CAST: Hugh Jackman, Rila Fukushima , Tao
Okamoto, Haruhiko Yamanouchi
DIRECTOR: James Mangold SCREENWRITER: Mark Bomback, Scott Frank PRODUCER: Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr., Hugh Jackman, Hutch
Parker, Lauren Shuler Donner
EDITOR: Michael
McCusker MUSIC: Marco Beltrami GENRE: Action,
Adventure, Fantasy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ross Emery
RUNNING TIME: 126 minutes DISTRIBUTOR:
20th Century Fox
LOCATION: Japan, Australia
Technical
assessment: 3.5
Moral
assessment: 2.5
MTRCB Rating:
PG 13
CINEMA rating: V 14
Logan, a.k.a.
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is saved by and in turn saves a Japanese officer
during the bombing of Nagasaki in World War II. Determined to give up his fighting ways, the solitary Logan
lives in anguish deep in the Canadian forests, burdened by his immortality and
haunted by dreams and nightmares of his deceased lover, fellow mutant Jean Grey
(Famke Janssen). Before he can
slash dead the toughies he encounters in a local bar, he is stopped by a young
Japanese woman, Yukio (Rila Fukushima), who has been tracking him on the orders
of her master, Yashida, the man Logan had saved during the war. Master Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) is
now the most powerful businessman in Japan, but is dying and wants to thank
Logan in his dying bed. Logan reluctantly
agrees to travel to Japan “only for one day”, but soon discovers that what
Yashida really wants is the Wolverine’s immortality—which he asks Logan to
transfer to his body.
Wolverine
is a refreshing change from superhero movies that rely heavily on
computer-created monstrosities for impact. Although there is towards the end a Robocop-like character
that Logan must fight to death, most of the combat scenes involve people, real
people whose fighting skills are enhanced by good choreography and crisp
editing. The story also makes it
easier for the viewer to resonate with the characters because it has a
here-and-now flavor and highlights struggles caused by human frailties such as
greed, hunger for power, etc.
Consider it a bonus that most of the action takes place in Japan , where
“nothing is without meaning”—for then the film gets to offer the viewer some
insights and glimpses of a “different” culture, a 180-degree turn from the
usual gangster movies shot in Chicago or New York. The man-to-man chase on top of a speeding bullet train,
particularly, teases the viewer to watch out for the “The Making of Wolverine”
feature.
Wolverine
highlights man’s appreciation of life and earthly power. The self-preservation instinct is shown
to be stronger than cultural conditioning, as demonstrated by a soldier’s
unwillingness to commit hara-kiri when honor demands. A healthy love of life, however, is corrupted by the lust
for power which leads to one’s obsession to attain immortality. But what for is power when one has to
kill even one’s own child in order to possess it? Why want to live longer when faced with an endless life of
killing? All told, Wolverine is a movie with a heart. Warn teens, though: sex between
unmarried persons is taken for granted here. And there are no cops in sight, at least to count the bodies
thrown out of trains, slashed, maimed, taken down by swords or arrows. Well, perhaps mutants and martial
artists scare them out of the scene.
