From August 26, 2013
SCORE: B+
The second Wolverine film is much better than the first, ‘X:Men Origins: Wolverine’. (That being said, I still don’t understand everyone’s beef with the first one. It was a B-flick full of action, so what? Why is that a bad thing?)
With the inclusion of Mariko and Logan’s journey to Japan, I thought this film would take place shortly after the first Wolverine film and way before the first ‘X:Men’ movie, like in the comics. But interestingly enough it takes place AFTER the third X:Men film (which I also think is underrated). I appreciate this twist.
The film is better paced than the first, with better acting all around and better SFX. They finally take away Logan’s healing factor, which some critics see as an alienating factor of the character. How do you truly root for or worry about the life of someone who is superhuman? (For some reason, no one bitches about this when talking about an actual superhuman hero... you know... SUPERMAN... but I digress.)
All-in-all a really good action flick, with most critics hailing the train fight scene. The Silver Samurai’s inclusion was also well-done.
I’m always glad to see Will Yun Lee in stuff, after becoming a fan of his while watching the ‘Witchblade’ TV series. I also like Hiroyuki Sanada. Good to see him in this film. Svetlana Khodchenkova is a nasty villain. Well done. But I have to say, Rila Fukushima (as Yukio) is such a strange-looking woman, like an alien... Sorry, Rila.
Stick around during the credits for some cameos...
