The Wolverine: Extended Cut Review.

 

The Wolverine: Extended Cut

Director: James Mangold

Stars: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Kukishuma, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Brian Tee, Hal Yamanouchi,Ken Yamamura, Will Yun Lee and Famke Janssen

Running Time: 132 mins

Release:16^th July 2013

Before writing this review I have to say I have only seen the Extended Unrated Cut and I know the differences between the cuts between the Theatrical version and the Extended Version, this version is more violent and bloody, f-bombs and a cigar and is the best film with Wolverine in, well in my eyes of what he's supposed to be.

This is far better than Wolverine Origins that came out a few years back there was too many characters and the plot was jumbled and a mess and I did not much care for Logan, the only things I liked about that was Leiv Schreiber as Sabertooth and the intro credits scene. I also didn't much like X-Men The Last Stand either that was very disappointing. X-Men; First Class and The Wolverine have put the X-Men Franchise back on form.

Set two years approximately after the events of X-Men The Last Stand, Wolverine/Logan (Jackman) has left the X-Men and living in the wilderness grieving and haunted over the death of Jean Grey/Phoenix (Janssen) the woman he loved but had to kill as she had become the Dark Phoenix. At a bar Logan encounters a hunter who's party was killed by a grizzly bear who was hit with a poisonous arrow which made the creature killing his friends, Logan does not like how they handled the bear they should of just killed it and put it out of it's misery. Unknowingly Logan is being watched and a fight is about to break out at the bar until Yukio (Kukishuma) a young japanese woman intervenes, they escape before the police arrives and she tells him that she's been looking for him for over a year on behalf of her master Yashida (Yamanouchi).

During the second world war Logan was a prisoner of war in Japan, Yashida (Yamamura) was an officer at the camp, he see's a B-29 bomber fly over and sounds the alarm, he frees all the prisoners allowing them to escape and he cuts the chains to Logan's well cell but he does not go knowing it's safe down the well, he advises Yashida to get knowing it'll be safe. Yashida lines up with his comrades to commit ritual suicide and is just about to do it until he see's Nagasaki burning, he has a change of heart and decides to run, Logan who climbed out of the well tells him to jump down the well, he does and Logan uses the lid as a blast shield to cover Yashida well he takes the brunt of the explosion, shortly after Yashida looks up beneath the blast shield and see's Logan healing fully from whole body third degree burns.

Yashida has invited Logan to Japan to say thank to Logan for saving his life all those years ago as he is dying of cancer which has ravaged his body but he also has asked for Logan for other reasons. To say any more would be spoilers.

Hugh Jackman is perfect for everyone's favourite Canadian, cigar chomping clawed bad ass, as Jackman gets older her more and more looks the part. Dare I say it but I honestly think this is the most character development i've seen of Wolverine in the films. He's far more vulnerable than he has been before, for most of the film he does not his regenerative powers so he could easily bite the bullet. He's given far more depth too; Early on in the film he vows no longer to kill again after the death of Jean Grey of which he still dreams and haunted by. Of course he almost breaks this rule when he encounters the hunter at the bar. He needs a reason to live and fight on because he's lived for so long and fought in so many wars and seen many of his loved ones die by his own hand or out of his control. Mariko (Okamoto) gives him a purpose he protects her, he unwittingly becomes her body guard and eventually falls in love with her.

Also I should mention this is the first time I have ever seen have a friend in any capacity with Yukio (Fukushima) who also becomes his protector. They have great chemistry together. I am really pleased with the development they gave Logan in this film compared to the other films, I actually like him a lot more as a character than I have done before. They hit the right tone of Logan being a bad ass killing machine and being a sympathetic, emotionally racked lonely man. Of course Logan still has a sense of humour and I love it when he goes through the body scanner and it goes wire and he says “it's a hip replacement !” there's also some fish out of water moments. You can tell Jackman is having a ball with the role and he's perfect in it, if this role was 20 or so years ago Clint Eastwood would have been perfect, hell Jackman looks like Eastwood I am surprised he has not done a western yet. Also he feels a bit like James Bond in this and there's a reference which I am not going to spoil. He also reminds me somewhat of Han Solo.

I know that this film is based on Chris Claremount's and Frank Millers run of Wolverine well a story arc and I knew of the characters but not much of them till I saw this film.

Yukio (Fukushima) is equally as bad ass as Wolverine and a absolutely fantastic character she's a mutant like Logan as she can foresee the future. I love her for the fact that she is the first ever friend we see for Logan in the films, She's not really a sidekick as she's more than that and capable to hold her own and risks her life to defend Logan !. She has great chemistry with Jackman in the film it feels very natural as there budding friendship grows it's great to watch she's also Mariko's childhood friend. She has some absolutely fantastic fight scenes even better than Logan's I may add !. I've never heard of Rila Fukushima before and this is her first western film and I hope to see more of her and hopefully in the next Wolverine film or Days of Future Past. She's an excellent actress and her delivery is top form she looks a bit strange but very beautiful.

Mariko (Okamoto) is Logan's love interest, she is the grand-daughter of Yashida, and again like Rila in her role of Yukio this is her debut western film, well first film in Tao's case and she's equally brilliant. She's very headstrong and believes doing what is right and is the successor to her grand-father's legacy. The relationship between her and Logan develops well, you could see it coming but it was no where near forced at all it's quite natural. I hope to see more of her in the future.

Viper (Khodchenkova) is one of the villains of the film, she is a mutant who has a snake like tongue and can shed her skin and spit acid, she's also a scientist, being honest I was not all that paying attention as she is a background character. In the comics she's also known as Madame Hydra who's an enemy of the X-Men and The Avengers and is somewhat a anti-hero, she's a completely different character in the film aside the name. Also I did not notice whilst watching the film that Khodchenkova's voice was dubbed, I only realised afterwards. Khodchenkova is Russian and hence has a thick Russian accent and early on the film you can hear she talks with a Russian accent and later on in the film it's American, she is my only gripe with the film.

Hiroyuki Sanada plays Shingen, Yashida's son and Mariko's father and is the head of his father's company as he is very ill and not fit enough to run it himself. He's ruthless and cruel and only concerned with himself. I have seen him before in Danny Boyle's Sunshine. He is a absolutely fantastic diverse actor. He has some fantastic fight scenes throughout the film, the best being his fights with Yukio and Logan. If there was ever a Tekken film he should play Kazuya

Yamanouchi and Yamamura play Yashida old and young respectively. As a young man in the war he's very admirable and sympathetic as he free's the P.O.W's. After the war he builds his own successful company and see's the attributes in his grand-daughter and not his son. He is dying as he has succumbed to cancer. He is very friendly, humble and polite but does not want to die. They are brilliant actors and they play the part very well. This is the first film i've seen two actors play the same character young and old.

Will Yun Lee plays Harada Mariko's personal bodyguard and childhood friend, he is smitten with Mariko but does not tell her. I did not recognise him at first and then it struck me he plays Sang Min in Hawaii 5-0 a recurring character in the series, he also voices Wei Shen in Sleeping Dogs, he looks much younger than his years . He is proven to me he's a very capable actor as in 5-0 he plays a likeable rouge who's also part comedic character and in The Wolverine he plays a completely different character. He is also a bad-ass like Logan and Yukio with his skills with a bow and the chase scene with him is absolutely awesome, with him you don't really know what side he's on.

Brian Tee plays Noburo, Mariko's unscrupulous fiancé, he does not have much screen-time but that scene with Logan in is brilliant I loved it. It's quite comedic.

Famke Janssen plays Jean Grey, she occurs in Logan's dreams, as he is haunted by her death by his hand, she guesses that it won't end well as everyone Logan has loved has died. She helps him overcome his guilt to move on, as she taunts him that he could die and be with her. It's great to see Famke Janssen as Jean Grey again, she's brilliant in the small role.

Marco Beltrami does the score to The Wolverine and it's a fantastic score, it's a classical score with a oriental twang to it and it's brilliant this is the second time I have really appreciated a Marvel Film Soundtrack the first one being the Thor The Dark World which is even better than this one. I can't really say i've heard of Beltrami before.

James Mangold is a absolutely fantastic director, I have not seen any other of his films but I know of his body of work and now I am very keen to see his other films, he's directed Walk The Line and Copland. This is a very stylistic film, beautifully shot, character rich, punchy script with great brutal action set pieces it's awesome, and a teaser at the end that made me feel very giddy and excited, it made me feel like a child again. I can't really say anymore without spoiling it but this film showcases Wolverine is the best in what he does, if your a fan of Wolverine you have to see this, well the Extended Cut it really gives you the whole picture. It's one of the best comic book film's i've ever seen.