The Wolverine

This was the only movie I saw in 3D this summer. I am not a fan of 3D and while I didn’t hate the 3D effects I didn’t feel they added anything to the movie either, especially during the action scenes. Other than that this movie was my favorite of the superhero movies I saw this summer! I went into it thinking it would be my least favorite given what they did during Wolverine Origins but this more than redeemed itself. The romance, action, drama, comedic relief and just down right bad ass moments were all there. During its opening weekend at the box office is only made $53 million according to Box Office Mojo. This is small in comparison to Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel but the movie is still one of my favorites. Go see it and enjoy watching Wolverine be the best at what he does and from the X-Man’s own lips what he does isn’t very nice. If you need another opinion here is Big Shiny Robot's round tablereview of the movie.

***spoilers from this point on***

The Movie

It opens in 1945 with Logan, the Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), held in a Japanese prisoner of war camp near Nagasaki. The atomic bombing of Nagasaki begins during which Logan rescues an young officer named Yashida (Ken Yamamura) and protects him from the blast. 

Fast forward to present day and we find Logan living as a hermit somewhere in the mountains. He is tormented by hallucinations of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) who he killed in X-Men: The Last Stand because she went crazy and started killing people. Now in the present living in the woods Logan has cut off all ties with his past. Yukio (Rila Fukushima), a mutant with the ability to see the people’s deaths, locates Logan. She tells him she is working for Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi) and he is about to die and wishes to say goodbye. Logan and Yukio go to Japan so Logan can say goodbye in person.

In Tokyo, Logan meets Yashida’s son, Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada) and granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto). Yashida offers to transfer Logan’s healing abilities to his own body and finally give Logan the death he has been craving for so many years. Logan refuses explaining that what he has is a curse and that Yashida doesn’t know what he’s asking for. That night Viper  (Svetlana Khodchenkova) who is Yashida’s doctor puts something into Logan’s body but he thinks it is just another bad dream.

The next day Logan finds out that Yashida has died and Yukio is upset because she did not see it coming. At his funeral, Yakuza, which are Japanese mafia, try and kidnap Mariko. Logan intervenes and saves her getting shot multiple times in the process. His wounds are not healing as fast as they should and after fighting more Yakuza on a bullet train, Logan and Mariko hide in a hotel. We then see Kenuichio Harada (Will Yun Lee), Yashida’s bodyguard, meet with Viper who after showing that she is mutant orders him to find Logan and Mariko.

Logan and Mariko travel to Yashida’s house in Nagasaki and slowly start to fall in love. Yukio has a vision of Logan dying and goes to warn him of his upcoming death. Before she can get there Mariko is kidnapped by Yakuza. One of the gangsters is left behind and Logan interrogates him learning that Mariko’s fiancé Noburo Mori (Brian Tee) is involved. After a brief interrogation of Mori Logan learns that Shingen had Mariko kidnapped because when Yashida died he left control of the company to Mariko instead of him. Logan throws Mori off the balcony but he lands into a pool that Logan didn’t know was there and is fine.

Mariko is brought before her father at the Yashida estate and while they are talking a group of ninjas led by Harada attack and take Mariko away. Logan and Yukio show up and using a x-ray Logan finds a robotic parasite attached to his heart which is what is stopping him from healing. As Logan cuts himself open to tear out the bug Yukio tells him this is how he dies. Logan says he’ll be fine and continues to cut himself open. During this Shingen attacks and Yukio fights him until Logan has removed the bug on his heart. Now with his powers back in full Logan and Shingen fight and Logan defeats him telling him he will have to live knowing he tried to have his own daughter killed. As Logan turns to walk away Shingen attacks again and Logan is forced to kill him.

Logan tracks Mariko to a Yashida factory and when he shows up Harada’s ninjas shoot him with close to 30 arrows attached to ropes. Because the arrows are dipped in something Logan passes out and wakes up later in a machine. Viper explains that she is going to take his healing factor and introduces him to the Silver Samurai, a robot suit of Japanese armor that is made of adamantium.  Mariko escapes from Harada and distracts the Silver Samurai so Logan can escape. Harada realizes his mistakes and tries to help as well but is killed by the Silver Samurai.

Yukio shows up and kills Viper while Logan continues to fight the Silver Samurai, who using the energized swords cuts off Logan’s claws and starts to steal his healing factor. During this time it is revealed that the Silver Samurai is Yashida who faked his own death. As he starts to regain his youth and Logan starts to age and die Mariko picks up one of Logan’s claws and throws it at Yashida stopping the transfer of Logan’s power. Logan regains his health and now with his bone claws regrown throws Yashida off the cliff. Logan then passes out and has one last vision of Jean where he says goodbye.

Mariko becomes CEO of Yashida and tells Logan goodbye. Yuko vows to stay by his side and gets on the plane with him. After the credits we see it’s two years later and see Logan at an airport opting out of the metal detector and would prefer to be patted down instead. There is commercial for Trask Industries and the Magneto shows up with Professor Xavier who warn Logan of a new threat to mutants everywhere.

Comics’ vs Movie

There are quite a few things that are different between the comics and the movie and while not all my fellow geeks will agree with me, the changes even though they are major changes are not a huge deal because in my opinion they worked for the movie. Below is a list of differences if you my fellow geeks see any I missed or ones I am wrong about please let me know.

The Silver Samurai/Kenuichio Harada

Ultimate Silver Samurai

When I saw The Silver Samurai in the trailer I got so excited but then when I saw the trailer again I saw that it looked like robot and that made me disappointed. Here's why, The Silver Samurai's real name is Kenuichio Harada who in the movie just plays a really good ninja/bodyguard of Yashida. In the comics he is the mutant son of Shingen Harada, who in the movie is the son of Yashida. Kenuichio and Markio are half brother and sister not lovers. He has the ability to generate a energy field from within his own body and focus it down his sword which allows him to cut through almost anything. 

We saw a version of this in the movie with the swords charging up or heating up depending on who you ask. That to me was a nod to comics of the writers understanding that The Silver Samurai is a mutant and even if he's not in the movie they still wanted to pay homage to his origins.

Yukio

Yukio

Yukio in the comics is not a mutant and does not have the ability to foresee peoples deaths. She is trained in hand-to-hand combat and is considered an expert in Japanese martial arts. She uses hurling bladed weapons more than any others. She is an assassin for Lord Shingen. Yukio starts off fighting Wolverine but later is attracted to him. Because of this attraction she is against the relationship between Logan and Mariko but ends up saving Markio's life from time to time. In the movie Yukio and Mariko are childhood friends and even call each other sister. Wolverine trust Yukio so much that he asks her to raise his foster daughter Amiko and raise her as if she were her own.

Lord Shingen/Shingen Harada/Shingen Yashida

Wolverine vs Shingen

In the movie they made Yashida the grandfather of Mariko and father of Shingen Yashida. In the comics Shingen is the father to Wolverine's fiance Mariko Yashida and father to Kenuichio Harada who is The Silver Samurai. He is also a Japanese Yakuza crime boss. He turned his family clan into a criminal empire disgracing his family name. Shingen found out about his daughters engagement and forced her to marry another crime boss who abused her. Wolverine found out about the abuse and confronted Shingen who had him drugged which allowed him to beat him. Shingen used his knowledge of human anatomy to attack Wolverine's nerve endings and the duel was actually killing him. Because of the poison his healing factor wasn't working and when Wolverine used to claws during the battle to defend himself it looked like he was cheating which shammed him in front of Mariko which was exactly what Shingen wanted.  

Viper/Madam Hydra

Viper/Madam Hydra

In the movie Viper seems to be a nobody other than a mutant who is the doctor for Yashida. In the comics however Viper is also know as Madam Hydra who is a very big deal. She is a high ranking member of a terrorist group know as Hydra. She is not a mutant but slowed her aging process by making a deal with an elder god named Chthon. She is a expert at all martial arts, marksmanship and uses a bullwhip as a main weapon. She has a vast knowledge of toxins and poisons and creates her own poisons for whatever she needs. She like in the movie is immune to most toxins but that is because she built up the immunity herself. Throughout the comics she has hired The Silver Samurai as a bodyguard which could be why they decided to use her in the movie. 

Easter Eggs

The after credits scene with Magneto and Professor Xavier was my favorite part of the movie! We saw Trask Industries which leads us geeks to Bolivar Trask, who is responsible for creating the Sentinels. Giant robots who have one objective, to hunt and kill mutants. Add this little teaser to the fact that old time friends/rivals Magneto and Pro. X are working together promises to build to an amazing movie in X-Men Days of Future Past which will be the next in the X-Men movie franchise.

Sentinels

As I said before this movie had more changes than almost any of the other movies that came out this summer for superheroes but unlike some of the other changes in the other movies. The changes in this movie worked well. Normally when they make such huge changes like Iron Man 3 did with The Mandarin I find it hard to accept but not this time.