Obviously there are major spoilers for THE WOLVERINE coming up. And it's in bold. So, you know, you've been warned.
After the post-credits sequence of THE WOLVERINE ended, I sat there in the darkened theater next to my girlfriend. "Wow," she said. The first thing that popped into my mind, really the only thing I could think to reply was, "That scene was better than the entire movie we just saw." That's because in roughly two minutes, THE WOLVERINE's post-credits sequence accomplishes with flying colors what the film itself struggles to do throughout its entire two hour run time.
You see, THE WOLVERINE and its post-credits sequence have, in essence, the exact same purpose. They're both attempting to set the stage for something much greater and much more ambitious. Just as the Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor films assembled all of the moving parts together in preparation for THE AVENGERS, both THE WOLVERINE and its post-credits sequence are preparing for X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. However, unlike those previous films and their post-credit sequences which simply worked to add to the excitement built up by the films themselves, the post-credits sequence from THE WOLVERINE is so fantastic and skillful at what its trying to do that it makes the already mediocre film that precedes it feel completely unnecessary.
As THE WOLVERINE's title suggests, the film is primarily about the reemergence of Logan's (Hugh Jackman) animalistic persona. When the film starts, we see an unkempt Logan living in a cave, having nightmares about Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and how everyone he loves ends up dead. He's not the Wolverine anymore. He doesn't want to be a soldier. He's doesn't want to kill any more people. The only thing he wants is an honorable death and to be reunited with Jean. Through the remaining majority of the movie, we see Logan go to Japan to say goodbye to this soldier he saved from the atomic bomb in Nagasaki (we'll let the logic slide this time) who has become the most powerful man in Japan through the technological giant, the Yashida Corporation. When he gets there, he discovers the real reason he's been brought to Japan is because Yashida himself has found a way to transplant Logan's healing factor into his own body, making Logan mortal while gaining eternal life for himself. Though this is Logan's chance to get exactly what he wants, he knows the pain that goes along with living forever and declines.
What follows is a convoluted and confusing set of uninspired events that either don't make any sense or carry little to no emotional weight. Yes, the villains are sub-par at best. Yashida and his son are simply assholes who treat everyone that loves them, and especially Logan who has saved both Yashida's and his granddaughter's lives on multiple occasions, like garbage. Svetlana Khodchenkova, who plays the reptilian mutant/oncologist Viper, is completely ineffectual in the role. Hindered by what appears to be a terrible dub and shoddy, pedestrian dialogue, the moments she has with Logan and Yukio (Rila Fukushima) become increasingly laughable as the movie goes on. And yes, the film is populated by director James Mangold's misguided decision to shoot nearly every action scene while sitting in a moving blender and the writers', Mark Bomback and Scott Frank, choice to saturate the film with quick moments that are only present to be "paid off" later in film. These moments are some of the best things that movies can do. But only when they are setup organically and not casually slapped in to make the audience ooh and ahh.
Okay, THE WOLVERINE has some positive elements. The fact that the entire film takes place outside of America is extremely refreshing and both the Canadian wilderness and Japan cityscape/countryside are gorgeously shot. Equally refreshing is the presence of strong, independent women who are beautiful, but more importantly who are intelligent and can kick some serious ass. Mariko's (Tao Okamoto) evolution from a beaten down servant of her father and fiance who wants to kill herself, back into the strong, eventual CEO of the Yashida Corporation is one of the film's finest accomplishments. Unfortunately, the film's inability to do the same for its star is what destroys any hope of it being something truly special.
THE WOLVERINE ultimately fails because its main purpose, to transform Logan back into the Wolverine thus helping set the stage for his involvement in the future of the X-Men, isn't realized. Yes, in the end Hugh Jackman tells Famke Janssen goodbye and that's supposed to tell you that he's changed from where we saw him at the beginning. But that's just it. The only real evidence we get that Logan has changed is because the film blatantly tells us. And this could even be excused if anything about the character had actually changed. Yes, Yashida as the Silver Samurai cuts off Logan's adamantium claws and he has to return to the bone claws he used when he was originally the Wolverine. And yes, he does tell Jean goodbye, something he is unable to do at the beginning. But that's it. He killed tons of Yakuza members, but is he really any more comfortable killing than he was at the beginning? He seemed ready to kill that guy in the bar after that guy killed Logan's bear friend. Yet, when he is faced with killing Mariko's father he hesitates, not wanting to give him an honorable death that he doesn't deserve. Sure, he throws Yashida off of that building, but only after Mariko had all but killed him herself.
The fact is, the character arc and motivations for the Wolverine/Logan are all out of whack. I've always had a weird relationship with the character. I always found it so hard to connect with him because you never feared for his life. There's no reason to be emotionally taken in by what is happening to him because you know that he's going to end up on top. I'll give the film some credit in this regard. Assumingly with this problem in mind, the film's creators tried to focus a lot of the story on Logan's relationships. However, Jean only appears in these repetitive flashbacks that seem to be trying for something deep and metaphysical, but come off primarily as cliche. Logan's relationship with Mariko is also a mystery. It forms so quickly and without any real explanation that it just feels too forced. I understand that these characters have been through a lot, but is that enough to form a complete relationship in the course of a few days? I know that she probably wants to thank him for saving her, but is a long-term relationship really the best means?
While I might be being a little facetious, these issues are big ones. The whole point of the film is to show Logan's transformation back into the Wolverine. And the primary vehicle for showing this is through his interactions with Mariko. In failing to successfully portray this relationship, Logan's arc and subsequently the movie itself both fail. And then the credits roll and we fast-forward two years.
What follows is a scene of Logan at the airport. Under a monitor reading "Trask Industries," he is stopped by TSA and opts for the patdown to avoid any significant problems that could arise from a full-body scan meeting adamantium. As he looks at some coins, a ring, and some keys that are in one of those gray airport bins, they start to vibrate. Logan, just about the time all of the audience members do, realizes that this is probably the work of only one person. He whips around, unsheathing his bone claws to see Magneto (Sir Ian McKellan). Under a fedora, Magneto holds Logan's adamantium arm in place. He explains that they are going to have to work together because there is something on the horizon that threatens the fate of all mutants. Logan is understandably skeptical, struggling to free himself from Magento's grasp. Then everyone in the airport, except for the pair, freezes. And as goosebumps formed on the arms of every nerd in the theater, out of the crowd emerges Professor Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart). Logan, as shocked as the rest of us asks how. "As I told you when we first met," Professor X says, "you're not the only one with powers." Cut to black.
And that's it! Every single thing you need to get to an EXTREME H'OH MY GOD level of excitement for the new film. The subtle, big brother-esque cameras labeled with Bolivar Trask's company name set a sinister tone as Magneto explains the dire straights the mutants find themselves in. The gravitas that Stewart and McKellan bring to the scene, and that was absent from THE WOLVERINE, brings so much weight to scene that in the brief two minute clip, you can feel just how urgent this situation truly is. Everyone's motivations are clear and easily understandable. The situation is understood, the characters motivations are understood, we are introduced to the villainous presence that will be the main antagonism for the X-Men both current and past.
But perhaps most interesting, we can gather everything we need to know from THE WOLVERINE in that one clip. Logan is at an airport so clearly he has made his way back to civilization. And his interaction with the TSA officer tells us that his patented gruffness is still present. Most telling, however, is his reaction to Magneto. He is not reserved. He does not think about revealing himself as a mutant to the humans or think about hurting them. His first and only reaction is to attack, to kill. As soon as he sees the metal items start to float, he immediately whips around, claws unleashed. And they're bone claws. The absence of his adamantium tells us that something life-altering has happened to Logan. Do we need to know what? Do we need to know he spent some time in Japan and dealt with a crazy dying man in a Silver Samurai suit? Or that he had a weird relationship with that crazy dying man's granddaughter? We know that he is an animalistic warrior again and that both Magneto and Professor X need him for the oncoming war and that's all we need.
If THE WOLVERINE were a standalone film, a movie that wanted to try and touch some deep truth within the Logan/Wolverine character or simply tried to explore the character in a way that has never been tackled on film, then things might be different. It still wouldn't be an amazing movie, but it would be enjoyable and you could understand why they did it. But in the age we live in, everything is building to something else. No comic book based movie is just a comic book based movie anymore. It's always building to some team-up or some larger clash down the road. Don't get me wrong, those movies can be done and done well. IRON MAN, THOR, and CAPTAIN AMERICA were all fantastic and really helped build the excitement for what was to come. And though THE WOLVERINE is not on par with these films, it could have easily added to the excitement of the upcoming X-Men movie. Had they somehow integrated the presence of Professor X, Magneto or the other X-Men into the film or had Trask Industries a lurking presence, I would not be writing this. But the fact is that they didn't. The creators saved it all for a post-credits sequence that was so brilliant that it made their film seem redundant, unnecessary. It's just a shame that in an era where post-credits sequences are populated with bad jokes and other trivialities, when we actually get a one that is amazing, it completely undermines the movie that precedes it.
But hey, they're both better than X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, right?
