10 (Probably Failed) Attempts At A Measured Response To The Wolverine

3. I Don't Even Want To Imagine What It Smells Like Inside That Silver Samurai Outfit

The Wolverine The Wolverine conveniently forgets about Logan's heightened sense of smell. If it hadn't, Logan would've been able to get a whiff of Ben-Gay, talcum powder, and adamantium off the Silver Samurai from fifty yards away, allowing him to instantly know who's inside the giant robot: his old friend, Yashida. Sure, it's a twist we all saw coming - but it works because none of the characters saw it coming. There's two problems with it, though. First, we don't know Yashida well enough to care that he's become a crazy-ass Bond villain in his old age. During my first viewing of the film, it was hard to reconcile this character with the man Logan saves at Nagasaki. Also, I know a lot of time has passed and it's not like many of us want to grow old and die and all that, but a few more minutes to define Yashida would have paid off considerably. As it is, there's no real drama in the climatic fight scene outside of a big scary robot fighting a big scary man. Logan fighting a CGI baddie feels totally out of place in the world Mangold has created for The Wolverine. Until he shows up, The Wolverine feels grounded in something relatively close to reality. And it's a shame the movie leaves this heightened reality and real world locations for an obvious - but well-constructed - movie set, with Hugh Jackman fighting the latest CGI baddie that leaves little impression on the audience.
Contributor
Contributor

Jeremy Wickett was raised from an early age in one of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma's classier opium dens. A graduate of The University of Oklahoma, he now resides in Phoenix, Arizona - where the desert heat is oppressive enough to make him hallucinate that he's a character in Star Wars. And of course he can speak Bocce - it's like a second language to him. His so-called musings can be found here: http://geekemporium.blogspot.com/