The Wolverine Review

It was to be expected. Nothing can stop Hugh Jackman from returning as the bad-tempered mutant John Logan. Not even a piece of trash like 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'. His second solo outing fares better. 'The Wolverine' is a likeable movie. James Mangold provides us with a fun ride with ample amounts of action and even some character work.

'The Wolverine' opens with a bang. Actually, it opens with second biggest bang in history; the detonation of a nuclear bomb at Nagasaki in 1945. Naturally, none other than Wolverine is there to witness the event as a prisoner of war. In an act of bravery he saves a Japanese officer from a fiery fate. And unbeknownst to Logan, young Yashida grows up to be the most powerful man in Japan.

So while Yashida lives it up, Wolverine lives like a vagabond. He has sworn off his violent ways because of his hand in Jean Grey's death. But he's haunted by visions of his former love none the same. But as we all know, a pacifistic Wolverine is boring so the filmmakers bring in Yukio (Rila Fukushima). She's also a mutant, gifted with the depressing power to foresee people's deaths. Her employer wishes to strike a deal with Logan. One that involves giving up his immortality. 

Obviously the employer turns out to be Yashida. Who, rather than dying of old age like a regular Joe, wants to extend his life by transferring Logan's healing ability to himself. The moment John refuses, shit hits the fan. Our beloved mutant is cast into a web of lies and once again he's forced to become The Wolverine. What follows is a fun but ultimately unremarkable piece of summer entertainment. 

Hugh Jackman is a permanent fixture in 'X-Men' universe, playing the character of Wolverine for sixth time. (He'll also be a part of next year's 'Days of Future Past') He's also the only one to get his own movie series. A strange thing because Wolverine is arguably the least interesting character in the franchise. Still, Jackman's charisma is there in abundance but it's all becoming a bit stale.

That's basically what the entire film feels like. There's nothing entirely bad about it but there isn't anything really good either. It's a generic movie. One that neither impresses nor offends. As hard as I try, I can find no fault with it. If you're looking for a good time, you can't go wrong with 'The Wolverine'. It's quality entertainment. But in all fairness, you'll forget you even saw it the moment you leave the theatre. 

Iron Man 3 Review

'Iron Man 3' is the latest addition to Marvel's movie universe. An admirable undertaking which up until now has produced a mixed bag of movies culminating in 'The Avengers'. Robert Downey, Jr. was perfectly cast as the heroic millionaire Tony Stark. But even with all his charm, he couldn't save the first two 'Iron Man' films from being decidedly lackluster. 

For the third film Jon Favreau handed over his directorial duties to Shane Black. This veteran screenwriter turned director provides a fresh take on the characters, injecting the humanity and urgency that was absent from Favreau's attempts. The majority of the film feels not only like the best 'Iron Man' but also like the best of the Marvel movies. Were it not for one fatal mistake.   

'Iron Man 3' starts off strong. After the events of 'The Avengers' Tony Stark suffers from anxiety attacks. In his troubled state he turns to his talents for relief. To protect himself and his love Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) he constructs countless new Iron Man suits. Tony's gradual descend into madness is interrupted when his friend Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is wounded in an explosion. 

The explosion turns out to be an attack perpetrated by The Manderin, a media savvy terrorist played to perfection by Ben Kingsley. Shaken by the near loss of his friend, Stark vows to have his revenge. Words that by the end of the movie he'll be sorry for. At the same time a fellow businessman named Killian (Guy Pearce) is found to have shady connections to the mad terrorist.  

So far, so good. The film has great energy and Downey, Jr. has some great moments as he is pummeled into submission. There's a lot of humanity in his performance and for the first time he spends more time outside his suit. But just when you're sure this movie is going to pull it all off there's an amazingly regrettable twist. A choice that undermines the entire movie. I'd suggest all those who have yet to see the film to skip the next paragraph.

In a mind-boggling, but no less funny, scene The Mandarin is revealed to be a hoax. The terrorist is really a Shakespearian actor hired to strike fear in the hearts of the West. Shane Black throws away a wonderful antagonist and replaces him with the boring secondary villain Killian. Who's now a genetically enhanced superman. There's intelligence behind this reveal, but it's just so dissapointing. If Kingsley's character had been  handled differently his Mandarin would have been iconic. 

The rest of the film suffers from this turn of events. After the fateful reveal it never truly attains the level of entertainment present in the film's first half. I guess Shane Black thought his bad guy switcheroo was inspired but instead the audience is cheated out of a better film. It's especially painful since the rest of 'Iron Man 3' is so incredibly good. It reminds me of Roger Ebert's famous statement: ''Each film is only as good as its villain.''

The Avengers Review

With 'The Avengers' Marvel Studios has completed one of the most admirable attempts at universe building in modern film. We've been introduced to most of this film's heroes over the last few years. I wasn't too fond of most of them but Marvel should be commended for taking on such a daunting project. Before I start my review I'd like give you a rundown of the all of this film's heroes.

First off there's Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, who got not one but two fairly dull films. Chris Hemsworth is a demigod with a ridiculous accent from 'Thor'. Mark Ruffalo replaces Edward Norton as The Hulk. And Chris Evans' character originates from the best film of the bunch 'Captain America: The First Avenger'. A selection of those film's supporting actors return for 'The Avengers'. The most prominent of them being Samuel L. Jackon. I never really got Jackon's badass image, which by now feels forced to the point of being hilarious. 

The story seems like something a ten-year-old would concoct while playing with his collection of Avengers action figures. The basic ingredients and plot devices have been spoon-fed to us in the previous films. There are, for instance, other worlds that exist beside our own but can be reached by portals. Tom Hiddleston's Loki, the villain of the piece who previously appeared in 'Thor', emerges from one of these portals with the goal of subjugating earth. To do so he has allied himself with an alien force and before long an army of these nasty creatures spills forth from a massive interdimensional portal. The only thing standing between the people of earth and Loki's horde is a collection of superheroes called The Avengers. 

In short, it's a load of nonsense on top of another load of nonsense. But somehow it works. Besides, this movie isn't really about anything but watching these superheroes fight among themselves and finally side by side. Director Joss Whedon, the creative force behind TV shows like 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', 'Angel' and 'Firefly', manages to make the film an enjoyable, if somewhat silly, action-adventure romp. He knows the characters and offers them some depth. Giving them moments that outshine the ones seen in their own seperate movies. 

In itself the film is okay. There's some nice action scenes here and there, and some fun bits of comedy. Luckily, 'The Avengers' doesn't feature the kind of offensively immature humor that plagued the 'Transformers' movies. More dissapointing is the fact the movie plays it safe on pretty much all fronts. 

There's a lack of urgency and danger; a weakness of many films these days. A good example is a moment in which one of the major characters decides to sacrifice his life. What should have been a poignant scene is robbed of any drama because of the nature of these characters.   

These are supermen, they can not die, at least we're never given any hint of their mortality. They're all pretty much indestructable, which makes it hard for us to care for them. We know they're going to be alright in the end because we see them take so many beatings without sustaining any injury at all. Any sense of danger is effectively nipped in the bud. 

Aside from that major downside the film is fun, and if you like big spectacular movies you'll enjoy 'The Avengers'. Whedon makes good use of his sympathetic cast, which is this film's major attraction. Still, I'm quite sure this year's ultimate superhero movie is still waiting in the wings.