Movie Review: The Wolverine

Image courtesy of http://www.thewolverinemovie.com/

I quite like the X-Men series for a couple of reasons:-

• You have a number of characters with interesting powers
• There is no 'superman' among the X-men in the sense that all are equally strong or vulnerable and that makes them relatable 
• They face issues of discrimination adding a grey dimension to the conflict of good and evil

The X-men movies were average at best with the exception of X-men first class which was a truly great movie. For me a movie - specially a superhero movie - should make me relate to the character. It's fun dialogue is an added bonus (thank you Avengers). 

Among the long list of X-men characters one stands apart and that is Wolverine. His menacing claws, his cool healing ability and hos bad attitude make for a fun character and this lead to two movie spin-outs (i) X-men Origins: Wolverine and the currently running (ii) The Wolverine 

The first movie (Origins) was pretty lame. Yes it had a number of characters, yes it covered his mysterious back story and yes there was a fair amount of fighting, but it still did not work. I guess my expectations from a Wolverine movie were too lofty which is why I felt The Wolverine will give the character the movie he deserves. 

It tried and failed. Yes the movie helps us understand what Wolverine was going through, his life of seclusion and his 'curse' of immortality but the pace was too slow. There was also an unusual lack of other mutants which is a departure from the series and most disappointing. I know this is not an X-men movie in that sense but I still expected a little but of mutant vs mutant death battles. 

About the actual story, without giving anything away i'd say it was needlessly convoluted and at times down right stupid. While the broad theme is interesting the actual story seems far to contrived and leaves many unanswered questions. Now you can get away with a shoddy story if you have great action sequences (Pacific Rim i'm looking at you) but here the action was few and far between and even then practically no mutant on mutant fun. 

My final gripe is with 3D, all the theaters here were playing it only in 3D and there was nothing in the movie that would justify it. 

Rating: 2.75/5

This is a guest post written by Prithvi Raj.