Escape to the Movies: The Wolverine

[Wolle]

Yeah, I really hate "plot twists," where the filmmakers deliberately withhold information. Like the entire remakes of the Ocean's Eleven film, it is like the writers and director are just holding information from the audience in a pathetic attempt to demonstrate how smart they think they are.

The cynic in me says that this is a cheap ploy to get people to watch the movie again. You know, to see if it still holds up when you know the twist.

 

[erbkaiser]

Yeah, I really hate "plot twists," where the filmmakers deliberately withhold information. Like the entire remakes of the Ocean's Eleven film, it is like the writers and director are just holding information from the audience in a pathetic attempt to demonstrate how smart they think they are.

Yes this is a shitty way of writing. It completely kills all rewatch value a movie might otherwise have had, since you just spend the second watch trying to see if the 'reveal' actually works or not.

On another note, yet another movie with a post-credits reveal teaser? Am I the only one getting really tired of this gimmick? It was interesting in the Marvelverse when they started, but by now it's almost become mandatory. 'Oh hey now that you sat through five minutes of a crappy licensed song and some names and logos that are meaningless to you since you already know who the director and main actors are anyway, here's a little teaser that has nothing to do with the movie just watched but saves us the need to make an actual teaser for sequel/franchise followup/cameo movie. Go watch the trailer for it when we can be arsed to make one!'.

 

[Vault Citizen]

I guessed the plot twist with the silver samurai

Spoiler

when Yukio said she didn't foresee Yashida's deafh, I figured the lack of vision meant that it didn't happen

so I was watching g the fight wondering whether or not I'd be right.
I liked the movie, it was a fun action movie but I agree with Bob when he says it would have been nice if the movie didn't try to create drama but just not telling the audience anything about the various motivations involved.

Really? I saw that coming the moment I saw the trailer. I just figured it was poor writing and left it at that. Huh.


OT: I've never really understood the hate for Xmen 3. I thought it was a pretty decent movie--the best of the trilogy in fact.

I understand the hate but I've always enjoyed X-Men 3, I disagree with you on it being the best in the series but I've always found it enjoyable enough.

 

[mysecondlife]

New Rocky movie? AWESOME!

And shame.. I was in South Korea a week ago. Didn't bring back the rights to the Baseball Gorilla movie. Sorry Bob.

 

[Strain42]

Someone may have said this already, but I do have to make one correction to your video, Bob.

You said there were only two other mutants in the movie besides Wolverine (by which I assume you mean Yukio and Viper, though if I recall correctly neither of those characters are mutants in the comic books.) but technically there was also Jean Grey and our post credits guests, so if you wanna get technical, there were six including Wolverine.

But yeah, I did find the incredibly low mutant count in this movie to be quite odd.

 

[MB202]

Nothing wrong with the bone claws, Bob.

Except that it makes no sense, seeing as animal claws aren't bones, they're made of a protein called keratin, the same thing nails and hair are made out of. Yeah, it's easy to sweep it under the rug with "he's a mutant, mutants are we're like that", but it's still a completely pointless retcon that adds nothing. The whole "claw implants" thing was way better.

But yeah, glad to know that the Angry Nerd from Wired and I aren't the only ones who hate the bone claws.

Also, I thought wolverine wasn't supposed to have the claws before he got the adamantium... so why would he have "Bone Claws" when they were removed? Usually when you remove metal from something it doesn't add organic material...

Here's the thing: originally, Wolverine had gloves that gave him claws. Then he had adamantium claw implants, and for a long time, that was the explanation behind the claws...

But THEN, when the movies decided to give him bone-claws, Marvel decided to ret-con (retroactive continuity) it so that Wolverine had ALWAYS had bone-claws, the adamantium was just added later.

It's stupid because it doesn't add anything and only makes things more confusing then they should.

 

[xPixelatedx]

Nothing wrong with the bone claws, Bob.

Except that it makes no sense, seeing as animal claws aren't bones, they're made of a protein called keratin, the same thing nails and hair are made out of. Yeah, it's easy to sweep it under the rug with "he's a mutant, mutants are we're like that", but it's still a completely pointless retcon that adds nothing. The whole "claw implants" thing was way better.

But yeah, glad to know that the Angry Nerd from Wired and I aren't the only ones who hate the bone claws.

Also, I thought wolverine wasn't supposed to have the claws before he got the adamantium... so why would he have "Bone Claws" when they were removed? Usually when you remove metal from something it doesn't add organic material...

Here's the thing: originally, Wolverine had gloves that gave him claws. Then he had adamantium claw implants, and for a long time, that was the explanation behind the claws...

But THEN, when the movies decided to give him bone-claws, Marvel decided to ret-con (retroactive continuity) it so that Wolverine had ALWAYS had bone-claws, the adamantium was just added later.

It's stupid because it doesn't add anything and only makes things more confusing then they should.

You're right... I mean, how many mutations does he have? His "mutant Power" is supposed to be healing, everything else is unrelated. He just happened to look the way he does. He just happened to get into some serious shit, and he happened to be experimented on. That's actually why I used to like him. Being a mutant was the least extraordinary thing about him.

 

[Trishbot]

Here's the thing: originally, Wolverine had gloves that gave him claws. Then he had adamantium claw implants, and for a long time, that was the explanation behind the claws...

But THEN, when the movies decided to give him bone-claws, Marvel decided to ret-con (retroactive continuity) it so that Wolverine had ALWAYS had bone-claws, the adamantium was just added later.

It's stupid because it doesn't add anything and only makes things more confusing then they should.

Wolverine had bone claws LONG before the movies gave them to him. In the mid 90s, Magneto ripped out his adamantium, and he learned himself that he had bone claws there the whole time but Weapon X made him forget:

Addressing the bone clones again, for a moment, I don't mind them. I prefer the metal claws, for sure, but him just HAVING the bone claws has never been a problem, even if they're not made of keratin or work like other animal claws do. The reason I'm so okay with it? TONS of other mutants have weirder mutations, including THIS little mutant:

Her mutant powers result in bones and claws constantly growing and bursting out of all parts of her body continually, and she has to keep yanking them out (often to use as weapons). She even has Wolverine-claws too, if she grows them that way. I'm just saying, Wolverine's claws are neither a new development nor even something stupidly unique to him.

With that out of the way... my thoughts on my movie.

I... surprisingly... really enjoyed it. REALLY enjoyed it. The reason I enjoyed it might be the reason others might not like it; it was small. Personal. Intimate. No city or world on the brink of destruction. No alien invasion. No genocide. Nothing except one man becoming embroiled in one family's dysfunctional history and fallout. It worked perfectly, not as some grand action setpiece, but as a quiet, moodier, razor-sharp character study of a man suffering great pain and haunted by great guilt struggling to find inner peace and meaning after enduring catastrophic loss. And it worked.

It reminded me greatly of movies like Unforgiven, or animes like the Rurouni Kenshin OVA. The "quiet" moments were palpable with meaning and actual character development, all while simultaneously fleshing out Wolverine in a way no other movie has before now while keeping enough wit and humor there to bring some levity to otherwise dark and heavy themes (suicide, destiny, depression, filicide, etc.).

Unlike X-men Origins, this movie STOPPED trying to become a non-stop fanboy shout-out and dropped nearly all the X-men, resulting in very few, if any, unimportant characters. Wolverine is practically the one mutant in this one, and seeing him stand out against so many otherwise "normal" people is refreshing and liberates the movie to drop pointless cameos (like The Blob or Gambit) in favor of much stronger moments and more character development. It's what the first movie should have done, and more importantly its action-scenes integrate within the plot much better, building and ending much more naturally.

Everything worked for me... except ONE single scene. It's in all the trailers, all the advertisements... Wolverine fighting dozens of ninjas. That scene is... well, it's not there. It doesn't exist, really. It builds it up. You see all the ninjas show up, in a cleared village square. If this was a video game, this would be the big open area where the boss battle would be. It looks like it's going to be something huge, epic, like the ninja fight in Ninja Scroll or the Crazy 88 fight in Kill Bill. Instead... it ends after a few seconds with minimal fanfare. It was a huge letdown.

The rest of the action scenes I found to be much better. The "cheesy" bullet train sequence turned out to be really cool, much better than the trailers made it look, while the funeral fights and first "samurai" fight were suitably awesome (that Asian girl can kick serious ass). Even the final Silver Samurai fight was rewarding and satisfying.

And, NO, the Silver Samurai is NOT a robot. Not anymore than Iron Man is a "robot". It's a suit of mechanized armor and I felt that was really clever and made for a pretty awesome twist on the original concept. It looked great in the film and the action scenes with it were pretty awesome (though the Viper fight, and the "fatality" in it, may have stolen some of its thunder).

Overall, HUGE improvement over X-men Origins: Wolverine, which I despised and laughed at. I was glued to the screen the whole way through. It's a much smarter movie with a much better script, better action, better effects, and just overall is one of the best X-men movies, if not superhero movies, I've seen in a long time. It's focused on its characters first and foremost and Hugh Jackman's performance fully justifies its creation; it's a great movie, but it's far more of a character movie with action rather than a mindless action movie with a few character bits, and I, for one, preferred it, especially after being worn out by the non-stop mindless destruction of all the other movies out in theaters right now.

 

[Jaebird]

I was left feeling that it was just an okay film. The giant Silver Samurai suit was pretty silly, in my opinion. I liked the fight sequence between Logan and Shingen, what with how it was shot. The heavy shadows made it look like a (80's era) Frank Miller drawing. Wished the fight with the ninjas could have been longer.

And did anyone else think Viper was overdubbed? She was played by Russian actress, Svetlana Khodchenkova, and her dialogue sounded slightly louder than others. Or, is it just me?

Edit: Bone claws make more sense than "mutation = literal magic powers".

 

[Kaimax]

I didn't like on what they did to Viper, Yukio, Silver Samurai, and the this version of "Wolverine and Japan" story. This made me like the Wolverine Anime much better... >_>

 

[Radu Iscu]

Would have named that movie Karate Creed myself... because of reasons.

 

[Lightknight]

There were 12,022 Canadians living in japan in 2005. 15th largest non native group above France, Australia, Germany, Russia, Italy, ext. There also between 14,000 and 15,000 Canadian tourists who visit japan every month.

12,022? I'm not sure why you're citing that as a large number. You're talking about the population of around 6 highschools in the US.

In Japan, 98.5% of inhabitants are Japanese. .5% are Korean, .4% are chinese. All other nationalities combine to make up the remaining .6%. Of that .6% of the population, you're teling me that Canadians are the 15th in population there. Also, since when did 15th largest non-native group become a qualifier for there being a lot? Especially when the base statistic already has 98.5% of the population being the native population? Perhaps that number was a typo?

Additional question: Why did you go with 2005 numbers? We have 2012 numbers and there are only 9,000 Canadians living in Japan. Yes, they're still 15th but countries like the US and Peru each have over 5 times the number of immigrants Canadians. So why, exactly, should I expect to run into a Canadian when in Japan?

 

[Ukomba]

There were 12,022 Canadians living in japan in 2005. 15th largest non native group above France, Australia, Germany, Russia, Italy, ext. There also between 14,000 and 15,000 Canadian tourists who visit japan every month.

12,022? I'm not sure why you're citing that as a large number. You're talking about the population of around 6 highschools in the US.

In Japan, 98.5% of inhabitants are Japanese. .5% are Korean, .4% are chinese. All other nationalities combine to make up the remaining .6%. Of that .6% of the population, you're teling me that Canadians are the 15th in population there. Also, since when did 15th largest non-native group become a qualifier for there being a lot? Especially when the base statistic already has 98.5% of the population being the native population? Perhaps that number was a typo?

Additional question: Why did you go with 2005 numbers? We have 2012 numbers and there are only 9,000 Canadians living in Japan. Yes, they're still 15th but countries like the US and Peru each have over 5 times the number of immigrants Canadians. So why, exactly, should I expect to run into a Canadian when in Japan?

I'm not saying 12k is a lot, just that there are thousands of Canadians who do live in japan. Given Canada has a considerably smaller population than Germany, France, Itally, Russia, and Japan it's more likely for a Canadian to be in Japan than someone from most other countries. It's more likely for a Canadian to go to Japan than an American, given Canada is 1/10th the size of America and there are there are less than 5 times more Americans in Japan than Canadians.

The main point being that it's not strange for a Canadian Wolverine to go to Japan.

 

[Stivius]

Bob could not shut up in like every single one of his avenues to the interwebs about how good (or at least necessary) Pacific Rim was to see, but unless you have a lot of hate on Wolverine as a character and a fetish for giant robots, I'd say the Wolverine was just as entertaining, if not as spectacular visually.

I guess I didn't watch enough robot anime as a child.

 

[omega 616]

I'm not a comic book nerd or anything but ... what was wrong with the first wolverine film? Other than deadpool having swords in his arms of course.

I was entertained by it but I am not that critical of films, I just sit and stare like I am on the rapids, I just enjoy the ride. I guess most of you are analyzing the film, I assume (from watching media set in America) it comes from book reports.

I just don't get what the hate is towards wolverine, there were enough talky bits, enough actiony bits and everything was easy to follow, what more do you want?

 

[gebu19]

This movie felt like it was just stalling until the last 15 minutes. MovieBob was accurate in my opinion.

Only, I wanted a better Wolverine v Ninjas scene. It started to get intense and then he just ran away...and kept running. Talk about blue balls.

 

[Tormuse]

I watched the movie tonight. Moviebob's assessment is pretty accurate; it isn't terrific, but it's still entertaining enough to be considered "good enough." Also, I spent the movie being pretty consistently bewildered by various characters' motivations. In fact, looking back, I still can't figure out what some of the characters were actually trying to do, and considering how the end turned out, I can't help wondering why the conspiracy plot was so needlessly elaborate.

Also, I'm a bit bothered by some of Moviebob's comments, but I can't say which ones or why because it would be spoilery. Suffice it to say that he misrepresents a couple of parts that (in my opinion) are better than he made them out to be.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and stick around during the credits for the Stinger. The audience applauded it in the theatre I was in.

 

[dubious_wolf]

Out of all the shot wrong with these movies. You guys not pick "bone claw". Sheesh.

 

[Scrythe]

Wait, so does this mean that we're not getting Rocky VII: Adrian's Revenge [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemon_of_Troy]?

This is an outrage.