Title: The Wolverine

Director: James Mangold

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Famke Janssen, Will Yun Lee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Brian Tee.

Hugh Jackman returns for his sixth screen appearance as the adamantium-reinforced superhero in James Mangold’s smart, Japan-set ‘The Wolverine.’

The American-Australian film, featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine, follows the events of 2006’s ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’: Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his immortality, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai as well as his inner demons. The razor-clawed mutant makes an entertaining and surprisingly existential digression from his custom X-Men  role: this newfound physical weakness leads to the exploration of an intriguing emotional vulnerability.

After the triumph with ‘Les Miserables,’ Hugh doesn’t falter in returning to the X-Men robes, marking a 14 year-span bond to the saga. Steamy and emotional, self-ironic and manly, Jackman gives great pathos to the early days of the mutant, but he is surrounded by ludicrous characters. Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) is a complete copycat of Poison Ivy, the Japanese magnate Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi/Ken Yamamura) has a narratively-incoherent behaviour, the Nipponic damsel-in-distress Mariko (Tao Okamoto) is excessively whimpering, and the dream-like conversations with the long lost love Jean (Famke Janssen) seem totally pointless. The only pleasantly kooky character is the Harajuku-samurai girl Yukio (Rila Fukushima), who delights audiences with acrobatic katana fights, in her mini-skirts and eccentric tights, as her bright red hair fluctuates through the air. And for old times’ sake don’t forget to wait for the coda, after the credits, to enjoy the cameo of some former X-Men acquaintances.

Despite some flaws, that can be attributed to the screenwriters (Mark Bomback and Scott Frank), James Mangold delivers a good dose of summer pop-corn entertainment, weaving within the action blockbuster a very profound and intimate reflection on the mutation of a man who used to be invincible.

Technical: A-

Acting: B+

Story: C

Overall: B

Written by: Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi