Borderline brilliant cinematography is the mark of The Wolverine
Starring Hugh Jackman, Rila Fukushima, and Tao Okamoto. Now playing
If you are getting tired of movies about costumed adventurers, spare a thought for the poor heroes themselves. It’s a life of endless stress, filled with regrets about the lives they couldn’t save and unexpected consequences from the ones that they did. Some days, they’d rather be normal—or even dead.
At least, that is the apparent premise behind The Wolverine, a character study of the most depressed superhero since Rainn Wilson in Super, which was at least hilarious. As the movie begins, Hugh Jackman’s clawed mutant has devolved from being merely asocial to an actual hermit, abandoning crime-fighting for a life of skulking in the woods and feeling terrible.
An emissary from a long-ago acquaintance, now a business tycoon, brings Logan to Japan. The purpose of the trip is to make a deathbed farewell, which seems to suit Logan’s morbid state of mind.
Though director James Mangold displays a patience unusual for the genre, an X-Men spinoff cannot forever remain an austere contemplation of mortality. Logan is eventually enmeshed in a crisis involving a disputed inheritance, political corruption, creepy doctors, and ninjas.
As usual, he protects those in distress, particularly Mariko (Tao Okamoto), a fetching heiress. What is not usual is that Logan is also one of the distressed, having been suddenly stripped of the healing factor that made him such a dangerous foe.
The trailer has given away a final confrontation with the Silver Samurai, but The Wolverine is most successful when it is being an unexpectedly suspenseful (if not overly logical) chase thriller. It also features borderline brilliant cinematography, not only of Jackman’s improbably muscled, shirt-free torso but of its Japanese setting and denizens.
And ninjas!
Comments
9 Comments
Ron Y
Jul 26, 2013 at 2:13pm
As our reviews are quite short, I am going to use this online space to add observations that I eliminated, probably because they are stupid.
Nonetheless: how about those arms? Is it possible for that kind of vascularity to be naturally occuring or is there a necessary juicing element? Bodybuilders, weigh in (so to speak)
I've been lifting for thirty years and while my arms are ok, the veins are not trying to hurl themselves out of my skin.
Of course my bodyfat is a lot higher, so maybe it's just a very cut look.
It was somewhat distracting.
Ron Y
Jul 26, 2013 at 2:42pm
Something else: 3D.
The post-converted dimensionalization was well done, in that I didn't get a headache and I didn't see any depth displacement artefacts. (Albeit was sitting dead center in the theatre.) Part of the successful conversion is that The Wolverine was shot in relatively long takes; the eye isn't required to refocus constantly.
However, this has to be the most useless conversion yet because Mangold wasn't throwing anything towards the screen. I like cheesiness and if I am obliged to wear those glass, I WANT arrows shooting over my head! Other than a scene involving a light snowfall, there were no noticable dimensionalized elements.
It's very strange. You would have thought some ninjas would come flying towards the screen ONCE.
Carruthers
Jul 27, 2013 at 9:30pm
Hollywood continues to milk Marvel. These action flicks are getting tired and unsatisfying. Better uses for 20 dollars.
Ron Y
Jul 29, 2013 at 4:50pm
Well, yes Carruthers. And no. I mean, I have a pretty decent TV at home. It is fine to watch shows. Good shows, even.
I think that the large screen format still has its charms. Crowd noise makes (funny) compedies even funnier. And the detailed image helps action flicks, albeit sprightly and satisfying ones are always going to be better than those tired and unsatisfying ones.
As for Marvel, in particular, I believe that they are in their fifthieth year of publication and have served readers with approximately eleventy jillion stories. Is that tired? Well, I'd get very tired (and ink-stained) attempting to keep up with their output, but I guess if you like the genre, you like the genre.
I did see a 'small' movie last night: The Way Way Back. It kind of pissed me off actually although most of the acting was very fine. I'm not saying that it needed mutants with claws disembowelling people, but I'm not saying that it didn't.
Martin Dunphy
Jul 29, 2013 at 6:43pm
I think there were a few arrows "jumping" off the screen, and the bullet-train sequence had some things rushing the eyes. Perhaps ditto for the "Silver Samurai" sequences? Sometimes the eyes just get accustomed to the effects, and sometimes they aren't as pronounced as a human organ dangling on the end of a spear as in the early Andy Warhol's Frankenstein.
Adrian Mack
Jul 29, 2013 at 8:39pm
"... a human organ dangling on the end of a spear as in the early Andy Warhol's Frankenstein."
Or my house on most weekends
Beck Bishop
Jul 31, 2013 at 12:52pm
Thumbs up people! What's with all these thumbs down?! Go see an upbeat movie or something! Wait, are there any upbeat, feel good movies this summer?...
Popping veins require a diet of carrots and steamed skinless chicken breasts, intense cardio and bulk to achieve zero body fat. Generally unsustainable between action flicks. Id rather just appreciate Hugh's lovely, umm, efforts!
Me
Aug 4, 2013 at 8:44pm
Your time is coming Ronald MacDonald, fasten your seat belt.
Ron Y
Aug 5, 2013 at 6:19pm
You're right Martin, there were a few arrows shot my way. Still, I don't think that this movie really figured for 3D. I have nothing against a good conversion - Titanic looked great - but when a film plans for conversion it always looks better.
Beck, you don't think Hugh juices at all? He had to have put on at least 20 pounds after Les Miz and it's not fat weight like Christian Bale in Batman Begins. I believe that hard gaining the fully natural way might let you get 5 pounds a year.
This is not to put down Hugh at all, as you say he looks fantastic and I'm sure he put in the time in the gym. According to his interview in Men's Fitness he trains year-round now, because staying in shape is easier than getting into shape.