Really interesting, atmospheric depiction of Japan in this one. Wolverine dealing with the grief of Jean is a fitting arc following the X-Men trilogy, although even with this film you could already tell Mangold’s directorial sensibilities and Jackman’s excellent portrayal would benefit from an R rating. The cinematography and contained action sequences are also quite admirable. The problems lie mostly in the writing. For the first two acts it sets up this yakuza plotline, which is not very engaging because the script doesn’t know what to do with it. We’re splitting time between two equally uninteresting female co-leads, it sets up a romance in one scene that doesn’t go anywhere, we know way too early who the twist villain is going to be, there’s a lot of blunt exposition; it’s honestly quite forgettable. The acting from the cast surrounding Jackman isn’t all that strong either. During the third act it tries something different, but it kinda derails the whole movie. It’s a very schlocky, unsatisfying conclusion that reeks of studio meddling. All in all, it’s not a great movie, but you can see the seeds that would eventually give Mangold the idea for Logan.
Shout by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2024-04-28T09:19:27Z
Really interesting, atmospheric depiction of Japan in this one. Wolverine dealing with the grief of Jean is a fitting arc following the X-Men trilogy, although even with this film you could already tell Mangold’s directorial sensibilities and Jackman’s excellent portrayal would benefit from an R rating. The cinematography and contained action sequences are also quite admirable. The problems lie mostly in the writing. For the first two acts it sets up this yakuza plotline, which is not very engaging because the script doesn’t know what to do with it. We’re splitting time between two equally uninteresting female co-leads, it sets up a romance in one scene that doesn’t go anywhere, we know way too early who the twist villain is going to be, there’s a lot of blunt exposition; it’s honestly quite forgettable. The acting from the cast surrounding Jackman isn’t all that strong either. During the third act it tries something different, but it kinda derails the whole movie. It’s a very schlocky, unsatisfying conclusion that reeks of studio meddling. All in all, it’s not a great movie, but you can see the seeds that would eventually give Mangold the idea for Logan.
4.5/10