Dustin: 3.5 of 5 stars Nick: 1.5 of 5 stars Average: 2.5 of 5 stars (Woozy canary)
Dustin: The Wolverine is an action/adventure comic book adaptation starring Hugh Jackman, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada and Atsuki Takeuchi. Like last week’s Only God Forgives, the latest X-Men movie is about a white douchebag in Asia.
What did you think of The Wolverine, Nick?
Nick: Ugh... the guy with the bow and arrow was sweet!
What did you like about The Wolverine?
Dustin: I mostly enjoyed it. I liked that The Wolverine’s immortality was taken away and he could no longer heal himself instantly. This gave the character limitations he didn't have before and added stakes to the story. I thought the movie blended The Wolverine’s brooding, dark countenance with the colorful and fun story effectively. I especially enjoyed the fight with yakuza above a speeding bullet train. However, I didn’t think it was as dramatically effective as recent superhero movies like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man or The Dark Knight. I also thought they could have done more with the Japanese setting. As it is, it was more of a fantasy world of what white people think Japan is like, rather than the real thing.
(For more fictional yakuza antics, check out my series, Yakuza Dynasty, available from Amazon Kindle.)
Nick: Completely agree with your last assessment. If one more Asian talked about, “When I was a little child, this happened to me...,” I was going to get up and leave the theater. They also did the cliche of having the foreign person speak quickly in their own language in anger then explain what they said to the main character who only speaks English. To go back to you liking the fact they took Logan’s healing powers away, then why didn't it seem to hurt him when he takes out his claws, which hurt him in previous films when he did have healing powers? Also the love story is sadly developed. They spend a day together and then are willing to die for each other? This film was made for people who already knew the story and could connect the dots on why these things are happening. To end the rant, I would like to point out how lame the villains turned out to be--Viper and a scene of Silver Samurai.
Dustin: Also, The Wolverine is supposed to be immortal, but he inexplicably looks 13 years older than he did in the first X-Man film. Talk about a plot hole!
What did you think of the casting? I didn’t much care for Rila Fukushima. I couldn’t understand her English at times (and I’m used to hearing Japanese Engrish), and I thought she looked like an alien wearing a wig.
Nick: The only casting that can be well regarded is Will Yun Lee as Harada (Bow-and-Arrow guy, Die Another Day) although his character ends up being a throwaway role. Fukushima's English problems didn't affect me considering how I probably wouldn't understand her in real life. Therefore, I kind of enjoyed that aspect of her, but at the same time her acting, as well with Svetlana Khodchenkova (as Viper) and Tao Okamoto (Mariko), who’s just a model, is just not very selling.
Dustin: I thought Atsuki Takeuchi as Girl In Background At Ueno Station #14 was perfect. (FULL DISCLOSER: At-chan is my sister-in-law).
Haruhiko Yamanouchi did a great job as Yashida. They did a good job making him look younger for the Nagasaki sequence and older for the rest of the film. It never looked cheesy like other attempts to make actors look younger, such as Snape in his flashback in the last Harry Potter movie.
Nick: Yamanouchi's character was one of the most entertaining parts, but he spends most of his time off screen, so he is not enjoyed for long.
Dustin: I was going to talk about the cultural inaccuracies in the movie, but what’s the point? Although there were a few, particularly regarding the ninjas, they weren't too offensive or insulting to the audience’s intelligence like the ABC Family mini-series Samurai Girl, so I’ll hold my peace. But if you do want to see an accurate portrayal of Japanese culture through the eyes of American characters (although ridiculously wealthy American characters), see Lost In Translation.
Nick: Was Scar Jo rich in that movie? She seemed a little “poor” to me, and by that I mean she is supposed to be poor but her apartment rocks and she looks incredibly good, but as in her character doesn't have money.
Dustin: The hotel room she stays in at the Park Hyatt Tokyo for several weeks in that movie probably costs $1000 a night, judging by the size of the room.
What did you think of The Wolverine, Nick?
Nick: Ugh... the guy with the bow and arrow was sweet!
What did you like about The Wolverine?
Dustin: I mostly enjoyed it. I liked that The Wolverine’s immortality was taken away and he could no longer heal himself instantly. This gave the character limitations he didn't have before and added stakes to the story. I thought the movie blended The Wolverine’s brooding, dark countenance with the colorful and fun story effectively. I especially enjoyed the fight with yakuza above a speeding bullet train. However, I didn’t think it was as dramatically effective as recent superhero movies like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man or The Dark Knight. I also thought they could have done more with the Japanese setting. As it is, it was more of a fantasy world of what white people think Japan is like, rather than the real thing.
(For more fictional yakuza antics, check out my series, Yakuza Dynasty, available from Amazon Kindle.)
Nick: Completely agree with your last assessment. If one more Asian talked about, “When I was a little child, this happened to me...,” I was going to get up and leave the theater. They also did the cliche of having the foreign person speak quickly in their own language in anger then explain what they said to the main character who only speaks English. To go back to you liking the fact they took Logan’s healing powers away, then why didn't it seem to hurt him when he takes out his claws, which hurt him in previous films when he did have healing powers? Also the love story is sadly developed. They spend a day together and then are willing to die for each other? This film was made for people who already knew the story and could connect the dots on why these things are happening. To end the rant, I would like to point out how lame the villains turned out to be--Viper and a scene of Silver Samurai.
Dustin: Also, The Wolverine is supposed to be immortal, but he inexplicably looks 13 years older than he did in the first X-Man film. Talk about a plot hole!
What did you think of the casting? I didn’t much care for Rila Fukushima. I couldn’t understand her English at times (and I’m used to hearing Japanese Engrish), and I thought she looked like an alien wearing a wig.
Nick: The only casting that can be well regarded is Will Yun Lee as Harada (Bow-and-Arrow guy, Die Another Day) although his character ends up being a throwaway role. Fukushima's English problems didn't affect me considering how I probably wouldn't understand her in real life. Therefore, I kind of enjoyed that aspect of her, but at the same time her acting, as well with Svetlana Khodchenkova (as Viper) and Tao Okamoto (Mariko), who’s just a model, is just not very selling.
Dustin: I thought Atsuki Takeuchi as Girl In Background At Ueno Station #14 was perfect. (FULL DISCLOSER: At-chan is my sister-in-law).
Haruhiko Yamanouchi did a great job as Yashida. They did a good job making him look younger for the Nagasaki sequence and older for the rest of the film. It never looked cheesy like other attempts to make actors look younger, such as Snape in his flashback in the last Harry Potter movie.
Nick: Yamanouchi's character was one of the most entertaining parts, but he spends most of his time off screen, so he is not enjoyed for long.
Dustin: I was going to talk about the cultural inaccuracies in the movie, but what’s the point? Although there were a few, particularly regarding the ninjas, they weren't too offensive or insulting to the audience’s intelligence like the ABC Family mini-series Samurai Girl, so I’ll hold my peace. But if you do want to see an accurate portrayal of Japanese culture through the eyes of American characters (although ridiculously wealthy American characters), see Lost In Translation.
Nick: Was Scar Jo rich in that movie? She seemed a little “poor” to me, and by that I mean she is supposed to be poor but her apartment rocks and she looks incredibly good, but as in her character doesn't have money.
Dustin: The hotel room she stays in at the Park Hyatt Tokyo for several weeks in that movie probably costs $1000 a night, judging by the size of the room.
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| Note: $1 U.S. = 98 Japanese yen |
Nick: That’s what I’m saying... Do they actually say who she is and how much money she makes? Her boyfriend was a photographer without any high profile gigs. Bill Murray is rich and famous, especially in Tokyo. I was watching Road Trip last night, and they have this incredible dorm room, but they're all broke and could never afford such a dorm with that square inchage. So they are "movie poor."
Dustin: Hollywood is terrible about that. The “poor” characters in movies usually live in two-storey homes, but drive slightly older-model cars with a dent on one side. One thing I loved about the movie Mud earlier this year is that it has characters who live shanties on the Mississippi River or utilitarian apartments. You believed these characters and where they came from.
Nick: Mud comes out on DVD on my birthday... Just a gift suggestion.
Dustin: I’m getting you a $5 gift card to McDonald’s.
Nick: NOOOOOO!!!
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| http://nooooooooooooooo.com/ |
I admit that I was entertained by this movie...until the end of course.
ReplyDeletePretty much all my complaints have to do with Viper's character, who is horrible contrived and does contrived things in order to make the story move the way it does. Worst character, bordering on X-men Origins bad.
It was the romance (flimsy though it may be) that kept my interest and kept me invested enough in the story for me to finish.
Hi, thanks for commenting on several of our reviews. You rock!
ReplyDeleteI didn't think Viper was particularly bad, but I didn't quite understand the logistics of Wolverine's immortality, how she took it away and he got it back. Kind of felt like they were making it up as they went along.
- Dustin
I guess the nanite was slow acting and was sapping away as his regeneration, instead of taking it away outright.
DeleteViper was just so hammy and stock "evil sexy lady." Pretty much all of her actions are either to show how evil she is (like that guy she killed in the alley) or is a plot device in order to give Wolverine actual stakes (giving him the nanite). Wolverine would have absolutely no stakes if he was at full strength against yakuza types.
I kinda have to agree with the whole "making it up as they went along," but I'm willing to ignore it in favor of giving Wolverine a reason to be concerned. It, however, does not make it any less stupid.