The Wolverine: Extended Cut (2013) Review

Version: Extended/Unrated Cut

Series: X-Men (6/6)

Director: James Mangold

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Famke Janssen etc.

Country: U.S.

Note: This review contains mild plot spoilers. I have avoided revealing any of the film's big twists or post credits scene.

After viewing the extended and unrated cut of James Mangold's Wolverine, I can definitely say this is both my favorite comic book superhero film of the year and one of the best all around action pictures of the year. Thanks to the unrated cut, The Wolverine is teeming with more action, blood, and cursing to make this the grittiest Wolverine to date. 

I never tire of seeing the page flipping Marvel logo.

The Wolverine takes place after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand. Logan has left the X-Men and chosen to live alone in the woods after having to deal with the death of Jean Grey. He has also let himself go by growing a beard and a long head of hair a-la Mad Max in Beyond Thunderdome. All he has to his name now is a small radio and a few bottles of beer. Bears wander around him and nightmares of Jean Grey haunt him. Essentially, Wolverine has hit rock bottom.

The film kicks into gear when a mutant named Yukio finds Logan and tells him that her employer, Yashida, wants to thank him for saving his life long ago. Logan agrees and heads off to Japan for the rest of the picture. As he arrives, Logan learns the current status of Yashida's company, Yashida's health, and of an interesting offer: the chance to live a normal life sans mutant powers. From here, Wolverine is soon plunged into the problems of the Yashida family as he battles both ninjas, yakuza gang members, and his own animalistic side.

Yashida's table is one of the coolest inventions ever.

The Wolverine was highly anticipated amongst comic book fans because it is adapted from one of the greatest stories in Wolverine's comic book history, the Chris Claremont/Frank Miller 4 issue mini-series of the same name. In that tale, Wolverine struggles with being both an animalistic monster and an under control warrior. It features stunning artwork, first rate characters, and a memorable story.

The film adaptation of this story is both loyal and filled with its own creative liberties. It keeps the most important elements though: the themes, the characters, and the Miller imagery. Upon my first viewing of the film, I felt quite disappointed to see it deviate so much from such a beloved mini-series. However, after having viewed the film a second time and having seen the extended cut, I believe that James Mangold has crafted a stupendous film that can be enjoyed nonetheless.

You'll only see this recreated in the extended cut.

This is the sixth time that Hugh Jackman has played Wolverine (if you count his one second cameo in First Class). He has improved more or less each time. I think that he has finally struck gold with this film though. Not only is Wolverine more mature, ripped, and seasoned than ever before, but his hair and beard length is perfect too. The character visually reminds me of iconic characters such as Max Rockanstanky (Mad Max), Harry Callahan (Dirty Harry), Ogami Itto (Lone Wolf and Cub), and RoboCop (RoboCop). The pure images of these characters are awe-inspiring and a work of art. I believe that Jackman's Wolverine deserves to join the ranks of these characters. When he flexes his arms down and whips out his claws, the hair stands up on the back of my neck. Jackman is truly the definitive Wolverine. After more than ten years of playing the character, he can do no wrong.

Besides nailing the Wolverine portrayal, the film also has a nice supporting cast. The female characters are pretty hit or miss. Yukio and Mariko are played just fine by newcomers Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukushima. However, villainess Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) is a total waste. Svetlana really hams it up as the character. I know she is supposed to be a sexy femme fatale temptress, but I hardly found any of her to be interesting. She just came off as annoying. All of the supporting male characters were alright too. Harada (Will Yun Lee), who is the head of the awesome ninja clan in the film, comes off as sort of a Hawkeye rip off. I'm sure I only feel this way because The Avengers just came out last year but this guy's bow work feels so similar to what we see in that film.

The Wolverine excels as such a great film because it contains great visual and design aesthetics. For the first time, we get both an X-Men and a Wolverine film heavily set outside of a familiar looking setting (Origins goes to many settings too but it still all feels familiar). While the film takes place in contemporary Japan, many of the film's settings, themes, and images take inspiration from ancient Japan. We get kimonos, katanas, Japanese architecture, samurai armor, ninjas, and the discussion of a samurai's loyalty and a ronin's loneliness. Personally, I adore Japanese aesthetics. Therefore, this film felt like a dream come true. Wolverine is the perfect character to plop into such a setting.

"Watch out Hawkeye, I'm the new bowman!"

Unfortunately, there are some flaws to this film. For one, this film is overlong. While the theatrical cut was already pushing it, the extended cut of the film nears 2 hours and 18 minutes. I find most the film's faults to be in its second and third acts. In the second act, the film takes a rather large break from the action in order to focus entirely on Logan and Yukio's relationship. I can see that the film was wanting to delve deeper into Wolverine's character in this part of the film. Instead, I found these 30 minutes to really slow the film down. It takes a good 40 minutes before the film's first action sequence. All of the drama up until than was great too. The film's pace just really takes a hit during this second act though.

The final act has been improved in the extended cut thankfully. We now finally have the deleted ninja fight that we all wanted to see and it is totally awesome. Wolverine kills nearly 20 or more baddies in this cut! Mariko even helps him out by hopping onto a snow plow and painting the village with ninja blood. Some ninjas even show up on motorcycles! Any movie that has baddies on motorcycles is automatically a great one in my mind.

After this small piece of greatness, Wolverine has to fight against a CGI Silver Samurai robot. I really do not like this finale. The entire film has a very gritty and realistic tone to it. Besides the opening nuclear explosion and the bullet train fight, the film does a fine job at using as little CGI as possible. Unfortunately, this whole scene feels so alien to me. It belongs in a movie like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, not this Wolverine movie. It's not a terrible fight. It just adds some unevenness to the film's tone.

Wolverine Rage Mode: Activated

While not the most action packed of the X-Men series, The Wolverine contains the absolute best action scenes of the whole series. The extended cut reminds me of the additions that have been made to the extended cuts of action films such as Troy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and Taken. All of the action and violence is far more graphic and gritty. For a moment, you may forget that you are watching a big budget studio PG-13 flick. For a few moments, we finally get the R-rated Wolverine that we have always wanted to see. The guy has blades for weapons for goodness sakes! Where has the blood been all this time?

All of the action scenes are great. The funeral fight is wonderful. Not only are we concerned about Logan's disadvantage in the fight, but we also get to bask in seeing him slice the crap out of some yakuza gang members. This scene is followed soon after with the film's biggest set piece, the bullet train fight. While made entirely with CGI and green screens, this is one of the most unique and inventive action scenes in a long time. Logan fights some yakuza members inside of a bullet train for a few seconds. The fight than moves outside of the train and onto the roof where wind speeds of nearly 300 mph toss our protagonist around like a rag doll. It's a great scene that I'll never forget.

We than have the entire snowy village ninja fight thanks to the extended cut. It's great seeing Logan get attacked by ninjas using motorcycles, swords, and chains. The film than rounds up with Logan going one on one with a giant CGI samurai. It's easily the most forgettable fight in the film. However, for such a bland fight, it does some things to the character that will remain important for the rest of the franchise.

One day.

The film also has a great post credits scene. There is no way that I can spoil it for those who have not seen it just yet. I'll just say that it sets up the next X-Men film and brings back some old friends we have not seen in quite a long time. The extended cut also contains a deleted scene that reveals what is in the giant briefcase that Mariko brings onto the jet at the end of the film: Wolverine's classic costume! While he does not get to wear it, it was nice to see such a cool reminder that one day Logan will end up donning his classic costume.

300 MPH of pure Aussie badassery.

Rating: 9/10 - The Wolverine is remotely flawed by an overlong run time, some weak acting, and a slow second act. However, these are just hiccups in an otherwise awesome action film. Highly recommended for fans of the X-Men series and samurai cinema!

The Extras:
Best Kill: During the funeral fight, Logan stabs through a yakuza's leg. He than tosses the guy into the air and we see him flip around a few times before falling down to the ground. An honorable mention goes to the baddie that Logan flies at while on the train. I don't know about you, but getting stabbed at 300 mph would be a heck of a way to die.
Best Line/Exchange:
"You asked me to come say goodbye. Sayonara." - Wolverine
Best Action Scene: Without a doubt, I believe that the bullet train fight is the one scene to remember. Even though it is the same in both the theatrical and the extended cut and is only made possible thanks to CGI, it features both fantastic editing and action.

Also Check Out:
The Samurai Trilogy (1954): A big inspiration on the film according to James Mangold, this trilogy of samurai films tell the story of the greatest samurai to live, Musashi Miyamoto. Played by action and cinema God Toshiro Mifune, these color samurai pictures contain memorable characters, great action, and first rate acting.

Dredd (2012): The Wolverine features a gritty protagonist who kills his victims with no remorse. If you need another anti-hero like that, look no further than to last year's underrated Dredd. Karl Urban plays a hybrid Harry Callahan/Robocop type character that racks up a massive kill count and stands for all that is good and right at the same time. In his words, "I am the law."

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976): Another inspiration on the film, Eastwood's legendary western features one squinty eyed hero with nothing to his name. In the opening scene of this film, Logan's eyes can be seen through a small squinty eye hole in a well opening. It seems that Mangold is trying to emulate Eastwood's iconic squinty eyes with the intro. But besides that, both films tell the story of a man who has lost the love of his life and has nothing left to stand for anymore other than what is morally right to them. Oh, and they kill too.