said he had an extended and R-rated version of his movie. That had me curious. The trailer for the movie didn't sell me at all, but I'm a cinephile, so I figured I'll wait and see the unrated version, although I assumed it would be indistinguishably different. Having just watched The Wolverine, I can say this is the best X-men film yet. Better than X2 and better than First Class (both of which I really dug) The movie feels adult. I can't stress enough how much I mean that as a compliment. There is no goofiness, no terrible one liners, winks at the audience about other X-men or Marvel references. This is an honest to it's story and focused on it. Wolverine's claws maim people and he smokes and swears. And with the unrated edition, one might think this would be video game levels of violence. Amazingly not the case. It's unhinged but reserved at the same time. Restraint was shown and yet nothing feels held back. Not since Nolan's Bat films have I really felt a superhero movie that was mature. This didn't feel like a superhero movie, it felt like an action film abotu a guy with claws. And it's so much better for it. With The Avengers, Batman vs Superman, and X-men Days of Future Past, we aren't afforded opportunities to tell focused superhero stories anymore. Here we got actual character development, and a story that was smaller but all the better for it. Last time I appreciated a smaller film like this was Thor. Bottom line, this is the best X-men film, but you wouldn't know it. It stands on it's own as a very mature film. I hope future superhero films take a page out of Mangold's book. And now I'm not at all disappointed there will be another one. (But there are other X-men needing films)

It’s nice to know that of all the X-Men characters to get a spinoff trilogy, Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) was able to improve from one movie to the next. Of course, it’s easy to surpass the peculiar X-Men Origins (2009) with a movie that explores what happens when Wolverine loses one of the core parts of his identity as a mutant. It also helped that this film (and its sequel, Logan (2017)) were directed by James Mangold—a solid director with a variety of different genres under his belt. I’m glad this little piece of Marvel recognizes there are other locations in the world other than New York City and San Francisco. Having the Japanese setting combined with a nuclear backstory (which also ties into the mutant nature of Wolverine) felt like a breath of fresh air for these superhero films. Because having Wolverine fight guys wielding katanas seems like a natural thing to happen in Japan (and it’s fun to watch). The action overall is quite impressive, including a big set piece that takes place on a bullet train. One thing that forms Wolverine’s identity is his mutant ability to regenerate. When The Wolverine (2013) focused on taking away that power, it raised the stakes in a way that the other films hadn’t. Now the immortal Wolverine could be killed. The problem, though, was that this concept never got very far in this film. It was a neat “what if” that felt like it was forgotten by the third act just to shoehorn in a “big bad” villain for Wolverine to fight. Still, it wasn’t any worse than having a botched Deadpool adaptation for your movie’s big reveal/finale. A great Wolverine idea that doesn’t quite stick the landing, I give The Wolverine 3.5 stars out of 5.

I was only a comic reader for about 15 years, starting in the early 1980s. It was a time when "graphic novels" had started to issue with very adult themes and serious character development, not all BAM POW BOP. In all honesty, at times The Uncanny Xmen, one of the titles I did read, was like a soap opera with moody character conversations about being lonely cast-outs in a hostile world. That being said, I loved the series I read and it was a time when the events in this movie had already taken place - Kitty and Wolverine was an early maxi-series for me - and so I tend to prefer a balance of fight scenes and character development. Especially in comparison to its prequel, this movie is thoughtful and shows Logan as a person, with clear motives and sensible reactions to things. Anyone looking for 120 minutes of RAWR and fighting will be reasonably disappointed and should go play a video game instead. It portrays him as a man with feelings trying to sort out his place in a world he dislikes but was drawn into by a rare event - falling for Jean Grey. I'd think even people who don't like comics could enjoy this one, with the exception of the final battle which gets a little geeky and "comicey." As a side note, when comics started introducing super-wealthy characters with secret labs it was a lot harder to buy than it is now with our ever-increasing income disparity in the world and billionaires running around. The only real "technical" objection I saw with the movie was several instances where Logan's tracking instincts - smell and intuition - would have come into play but were not included. Whatever - it would have made the movie less accessible for some audiences. If you want non-stop mindless action battle scenes you'll be disappointed, but so many of these comic adaptations suffer from a loss of connection between the characters' back stories and their actions because there's not enough time to develop the story so the actions seem inauthentic or disconnected. Overall I think this is one of the best superhero/mutant films we've had, in part due to the script and also to the fine acting of Hugh - who we're lucky to have in our generation to portray Logan. Here we get a great movie all around. Bravo.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (the film that came before this one) had some disappointing moments, particularly to the hardcore fans. I really enjoyed "The Wolverine" though, and if there's one real flaw to this movie, it's just that there wasn't a particular need to make it. This is a great one-off story about The Wolverine. It takes place after the events of the third X-Men movie ("X-Men III: The Last Stand") and in some ways this story attempts to address some of the issues with that movie, filling in bits that legitimize some of the unpleasant tragedies that for some fans really marred that film. The Wolverine has some really great moments. It starts with an interesting backstory set during World War II and as it brings the story forward to modern day, Logan has a chance to explore his own needs. He questions what it means to go on living, and he examines the things that have happened in the past. I'm reluctant to spoil this story too much for you, so I'll focus on some of the basics: - it has some fantastic martial arts sequences - it has one of the best 'top of a train' fight scenes I've ever seen--a sequence that reminds me of the excitement of the highway battle in the second Matrix movie because it gives a couple of nods to that scene. - our hero has the proverbial rug pulled out from under him: he isn't as strong as he usually is, there is a lot more real danger for him, and because the movie takes place almost entirely in Japan, he's in unfamiliar territory - Hugh Jackman pulled out all the stops in trying to give Logan emotional depth while still keeping his character the warrior that he is--we get some great acting in this film, particularly at the very beginning and very end. This review is for the 3D Blu-Ray though, so I have to take a moment to say that this is a pretty full package. I like the fact that we get both the original and Extended editions. The 3D aspect is a lot more mature: the movie doesn't use 3D to see how many things it can throw at your eyes. Instead it tries to paint a three-dimensional world. I watched this on my Vizio 47" 3D HDTV in 1080p and loved the feel of it: the 3D look made my TV more like a window with the action inside of it. If you haven't seen this movie yet because one of the previous films disappointed you, I think you'll be pleased with the improvement here. If I had to compare "The Wolverine" to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", I'd say I'm much happier to have this movie than that one, and glad I paid a bit extra for the Extended Edition. It doesn't have any critical story tie-ins to the new movie "X-Men: Days of Future Past", so consider this an entertaining side story.

Good movie. The DVD worked great. It never skipped or froze.

I like this movie the wolverine. It keeps you interested from start to finish during the movie.

Goes with collection

商品を迅速に送っていただきました。ブルーレイがあったら最高だったんだが・・・

STUNNING! Having been a fan of Marvel, Dark Horse, 2000AD etc for many years and collecting the films also, I was thinking this would be a bit of a disappointment as I heard people saying it was rather average especially compared to the other X-MEN type films. How more could they be wrong. The first 20 mins captivated me, and I knew I was watching a masterpiece of a movie. The acting, script, flow of story is just superb and also has a surprisingly refreshing feel. You genuinely feel attached to all of the characters and the direction of the film is just beautiful, with virtually many scenes having an almost Ridley-Scott buttery perfection to it. The action pieces are excellent and are never OTT, by far the most faithful to the comics and most 'believable', one of the highlights being the fight atop of the bullet train. The pacing is really what makes this film, it is neither too fast nor too slow, but just absolutely perfect, with each scene unfolding with a kind of serene rhythm, giving you plenty of time to take in the characters and stunning cinematography and attention to detail. Visually the effects are gorgeous, the bear in the woods being one of the highlights for being so realistic. Hugh Jackman and the other supporting Japanese character actors are just superb, rock-solid and exactly what I wanted to see and hear. The story was nothing outstanding, but it is beautifully realised from the script and certainly keeps you interested. You feel it is building up to something and the ending doesn't disappoint. I was genuinely surprised in a few places! This really is a terribly underrated film, much more enjoyable than the previous Wolverine film and that was a good effort. I place this alongside Oblivion for the most criminally underrated films of the last few years. Excellent Blu-Ray quality, highly recommended!

L'edizione bluray 3d contiene 3 dischi: uno versione cinematografica+extra, uno per la versione estesa ed uno per la versione 3d. La versione estesa dura 2 ore e 8 minuti senza titoli di coda, video a 16:9 con barre nere sopra e sotto, audio italiano DTS 5.1. Nel disco della versione cinematografica sono presenti dei documentari extra e il mini finale alternativo (nulla di che).

This is the sequel to the first wolverine movie and in my opinion much much better. Im a big wolverine fan and have read many of his comic books, and to be honest this film comes closer to protraying the character than the previous film which i thought was really weak. Set in japan the story looks a little bit deeper at the wolverine and his immortality, action scenes are excellent and hugh jackman is in top form. This is the definitive version (the extended version) as it features scenes that were cut from the cinema version and is more bloody and obviously longer. So buy the extended cut, highly recommended.