1. The Mid-Credits Scene/Setting Up Continuity
By now everyone knows or has heard of the magnificent monster bonus scene that plays not long into the credits of
The Wolverine. It was indeed something that caught everyone off guard with its suddenness, implying future events that will tie into
X-Men: Days Of Future Past; in the scene we are greeted with a two year lapse after the end of
The Wolverine, where Logan is wandering around in an airport, catching a glimpse of a television monitor sponsoring Trask Industries (?!?!), when objects start floating in the air.....metallic objects, that is. Yes, Magneto pays Logan a visit, suspending him and informing him of a "dark force" that threatens the very existence of mutantkind. Right when Logan's trust issues begin and he realizes everyone in the airport has frozen in place, lo and behold the arrival of Professor Xavier, wheelchair and all, alive and well after being incinerated by the Phoenix/Jean Gray. After Logan questions how Xavier is still alive, he responds "as I told you a long time ago, you aren't the only one with gifts." The official nerdgasm of 2013. Everything that made
The Wolverine an already kickass film was pushed a step further with the incredible reveal of both Professor Xavier and Magneto making cameo appearances. But the cameos are one thing; it's the bridge into continuity that really draws us in. When the television monitor revealed the logo of Trask Industries, and when Magneto stated a "dark force", the thing on everyone's mind was Bolivar Trask.....and the beginning of the Sentinels. With Trask and the Sentinels already confirmed for
Days Of Future Past, it was great that they were able to bridge both
The Wolverine and
Days Of Future Past with a stinger of a mid-credits scene that left the fans breathless and wanting more. The mid-credits scene really is that icing on the cake where the rest is a great leap into uncharted territory with the Wolverine character. So many elements work out in the end product that it all goes out in an exalted style. But with great potential and promise comes some errors in design.....preferably, for a film like this, factual errors and deliberate changes. Of course there are some small nit picks here and there, but only one specific element caught my eye that made the experience a bit.....underwhelming in the end. This isn't saying that
The Wolverine is a bad movie. It's far from it. But the next painful element drug it down to a low level right before the mid-credits scene, in which all the hope and promise went skyrocketing immediately afterward. So let's dive into the biggest problem with
The Wolverine......