Everyone remembers who damn excited they were back in 2009 for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and then how disappointed and betrayed they felt after they saw that crappy movie. That "movie" is probably the reason why you don't want to see this movie. Take those notions and throw them out. The Wolverine, while not a perfect film, is highly entertaining and a hell of a lot better than the last solo Wolverine flick. The movie starts out with a flashback to WWII in Nagasaki. Wolverine, or Logan, saves a Japanese soldier from the nuclear blast. Back in present day, Logan is called back to the soldier in Japan, now dying of some disease, to say goodbye. But things aren't as they seem. First off let me say, as cool as this movie can be, it would have been 100 times cooler if it had been directed by Darren Aronofsky. Imagine a black and white psychological thriller in which Wolverine battles drug addiction and runs from greedy business executives. How awesome would that be? All jokes aside, James Mangold was a solid directing choice, but Darren Aronofsky would have seriously added to the movie. Mangold has made some decent movies. I really enjoyed his 3:10 to Yuma remake and I liked Walk the Line. He doesn't do anything new for the superhero genre, but he does have fun with it. Hugh Jackman is good, as he usually is, in the title role. Even though I've seen it so many times, I fell like it's always fun to see Jackman play Wolverine. In the beginning of the movie, Logan is living as a hermit. He has a long beard and scraggly long hair and he's living in a cave on a mountain. Only Hugh Jackman could make the homeless look seem badass. Acting wise, this movie doesn't have a ton to offer. Yet, the rest of the film is so exciting and cool, you don't really mind. There are some other good indie movies out right now that you should see first (Frances Ha and The Way, Way Back) but of you're choosing between the stuffy new Woody Allen flick or The Wolverine, I'd go with the latter. There's one scene in particular in which Wolverine is fighting some yakuza dudes on top of a speeding bullet train. I don't know about you, but that is honestly pretty awesome. Blue Jasmine doesn't have train top fights. The Wolverine reminded me a lot of World War Z. It's not a great movie, but it's very exciting and certainly a worthy escape from the summer heat. It's no Dark Knight, but it's still pretty good. I give The Wolverine 3.8 out of 5 stars. Happy Viewing! You can follow me on Twitter @WhitsMovies and like me on Facebook at Facebook.com/WhitsMovies.
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