I have been a fan of Wolverine for as long as I can remember. I have a first edition of The Wolverine comic book from Marvel from 1988 in mint condition. Logan has never played by anyone's rules and has a code all his own. He is a tortured soul that has lived through many lifetimes and is practically invincible. His mutant powers require that his battles are all the old-fashioned hand-to-hand brawl, none of this shooting lasers from his eyes or blasting projectiles from his hands. Wolverine fights with honor and fights for justice. He is basically a man's man, a lone cowboy in search of inner peace that he seems unlikely to ever find. I think many young boys looked up to his model of courage and boldness despite his rebellious and unstable tendencies. Not to mention how cool it is that he can heal from any injury and has unbreakable adamantium coated bones and claws!

Imagine having to live up to all of that and filling in those shoes as an actor. If anyone could fill those shoes, Hugh Jackman could. His portrayal as Logan in the original X-Men movies and X-Men Origins: Wolverine has been spot on. If you can overlook the funny pointy hairstyle, Hugh Jackman is fully able to embody the manimal with all of his rage and inner-conflict. Needless to say I was excited to see him put those claws on again and mousse that hair up one more time. I was even more psyched when I found out that the movie would take place in Japan. The backstory of Wolverine in Japan battling against the Silver Samurai and The Hand was always fascinating to me. Now I would get to see it come to life on the big screen. I would not be disappointed.

The Wolverine takes place after the X-Men movies and finds Logan as a recluse back in the Canadian mountains. A young Japanese woman (Rila Fukushima) is sent to find him so he may say his final goodbye to a Japanese soldier named Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi) who he saved many years ago in World War II. Yashida is now the richest and most powerful man in all of Japan. He is on his deathbed and wants to repay his debt to Logan by offering the one thing that no one has been able to give him: mortality. With the help of a doctor played by Svetlana Khodchenkova, Yashida has been able to find a way to transfer Wolverine’s ability to heal from one person to another and hopes to become immortal. Yashida’s granddaughter Mariko (played by newcomer and runway model Tao Okamoto) is slated to inherit the entire family fortune, but not if the Japanese gangsters in the Yakuza has anything to say about it. Wolverine finds himself battling ninjas, Yakuza and even a Silver Samurai in The Wolverine, but unlike the previous films, he is vulnerable. That aspect alone makes the movie a lot more interesting in terms of the fights and instincts Wolverine must use to survive. Hugh Jackman, one of the most versatile and talented actors of our generation, flawlessly invokes a sense of sympathy for Wolverine as if he were a wounded animal. And the chemistry between Jackman and Okamoto makes his motivation to protect and save her very believable.

The writers took some liberties with a few of the characters in The Wolverine. I won’t say what was changed, but Mark Bomback and Scott Frank definitely made it work. From the ridiculously over-the-top bullet train fight scene to the final battle with the Silver Samurai, James Mangold was able to successfully keep the audience engaged throughout the story. And the audience demonstrated their approval at the end of the movie with a round of applause. A few minutes later they were treated to yet another awesome teaser in the credits as only Marvel can. You will definitely want to stick around for that one. Can’t wait to see Hugh Jackman in claws again soon.