Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Brand: TCFHE
Model: 28125353
Based on the celebrated comic book arc, this epic action-adventure takes Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the most iconic character of the X-Men universe, to modern day Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world he faces his ultimate nemesis in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality, emerging more powerful than we have ever seen him before. In 2013's summer of superheroes, The Wolverine breaks a lot of rules of the genre and comes out a winner for the most unexpected of reasons. Both the movie and the man (make that super-man) are driven by vengeance, anger, and the existential angst of the whole "with great power comes great blah, blah, blah" thing. But The Wolverine has a sense of higher responsibility and a quietude that distinguishes it from the likes of Iron Man 3, Man of Steel, and even the numerous X-Men movies that forged its legacy. With Hugh Jackman reprising the role (for the sixth time) that made him a movie star, The Wolverine is the least like any of its predecessors for the way it prefers subdued tension and real dramatic buildup of character rather than all-out frenzied action. There are plenty of elegantly realized set pieces that make visual sense and have direct bearing on the story (not necessarily things that are a priority in other mega-budget actioners), but the moments of talk and gentler sense of introspection that director James Mangold carefully oversees are more important and equally as satisfying. The events of The Wolverine take place in the aftermath of 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, with Wolverine/Logan's grief over the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) still raw. He's become a hermit somewhere in the frozen north, still seething with inward rage. The appearance of a lethal Japanese pixie named Yukio (Rila Fukushima) distracts him with a message from an old friend who wants to say good...