I have to believe that the superhero subgenre of action flicks reached its populist peak last summer (it'd be tough to have MORE of a glut than a summer season where The Avengers, Batman and Spider-Man were the three most popular releases). Though I grew up loving comic books and superheroes, too much of the same thing is bad for any artform, and the movies need a wee break from all the mutated testosterone... at the very least throw us a curveball with a female superhero.
But it's hard to resist this mutton-chopped mug. Hugh Jackman returns for his sixth stint as an atypically rage-filled Canadian... aka Logan, The Wolverine.
What they did to me - what I am - can't be undone."
That's one of the many DRAMATIC lines in the trailer but I sincerely hope he's not talking about X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Undo, undo! The Yes No and Maybe So breakdown is after the jump...
YES
- Hugh Jackman. Always a "Yes"
- Hugh Jackman Frequently Shirtless. Even better.
- As action sequences go that train top sequence looks fast hot and vicious. Hopefully it lives up to its own trailer-hype.
- The fiery rescue in the international trailer with Wolverine burning up also looks strong.
- The plot, which seems to revolve around Logan losing his instant heal factor, should raise the stakes a bit since indestructability is so very dull (see: the need for Kryptonite vis-a-vis Superman)
- My memory of the Japanese arcs in the X-Men / Wolverine comics is super dim but I seem to remember it being a highlight as Wolverine goes. Though this plot looks very light on the romance (which was a major part of Wolverine's first Japanese arc) but if the romance was going to be as weak as it was in X-Men Origins better to dump it altogether anyway.
- It is scientifically impossible for this to be worse than X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The most boring and least fun superhero picture I've personally ever seen.
NO
- I don't recognize any of the characters outside of Silver Samurai and Wolverine. I guess the girl with the reddish hair (Rila Fukushima) is supposed to be Yukio? And clicking around the web I guess this is Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) we're looking at here. Actually this Viper image shouldn't be heading the "no" because it was a poppy moment in the trailer. Although I don't actually relish a weak repeat of the Mystique / Wolvie battles. We've already done this sort of thing so I hope it's different / better.
- The somber voiceover suggests another DARK, SOBER and VERY IMPORTANT superhero picture with none of the fun of the Raimi Spider-Man but all of the copycat-angst of Nolan Batman. Can no one save us from the Self Important Misery of Being a Superhero? (Oh, right, Joss Whedon can... though it will probably be a couple of years before we see the impact of The Avengers on this genre)
MAYBE SO
- Can no one save us from the teal and orange color scheme so beloved of cinematographers? Is there anyone who can save us?!?! That said the Japanese setting could promise lots of beautiful visuals if they know how to use it. Frankly I was hoping to see more eyepopping neons like Spring Breakers or something as grabby as the Macau entrance in Skyfall but I was denied. That drive into the city just doesn't pop the way it should (Sigh). It's hard to look at this trailer and not wish it was still a Darren Aronofsky picture as it originally threatened to be. This movie has a critical advantage in that it can ONLY be favorably compared to X-Men Origins: Wolverine but at the same time it begins with a disadvantage for everyone who can't quite let go of the "Aronofsky was going to make this" preamble. Reviews MIGHT be interesting if you can see this battle playing out in preconceptions/expectations versus actuality.
The international trailer...
Or the domestic trailer in much nicer quicktime though it's shorter and a different mix of images including less of The Silver Samurai (one of Wolverine's main nemeses in the comics) played by hunky Will Yun Lee.
It's your turn in the comments. Yes, No or Maybe So?
P.S. I would like this bed for Christmas.
Minus whatever life-threatening illness prompted it in this movie. Who will buy it for me?