Since I don’t have anyone to hang out with for seeing movies, I tend to be a little late to the game when it comes to the blockbusters and such. As a result, I end up waiting until they come out on iTunes so I can pick them up. Unfortunately, that tends to bulk up my list as I’m so behind when it comes to movies, not to mention having zero idea of what’s good or not. That said, my choices for last night was between Wolverine and Star Trek: Into the Darkness. Rather than flipping a coin, I asked a few friends which was the better of the two and I got this little token.
So this version of Wolverine takes place a little in the past with the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Bombing where we see Logan in captivity just prior to the bombing of Nagasaki. A young Japanese soldier (Yashida) frees some American prisoners before turning his attention to Logan and allowing him to go. As the Japanese solider’s superiors commit sepuku, he contemplates whether or not to follow. Just as he’s about to insert his blade into his abdomen, several bombs are dropped on the neighboring city and he pauses in horror as a monstrous explosion erupts and vaporizes the city. That allows Logan to toss the sword away from Yashida and move into the safety of the hole he was held in, protecting the soldier and absorbing the explosion.
The scene is pretty moving and mysterious at the same time. First, it attempts to establish Yashida as someone who seems to have a sense of compassion and honor where he frees POWs, even ordering several people on a tower from shooting the prisoners. Also, it demonstrates how everyone by that point understands what will be coming next and that they had decided for an honorable death through their ritual of sepuku rather than being obliterated by the enemy’s bombs. And of course, seeing the destruction of a city and the implications of millions of lost lives in one of the most infamous genocidal acts in the history of mankind from what typically is “the enemy’s perspective” induces a sense of compassion towards the people.
But at the same time the scene raises numerous questions. For instance, why is Logan caught in a hole? Why is Yashida attempting to save these POWs’ lives? Why is Logan even in Japan of all places? This is a huge deficit that movies like Wolverine never truly address and something that really bugs people like myself who are invested into characters like the Wolverine.
As the scene ends, we move forward into modern times. The most immediate cue of time is the use of mobile devices. Despite being in Yukon, initially we aren’t terribly certain about the setting after the bombing incident. Yet we can only assume that Logan has taken upon himself to hide in the wild since he is an isolationist. From that we can also assume that Logan’s travels somehow led him to Japan, perhaps as a solider since he did participate in the military. Regardless, this constant shift of location and settings in a way continue to promote the mysterious lone character of Logan.
After a confrontation with some hunters, he is picked up by Yukio, a young Japanese lady who is trained in the katana and whose purpose is to retrieve Logan and bring him back into Japan. On a side note, I found that Yukio’s name is odd since it sounds more guyish. Truth be known, my middle name is the same so it felt a little awkward hearing that. That said, I guess they kept the accuracy in the comics up by maintaining the same name. But it still remains odd to me.
Regardless, they set off for Japan, Tokyo. This was one part I really looked forward to seeing since I have a great affinity for that city. However, it seems that many of the shots were possibly gorilla shots and there weren’t many true exterior spots. I think even the scene at Ueno station might have been doctored, which to me is tragic. But considering that Ueno station is one of the major stations in central Tokyo, I can’t imagine how they could’ve been able to get away in filming much in that zone.
Scenery aside, we move back to the Yashida residence where the man whom Logan had saved is dying on a bed of a special needle-like apparatus. The spot is interesting since the home is Japanese in style; not really what the typical Japanese person might have (because most would not have that much luxury) but the combination of the futuristic with the traditional. Yashida, we learn, is one of the most powerful people in Japan, if not THE most powerful due to his company. He does have rivals with the Yakuza and an alliance with a clan of ninjas, which is something I want to talk about.
I realize that the movie does borrow from the comic book, especially in romancing how Japan is portrayed. That said, it really did not feel modern and that the cultural aspects are typically just glossed over and highlighted as if someone bought a tourist book for dummies. While the Yakuza are still prominent in Japan, I feel as though the subject matter hardly dove into some of the more fascinating aspects. Instead, we only get the typical tattooed voiceless gangsters that are nothing more than target practice for Wolverine.
While I can understand the fascination with the subject of the ninja and samurai, glossing over the Yakuza felt pretty weak. One of the things that just made no sense was why the elder Yashida wasn’t directly affiliated with them in the first place. Perhaps, they wanted to save the surprise turn at the end by making him into a paragon of honor through distancing his character from the Yakuza. That said, the incident at the funeral seems so out-of-place for how the Yakuza might operate. Usually, I imagine those issues are held more on a business level; the whole scene was just a farce to me in order to create a gratuitous fight scene. Their kind are far more calculating and you rather hear about them making a public spectacle, unless someone in the public is stupid enough to cross them.
But that’s how this movie is pretty much structured. It feels like the director/writer one day took a trip to Japan, hopped on the tour bus, had an English speaking guide and just checked out all the cool places. There’s very little depth to the world of Japan (and something that only Lost in Translation had done a good job in updating the rest of the world on).
Take for instance, the following scene where Wolverine hops on the bullet train with Mariko. I thought that scene was pretty ridiculous just in how the train started up almost immediately after she sat down. Or how she managed to pick up a ticket so quickly. It just struck me as really odd and convenient. I get that they do things like that to keep the plot rolling but I still feel that the small details missing are what irks me the most about movies like this.
Also, after she got on the train, considering that she’s a fairly important figure, why aren’t more people starring at her? Everyone on the train just minds their own business. Sure, in Tokyo most people tend to be very stand-offish. But I would imagine that anyone with a fair amount of power might get recognized.
Of course, we eventually have to have another gratuitous fight scene. Somehow the yakuza managed to infiltrate the train. I will admit that the bullet train fight scene is neat in how they wanted to portray a fast moving object and people fighting above. That said, it’s just so hokey. I can buy the stuff that Wolverine does because he’s a super hero. If there were other super villains like Pyro, Sabertooth, etc. I could buy that too. But you have these apparently highly skilled Yakuza doing feats of strength that make you believe they attended the Rambo training camp. I mean, just how they were able to plunge their knives into the train’s haul to stay on top was just silly. I mean, I’m certain that the Yakuza have their share of muscle, but come on. They’re Japanese. If they’re going to do something like that, why not hire some of the pro-wrestlers who actually look like they can bust some skulls?
Both Mariko and Wolverine end up in Osaka of all places. Naturally, that gives rise to a Japanese joke I haven’t yet seen in an American blockbuster: the love hotel. Okay, I really laughed hard on this one (no pun intended). Part of me believes that the entire movie was conceived just to show the rest of the world WTF a love hotel is. You could tell that the director/writer had seen or heard about one and was cumming in his pants just to shoot his own version. We’ve utterly sunken this low now and have gone to the basest of Japan’s fetishized culture.
But it gets better because we eventually meet back up with the scientists Dr Green/Viper who is sauntering around some shaddy spot. She does have a little chat with Harada on the subject of Wolverine and gives him some incentive to continue to pursue him. But there’s the little perverted Japanese guy who gets his dream kiss after presuming she’s a prostitute.
You see, scenes like this make me really want to punch out the director/writer and put them into an active version of Mount Fuji. Where the hell do they get this stereotype that all Japanese guys are perverts with tons of money and assume that white women are nothing but fuckholes when they’re on the street? Sometimes, I feel as though there were numerous 80’s movies and maybe some early 90’s movies that these film makers use as canon to act as their basis of knowledge of how a spot like Japan operates. And it’s pretty sad because they hardly go into the more crucial issues that a crumbling nation like Japan is facing. Instead, we continue to get these really distasteful, archaic jokes and images that serve absolutely no purpose for anyone. When I hear about these things, I wish that these people were tossed into Japan for a few years, stripped of all money and have them try to get back to where they were so that they understand what life really is like out there.
Anyway, the plot continues to degenerate as they move to Mariko’s home where Logan reveals he had been there before. It’s one of those scenic moments that is supposed to move you because we see what most people believe is the typical humble lifestyle of the Japanese…that is, your fishing village shmucks. For whatever reason, this dumbass Mariko believes that she would be safe back in that spot but obviously that isn’t the case and she gets apprehended. Naturally, Wolverine and Yukio make a move to locate her. I did leave out the little romance scene with Wolverine and Mariko but I just felt it was too forgettable. And that’s a tragedy in itself as it was supposed to be one of the defining moments in Wolverine’s life where he softens internally. The only comment I can make about the scene and the romance subplot is that Mariko is the only girl in the movie that is somewhat attractive, which probably gave Wolverine some wood despite the fact that she’s fucking engaged.
They confront the forgotten Minister of Justice and get some information from him about how he conspired with Shingen since Mariko was to receive control over the father’s corporation. He’s tossed out the window but just prior we had another one of those Japanese pervert stereotype images. For myself, I pretty much felt that the scene didn’t even belong. I mean, the Minister of Justice’s character barely made any impact in the story so why even have him show up at this point? I suppose the idea was to connect him with the Yakuza somehow but that detail is something I can’t even remember. Honestly, it just seemed like the director just meandered back after remembering that this guy existed at all.
Anyway, they go back to the family’s household where a little confrontation takes place between Yashida and Shingen. Logan makes his way there but not before ninjas led by Harada attack and steal her away. Logan discovers that he has something inside of him in realizing that his healing powers has been hampered. In a scene reminiscent of Prometheus, he extracts this spider-like thing attached to his heart while Yukio defends him against Shingen.
By this point, I’m beyond confused. I get that Shingen wanted power of the corporation from Mariko. But he seems mindless in attacking someone who’s a fucking mutant with near immortal-like powers. On top of that, he just fights him with a goddamn sword. But why? The guy just wanted to get rid of something inside of him. Not only that, but ninjas attacked Shingen’s residence and killed his bodyguards. Wouldn’t he want the badass muthafucka with the blades and self-healing to help him out? Why would he bother attacking him? The only thing I could conjecture was that they wanted some samurai sword fight scene with a Japanese dude because well, we want whitey to win.
Of course, we head to Mariko’s birth place of all spots, which happens to be where this ninja clan hangs out. Wolverine gets nailed by a bunch of arrows and he’s now held in captivity. We go to some hideout where we see this huge piece of armor that they’re calling the Silver Samurai. Another fight breaks out that’s an equally confusing clusterfuck because by now we can’t really figure out who’s side is whose. Harada is the only one that seems to make any sensible remark in this movie by commenting, “This is madness!” Yup. That’s what you describe this movie as. But he gets nailed by the Silver Samurai trying to save Wolverine.
At this point, the Silver Samurai reveals himself not to be some transformer robot but the Yashida grandfather figure who wants to take Wolverine’s powers away. Mariko ends up killing him just as Yashida started to un-age and look like the kid Logan had saved years ago and we’re left going, “WTF did we just watch?”
Man, did this movie degenerate quickly. Just writing this so-called plot out was a difficult task because quite frankly it hardly was coherent. First, you had a lot of people who felt like they should have been main characters but ended up not really serving as anything beyond fodder. Take the Minister for instance. What was his real purpose in this story? Was he an allegory for someone similar in power in Japan at the moment? If so, I can’t easily identify him. More than that he had no depth. Yes, politicians are corrupt…but that’s the case everywhere!
Next, I really had trouble becoming emotionally attached to what the story wanted to convey. I thought the beginning looked awesome. We had the potential for something highly charged with the bombing of Nagasaki. Logan does good in the world by saving a young Japanese soldier who appeared honorable and wanted to repay Logan’s efforts. In the end, we just received this nutcase who wanted to be Count Dracula 2.0 except as Gundam. I mean, how do you go from a character that you deeply admire and has been built over the film as someone that you want to look up to into this mindless, power seeking person? The only explanation we get is that he felt that his time wasn’t up.
We never really see where his mind changed or the factors in his life that made him go from an honorable character to someone who wants to live indefinitely. Also, we don’t know if this person has good intentions in continuing to live. Next, shouldn’t there be more emotional ties when Wolverine does the last blow against him? Instead, we get another cheesy one liner.
What about Harada? Here’s a character that is somewhat like the inversion of Yashida. For the most part, he starts off looking like he’s going to be this cool, likeable young guy because he wants to serve the elder Yashida and protect Mariko. I mean, he’s kicking the Yakuza’s ass. This is almost like how it’s a given whenever Indiana Jones meets Nazis. Yet he becomes a foe in trying to take Wolverine down. At the end, he is redeemed but there isn’t much to really cry over since he hardly is given any dialog throughout the movie nor much character building to make us feel any empathy.
Then there’s ever confusing Shingen. Just whose side is he on? My guess is his own. But how come the elder Yashida did nothing to communicate his intentions to Shingen? Wouldn’t it make more sense to hand him the corporation since he probably was equally ambitious compared to Mariko?
The story was just so convoluted. Was that intentional because we’re foreigners to Japan? I mean, were they doing this because they wanted to show how nutty Japanese politics, the mafia and culture are? For me it just felt unnecessarily difficult with too many underdeveloped characters and a very weak story that did a poor job in making any point. Sure, the main point seemed to be about Wolverine’s immortality but most of that was just handled in very poor taste. Part of me feels like Wolverine was supposed to be like Russel Crowe’s character in the Gladiator where he merely wanted to see his wife and family; in this case, it was Wolverine wanting an ordinary life. However, the story only tells rather than shows for the most part any agonizing that Wolverine might encounter with his self-healing abilities.
I think this “tell don’t show” method of storytelling is why many movies these days are so horrible. I was watching a Batman vs Dark Knight review and the reviewer hit the nail on the head where he talks about how the Dark Knight’s exposition weakens the overall story, even though it’s a pretty darn awesome movie. But anyone in literature will tell you that showing the why’s, how’s, what’s, etc. will always overpower someone handing you on a plate all the answers.
Even then, Wolverine seems to hand you a mixture of answers that don’t necessarily line up. The character of Wolverine is probably one of the best comic book characters to hit the screen and Hugh Jackman does a great job personifying the character. However, because the director/writer are too preoccupied with gratuitous action scenes and out-of-date stereotype jokes, the storyline immensely suffers and leaves one with a migraine as they contemplate what they just watched.
That said, the movie is fun if you are able to disable your rational. The fight scenes are mostly well done, the scenery is nice, the pacing is good and there aren’t anything considerably annoying beyond the poor plot and character development. For myself, I wish they did a better job of modernizing what goes on in Japan. I still feel that the vast majority of Hollywood continues to portray Japan in an ancient manner with either a romanticized version of the samurai/ninjas or the 80’s economic super power figure. I wanted to see more of the modern Japan and current issues like Fukushima, the corrupt government, economic down turn, the lowering population levels, etc. rather than various bad jokes from 80’s. It is nice that they recognize the girls in Japan are hot (which seems to be the only positive image in the movie) but films like these need far more serious subject manner when addressing Japan.