The Wolverine

Wolverine is one of the most popular mutants of the X-Men franchise and no actor has the ability to pull off the role quite like Hugh Jackman. Then again, no actor has been given the chance since Jackman has starred as Logan since his film debut in X-Men way back in 2000. Despite his popularity, his first solo film didn’t turn out so well. The Wolverine, however, is a different beast and shows that even after all these years there is still only one man for the role.

After the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan has disappeared into the Canadian wilderness where he is haunted by the death of his love, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen). With his regenerative healing abilities keeping him alive for decades, his immortality is beginning to weigh heavily on him. Logan is conveniently offered a way out by wealthy Japanese businessman Yashida, whom Logan saved during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, with the promise that he can live out the rest of his days as an ordinary man. As it turns out, the offer is more of a demand as Yashida’s company aims to do anything to gain the secret to immortality which they believe to be locked inside of Logan.

X-Men films typically have a variety of mutants and abilities to show off, but The Wolverine is limited in that aspect. Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), a mutant who can produce deadly toxins, is the only other one with abilities besides Logan. It’s not as jam packed as the other films, and feels more focused on story than action.

Hugh Jackman still shows that even after all these years there is still no one else who can play Logan quite like him, and The Wolverine may be his best performance yet. There’s a lot of depth to his character this time around, and the film focuses on the humanity of Logan as opposed to the mutant side of him. Early on in the film he loses his healing abilities, forcing him to be more cautious and to fight smart. He’s faced with the realization that he just might die. Before, that might have been okay. There are frequent dream sequences where Jean asks Logan when he will be joining her again. They’re a bit awkward, especially since Famke Janssen is always in a silk negligee for some reason, and tend to interrupt the story.  It can also be a little dull at times, especially towards the beginning, but there is still plenty of Wolverine action to be seen.

From fighting on the roof of a 300mph bullet train to taking on dozens of samurai warriors, nothing quite matches the intense action scenes in The Wolverine. It all leads to an impressive showdown against the Silver Samurai that pushes Wolverine to the edge, both in pain and ability. While the film may not feature characters as iconic as previous films, they definitely leave just as big a lasting impression.

Hugh Jackman literally is Wolverine and the film showcases his talents. With a well-rounded story and plenty of action, The Wolverine is the standalone X-Men film fans have been waiting for.