9 out of 10 stars
One of the summer’s big releases is now on home video. The film entitled The Wolverine staring Hugh Jackman as the titular character was one of the movies I was hotly anticipating. It did ok here in the United States; garnering over one hundred million. But in the foreign markets, it more than doubled that number. Now it is out to buy and better, yet, there is an extended version! Unfortunately, this version was only available in the ultimate combo pack including the 3D theatrical version, the 2D theatrical version, the theatrical DVD version, and two digital forms. It made the purchase that much more pricey. However, I believe it was worth it.
This movie is the second solo adventure of The Wolverine, the origin story being the first. By solo I mean not part of the X-Men team. This movie is based on the Japanese story arc in The Wolverine comics by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. Incidentaly, Frank Miller wrote 300, Sin City and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
It tells the story of Logan, who is summoned to Japan where he meets Mariko and becomes her bodyguard against a Yakuza gang led by the Silver Samurai. Essentially, the movie retains this premise. Though, it diverges somewhat in order to keep it more in line with the movie continuity. This movie takes place some time after X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Logan is struggling with the results of that climactic fight. He is also facing up to immortality. It is a darker, more character driven story line; one that has been sorely needed in this franchise. Especially, a story that would explore a more complex character like The Wolverine.
I couldn’t wait to dig into this piece of cinematic history. Upon tearing off the plastic wrap and opening the clam-shell case for the first time, I saw the three stripes representing the claw marks on each disk. I inserted the disk with the extended edition and steeled myself. It was better than the theatrical version. And among the other X-Men titles offered so far, it shreds them to pieces.
If one hasn’t seen the movie, I recommend this version. However, if one has seen the theatrical, and if one has the mettle then I would still recommend seeing the extended cut. It is not that crucial, but it is fun. Missing out of the theatrical version are some minor details, but those details make the difference. This movie is extended by twelve minutes! Most of the extra time is scattered about lengthening various scenes instead of just one or two main scenes.
The unleashed version showed what claws like that would actually do to flesh. There was blood splatter where there should be and the side of a bullet train being shredded like paper. Aside from that, there was an extended scene in a flashback where Yashida and Logan were in the prison hole waiting for a safe time to emerge. Other scenes that were extended were the love hotel, and the fight scene between him and Shingen. These are just a few examples. There are more extended scenes in the movie, like when he is fighting the Black Clan and he ignites some fuel and emerges smoking a cigar. Fun things like these that were ripped from the comics, but were torn from the theatrical version for some reason.
Hugh Jackman, in his sixth appearance as Logan, delivered a top notch performance. In fact, it might be the best one yet as the character. A wholly unexpected performance was given by Rila Fukushima as Yukio. She turned a “side-kick” part into what could almost be considered a main part. She added heart to the part that in the original story was essentially an annoying gnat of a character. The writers expanded her part from the book into what was seen on screen, an interesting character that one could possibly invest in.
The fight on the speeding bullet train was spectacular and was well conversed about earlier when the movie was released. The critique was that this was the only real stand-out action set in the movie. That is true, but this movie is not the typical, shred’em up action flick like the others were. The focus of the story here is Wolverine’s struggle with his inner demons and immortality. This movie showed him more vulnerable, not just emotionally, but physically. It’s an in-depth exploration of the character coming to terms with what he has been, what he is and the potential of what he could be.
It is a well crafted movie set in a collection for home entertainment release. There are quite a few extras included in this pack. There is the standard commentary track, along with the “making of” documentary. One interesting thing is a brief look onto Hugh Jackman’s training and an Alternate Ending. The alternate ending is not too different from the main ending, but it is interesting if you are a true fan of the comics. There is a second screen app that can be downloaded which when synchronized with the movie is supposed to do lots of things. I haven’t tried this, yet. Another thing that was included was a free digital comic featuring Wolverine. That one should be read if one is at all a fan of the character and enjoys reading about him. (From what I can discern, it takes place some time after the movie.)
Running about thirty dollars for the package, it seems a bit expensive, but it is worth it for as much as one gets. The movie alone is a great one to have in any collection. I highly recommend this to anyone that likes movies with character driven story lines with some action thrown in to move it along. An especially obvious recommendation goes out to the people who like superhero movies or the Marvel comics characters. It may not be a top notch movie as far as Academy Award winner, but it is a cut above the rest.
Erich is the author of the soon to be published thriller, Is Love Everlasting? He has a BA in Communications from Colorado State University. He lives in Arvada, Colorado with his cat, who always tries to help him with his writing. He enjoys watching movies, writing poetry, or reading a great book. Follow Erich on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/erich.appelhans.
About Erich Appelhans
Erich is the author of the thriller, Is Love Everlasting? He has a BA in Communications from Colorado State University. He lives in Arvada, Colorado with his cat, who always tries to help him with his writing. He enjoys watching movies, writing poetry, or reading a great book. Follow Erich on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/erichswritingspot. Get his book at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/410406
About Erich Appelhans