Synopsis: not to be confused with X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), this film tells the story of what happened to our lupine hero after umm… before he… err… the timeline is a tad confusing but basically the flashbacks take us to WWII where Logan, in a Japanese prisoner of war camp, saves a Japanese soldier from an impending nuclear bomb. In the present day (which seems to be the actual present day) Logan is called to Japan by said soldier, claiming he wants to say thanks and farewell as he’s about to die of old age.
Throw in a new love interest, a mutant baddie, plenty of fight sequences and a whole heap of halluciations featuring a simply bizarre looking Famke Janssen and that’s pretty much it.
That’s a lot of muscles
What can I say? I thought it got off to a promising start with a Man of Steel-style bit where Logan tries to steer clear of trouble and keep his powers under wraps. Needless to say this doesn’t last long. It went a bit saggy in the middle and to be honest, I can’t really recall too much about it, and by the end it just got a bit stupid. Although it was quite good fun in places, it didn’t really feel like an X-Men film and, as much as I enjoy the works of Hugh Jackman, I don’t think I’ll be rushing to buy it when it comes out on DVD.
Oh, and the constant appearances by Wolverine’s lost love, Jean Grey (Janssen), were just really annoying. If I was trying to be nice I’d say it would give you the opportunity for a good drinking game… “Jean Grey dream sequence – one shot”… “Jean Grey hallucination – have a shot”… “Jean Grey, Jean Grey, Jean Grey”
Final thoughts: worth a look if you follow the X-Men franchise but don’t expect it to live on in your memory.
Score: 6/10
Key info
Released: 2013
Running time: 2hrs 6 mins
Director: James Mangold
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Famke Janssen, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima
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