Due to X-Men Origins: Wolverine being so terrible, and then Logan turning things around so spectacularly by going down in the history books as one of the greatest comic book adaptations ever made, The Wolverine is quite literally the unwanted and oft-forgotten stepchild of the Hugh Jackman solo trilogy.
Which is a shame, because for 75 percent of the running time its a fantastically different sort of superhero blockbuster, asking big questions about faith, fate, and mortality, before the requisite third act showdown devolves into useless CGI f*ckery we’ve seen dozens of times before, and done much better on a large number of those occasions.
The Wolverine‘s problems have nothing to do with the film itself, which is both bizarre, and a shame. James Mangold’s direction is effectively solid, but it was better on Logan. Everything that happens onscreen is twice as good as anything that goes on in Origins (bar the opening credits), but again; the same can be said for Logan.
Effectively, the second solo outing for the mutton-chopped mutant’s biggest flaw is that it’s so much better than its predecessor, but still nowhere near as good as the final chapter. Circumstances that were completely out of The Wolverine‘s control, it should be said, but iTunes subscribers have at least been willing to dive back in.
As per FlixPatrol, Jackman’s jaunt to Japan has made a splash on the platform’s worldwide watch-list this weekend, which is good news, because it would be a shame to let it be lost to the sands of cinematic time for the sole reason that it isn’t Logan.
