The Wolverine

 

 Just back from seeing it. 
And as of now, it is my favorite movie of the summer.


Now, I'll get into spoilers (quick ones) and history here, because I got to explain why I think this.


It's starts off with the bombing of Japan in WWII, where Logan saves the life of a man who tried to save others (awesome scene).  Years later...  Logan is in the mountains in repentance for killing Jean (from the 3rd movie) with the BIGGEST GOD DAMNED BEAR you have ever seen in your life.  After an incident with some hunters (which I was agreeing with Logan), he gets stopped by a ninja girl named Yukio, who convinces him to go to Tokyo to give his last regards to the dying soldier who he saved so long ago.

My first note will be here-
I'm not an avid comic reader.  My information from comic books comes from the TV cartoons I watched as a kid (and now) and video games.  The problem with comics is that they take too long to find all the parts, the writing keeps changing drastically from chapter to chapter (later on, after finding out how comics are made, I realized it was because the writers would seriously change that quickly), and I have no patience for it (I now wait for them to come out in books anyway).
But even without reading the comics, I know about Wolverine going to Japan.  It's even talked about in the old X-Men cartoon.  And even in the most recent ones...
...But I have never heard of this girl being a mutant. 

.......BUT... I like it.
Having the ability to see the death of people is a heavy burden and an understandable reason to turn into a warrior because of it.  You also have to live with the dread of seeing your own death one day...
It is useless as a power, but powerfully for a ninja.
It also lets her connect with Logan as well, so for story, it's really good.
She also looking like a modern punk girl looks good on her too.  Cleans up well.

In Tokyo, Logan meets Yashida's family and after a hilarious bathing scene, we see the old man in probably one of the coolest medical beds I have ever seen.  Logan, considering his immortality a curse, gets offered by Yashida to transplant Logan's powers into his own body, saving Yashida's life and granting Logan mortality. Logan refuses and prepares to leave the following day. That night, a woman (named Viper as we find out later) and poisons... or something into Logan's body, but Logan dismisses it as a dream.
The next morning, Logan is informed that Yashida has died, and attends the funeral.

My second note is this- I never heard about Viper before, but she is also something that I like.  Good villain material.  I also kept seeing references to the Silver Samurai (which is one I DO KNOW! From the Marvel VS Capcom 2 video game!) but not seeing who it is.  So now it was a guessing game... where is he and who is it to be revealed?

Yakuza gangsters attempt to kidnap Mariko, but Logan and Mariko escape together into the urban sprawl of Tokyo. And it is here we see that he is no longer healing from his injuries, and is therefore vulnerable to the attacks of his pursuers.
Instant... interest.  You now make someone who is invincible and make him vulnerable.  We can now connect with Logan (which we already did) and now we worry about his safety.  Good plot!
After fighting off more assassins on a bullet train, Logan and Mariko hide in a local love hotel. While Mariko sleeps, Logan stands guard outside and experiences another hallucination of Jean before passing out from his injuries.

 And then it hits me... it's a Samuri movie!
 It's a movie where a man has lost his honor and is trying to find a path to either reclaim it or to accept a new path. 

After Logan is healed by a vet (ha!), he and Mariko go to Yashida's house in Nagasaki. As they slowly fall for each other, Logan starts revealing his past to Mariko (who in return tells the legends that her grandfather told her, which were about Wolverine). Meanwhile, Yukio has a vision of Logan dying (uh oh...), and goes to warn him... Just when Mariko is captured and Logan is revived enough (but still hurting and vulnerable) to go on the hunt for her.
    
And then it gets really good...
So I'll stop there.

The reveal of the main villain was really good in my opinion.  They sort of did a mix of what they did to Deadpool in the Origins movie and Iron Man... which by themselves is a bad idea*, but combined works well in this.  I felt an "Oh shit" moment and was hoping something was going to happen... but no spoilers for that part. 

* (I still haven't forgiven them for what they did to the Mandarin, and I understand what they were trying for Deadpool, but they went to far and messed up by adding too much by adding Cyclops powers and the blades.  They could still make it work cause if you saw the original ending for that the mouth was ripped open and Deadpool was still alive, but I heard it is going through development hell).    

I'm also going to say that both Mariko and Yukio are both strong female characters and I really like them both.  Even the villain Viper is fucking intimidating. 

Overall~
An excellent piece.  A must own for me. 
I recommend all to see it. 
I didn't see it in 3D but I also won't recommend to go see it that way.  There wasn't much I could think need to be 3D, but maybe there are some scenes that would have looked good.

...Like the ninja fight scene...  And the Atomic Explosion... And the arrows... hmm...

Go Wolverines!!!