The Wolverine is Back Bub!
The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman, is among one of the highly anticipated superhero films of the year. With this second stand alone Marvel film featuring the clawed mutant Wolverine, the filmmakers have an obstacle to overcome: the disappointing albeit successful X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Director James Mangold and Marvel do that by borrowing from Uncanny X-Men #172 published in 1983 where the X-Men battle baddies in Japan.
Some of the similarities between the film and comic other than location, are the inclusion of the characters Mariko Yashida, Harada, Yukio and Viper. In the film Viper is a mutant and American. In the comic she appears to be some kind of assassin and is Japanese. Other roles are switched as well, but for the sake of not having any spoilers, we’ll leave out those details. It’s merely interesting to notice what Hollywood does to make something different from the source material while keeping the essence of it alive.
In this “sequel” to X-Men: The Last Stand. Wolverine has exiled himself from The X-Men and retreated to Canada where he lives as a kind of mountain man and is haunted by Jean Grey’s spirit in his dreams. He is found by Yukio, a female Samurai with the ability to see people’s deaths, sent to invite Logan-Wolvie’s real name for those who are unaware-to Japan at the request of Yashida, a Japanese soldier whose life Wolverine saved during the bombing of Nagasaki and Mariko’s Grandfather; who is dying.
Compelled to pay his respects and attempting to escape his past, Wolverine accompanies Yukio to Japan and meets the man he saved sixty-eight years ago. While there he uncovers a plan to kill Mariko and decides to become her protector. This is a task which tests Wolverine’s spirit and perseverance in unexpected ways, aiding him in rediscovering his reason for being the hero.
One aspect of the film that is especially enjoyable, is the portrayal of Japanese customs and culture. Mangold ‘et al do this so well, that we are able to see Japanese culture through the eyes of the Japanese and for those familiar with the culture, it is a breath of fresh air because true Japanese culture tends to get reduced to Samurai philosophies in Western cinema.
Marvel should be proud of The Wolverine because it does a superb job of restoring the iconic legend to his proper visceral, animalistic persona. Perhaps the only critique from this fan of films and Wolverine is that Adamantium is stronger than steel, even Japanese steel; unless we are supposed to assume that the Katanas in the film are made of the same metal as Wolverine’s claws. Otherwise, bravo, well done, splendid and all that!
Also, be sure to stay after the credits for a treat that should get many an X-Men fan excited. This fan sure was!
X-Men:First Class Review
The steady procession of super hero movies continues with the release of X-Men:First Class. It is an origin story of sorts as the film tells the story of how the X-Men came to be. More specifically, it weaves the tale of how Magneto and Professor X–otherwise known as Erik Leshner (Michael Fassbender) and Charles Xavier (James McAvoy)–came to be friends and within that story shows us the events that sparked their rivalry.
Set in the 1960’s around the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis; X-Men: First Class centers on the two future leaders of the X-Men and The Brotherhood: Professor X and Magneto. For those unfamiliar with the comic book mythology, The Brotherhood is Magneto’s group of mutants who are constantly warring with the X-Men except in tim
es when their purposes are identical.
From the beginning of the film there is evidence of a bitter contrast between the young life of Erik Leshner and that of Charles Xavier. While Charles grows up with comfort and luxury in a New England mansion, Erik is taken from his parents and treated like a lab rat by the Nazis. Because of these differences in upbringing, Charles learns to hope for an integration between humans and the more evolved mutants. Erik instead learns that non-mutants will fear mutant-kind and seek to eradicate them from existence.
These opposing viewpoints become a theme throughout the film as the other mutants are brought together and relate their experiences to one another. Each expressing how they struggle to be accepted by humans. For Mystique and Hank McCoy, they appear to bond over their fight to accept themselves since they both have physical mutations.
Erik and Charles are unified at first in bringing mutant kind together. They do so under the ever watchful eye of the United States government who recruit them to assemble a team of mutants to stop a man named Sebastian Shaw from starting a nuclear war between Russia and The United States. The dilemma, is that Shaw has his own mutants helping him. Hence the need for the “first class” of X-Men.
One thing the film does really well is illustrate the humanity of the mutants. These are unlike the traditional superheroes like Superman, Thor, Spiderman or The Incredible Hulk who are either from another world or develop superhuman powers after a freak accident. The “superheroes” in the X-Men universe are normal humans whose DNA contain a specific gene that causes a mutation in their body giving them extraordinary abilities. Because of this they deal with a whole different type of prejudice and the film hits the mark in how each character copes with their abilities.
The action is riveting and the visual effects are stunning. It is refreshing to see that Marvel refrained from converting the movie to 3D which would have been a distraction.
X-Men:First Class may be a comic book based film, but it is mainly a film that tackles the issue of the very human need for acceptance by peers, society and especially oneself and that desire for unity, because that is what the story of the X-Men has always been about. The pursuit of unity.
Go see it so that you can experience a great film whether you’re a fan of X-Men or not.
CinemaPeek 