And I thought it was a fun movie. Never watched Origins or First Class, just the original X-Men trilogy, compared to which I thought this was fun and thankfully NOT overloaded with pointless characters sitting around waiting for an arc to come by. Nope, this is aaaaall about Wolverine. His arc lasts exactly one (1) first act, his dilemma of "To Be or Not To Be (immortal)" is quickly solved (as in he makes his choice) and it's all ass-kicking thereon.
The, shall we say, "plot" involves him fighting yakuzas, ninjas, samurais, mecha-samurais and a few other mutants. Coupled with the fast pace and constant swapping of random scenarios in exotic feudal/modern Japan, the whole thing reminded me of an old school beat 'em up arcade game where just about ANYTHING will pop out to fight you. Think Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (ever play that game?) or God Hand.
Well, it's not all campy fun, there're some stabs at Wolverine's sadsack plight early on, and his guilty conscience following Last Stand, herein symbolized by Jean Grey showing up now and then waiting for him in a sexy nightie in a pearly Hereafter. And a romance subplot involving Mariko, the daughter of the dude that summons him to Tokyo in the first place. But that's it. I found it to be fun, not at all solemn or gritty like your Dark Knights and Men of Steel. This is by and large Jackman at his most dettached and charismatic. I realized how much of a Mel Gibson-esque presence he has, and how easily he can carry the weight of an action-adventure movie on his own.
Yes, there're a couple of plot holes involving the villains and their plan. It was more of a Bus Ride Home Logic for me, didn't really bother me during the movie. And I called it action-adventure as opposed to straight out action flick or superhero movie because, well, it feels equal parts action and adventure. Like I said before, part of the fun is the silly ride we hitch through the plot and the wide range of enemies, scenarios and campy shifts.
Another thing I was deeply thankful for: no allusions to terrorism whatsoever. I'm sick and tired of every single action blockbuster working in terrorism as part of the plot. No terrorism, no fleeing masses of civilians as towers crumble behind, no contrived propaganda or patriotism or messages about modern-day political agenda: just a bunch of bad guys who cross the wrong dude. You know what? FINALLY.
As for the mandatory Marvel bonus scene during the credits (after the fancy Power Point credits and right before the boring scroll-on-black credits)...
The, shall we say, "plot" involves him fighting yakuzas, ninjas, samurais, mecha-samurais and a few other mutants. Coupled with the fast pace and constant swapping of random scenarios in exotic feudal/modern Japan, the whole thing reminded me of an old school beat 'em up arcade game where just about ANYTHING will pop out to fight you. Think Cadillacs & Dinosaurs (ever play that game?) or God Hand.
Well, it's not all campy fun, there're some stabs at Wolverine's sadsack plight early on, and his guilty conscience following Last Stand, herein symbolized by Jean Grey showing up now and then waiting for him in a sexy nightie in a pearly Hereafter. And a romance subplot involving Mariko, the daughter of the dude that summons him to Tokyo in the first place. But that's it. I found it to be fun, not at all solemn or gritty like your Dark Knights and Men of Steel. This is by and large Jackman at his most dettached and charismatic. I realized how much of a Mel Gibson-esque presence he has, and how easily he can carry the weight of an action-adventure movie on his own.
Yes, there're a couple of plot holes involving the villains and their plan. It was more of a Bus Ride Home Logic for me, didn't really bother me during the movie. And I called it action-adventure as opposed to straight out action flick or superhero movie because, well, it feels equal parts action and adventure. Like I said before, part of the fun is the silly ride we hitch through the plot and the wide range of enemies, scenarios and campy shifts.
Another thing I was deeply thankful for: no allusions to terrorism whatsoever. I'm sick and tired of every single action blockbuster working in terrorism as part of the plot. No terrorism, no fleeing masses of civilians as towers crumble behind, no contrived propaganda or patriotism or messages about modern-day political agenda: just a bunch of bad guys who cross the wrong dude. You know what? FINALLY.
As for the mandatory Marvel bonus scene during the credits (after the fancy Power Point credits and right before the boring scroll-on-black credits)...
Next thing, reality freezes and Wolverine is confronted by both Magneto and Xavier because "dark forces are coming/preparing" and "they could mean the destruction of all of us" (something along those lines). Xavier's return is simply hand-waved as "you're not the only one with gifts/powers", which I think is a reference to the very first X-Men movie, regarding a conversation they had there. So there you go, Xavier has returned, he's in good terms with Magneto and X4 is gonna pitch them against Sentinels.
