Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The Wolverine Review










The Wolverine


Release Date: 25th July 2013 - Australia


Production Companies
20th Century Fox
Marvel Entertainment (in association with)
TSG Entertainment (made in
association with)
Donners' Company
Ingenious Media (made in
association with)
Big Screen Productions
(produced in association with)

Distribution
20th Century Fox Australia


Genre: Action

Rating: M

Runtime: 126 minutes


Budget: $120,000,000

Box Office Gross: $414,828,246 (Worldwide)


Plot Summary
Enticed into a Japan he
hasn't seen since the Second
World War, Wolverine, a
centuries-old mutant, finds
himself in a shadowy world
of yakuza and samurai.
Driven to the brink of his
physical and emotional
limits, Wolverine goes on
the run with the grand-
daughter of a powerful
industrialist and - for the
first time - faces the thought
of death. He must contend
with powerful enemies and
the ghosts of his dark past
as he struggles to rediscover
the hero within.


Cast
Hugh Jackman - Logan/
Wolverine
Tao Okamoto - Mariko Yashida
Rila Fukushima - Yukio
Hiroyuki Sanada - Shingen Yashida
Will Yun Lee - Kenuichio Harada
Brian Tee - Noburo Mori
Svetlana Khodchenkova - Viper
Hal Yamanouchi - Yashida
Ken Wamamura - Young Yashida
Famke Janssen - Jean Grey
Nobutaka Aoyagi - Security
Seiji Funamoto - Servant
Shinji Ikefuji - Pock-Face
Qyoko Kudo - Aya
Nobuaki Kakuda - Buddhist Priest
Chiharu Mizuno - Old Woman
Takao Kinoshita - Fruit Cart Vendor
Conrad Coelby - Red Beard
Taris Tyler - Bar Man (Red Beard's Friend)
Sarah Naylor-Liddell - Yukon Bar Patron
Joshua Remilton - Yukon
Bar Patron/Man Near Bar
Andy Owens - Yukon Bar Patron
Allan Poppleton - Yukon Bar Patron
Geoff Burke - Bartender
Yasuyo Shiba - Reporter 1
Mai Ishikawa - Reporter 2
Yaeko Kimura - Mieko
Ryuta Kimura - Hitoshi
Briden Starr - Party Girl 1
Maria Lukasheva - Party Girl 2
Tess Haubrich - Cashier
Taki Abe - Japanese Businessman
William Takayanagi-Temm - Tower Guard
Kuni Hashimoto - Lead Officer
Chikashi Higaki-Linzbichler - Senior
Officer at POW Camp
Shingo Usami - Driver
Naoya Ogawa - Yakuza 1
Atsushi Sawada - Yakuza 2
Takashi Matsuyama - Yakuza 3
Masa Yamaguchi - Yakuza 4
Eric Laciste - Yakuza 5
Hideki Sugiguchi - Yakuza 6
Garrett Sato - Dying Yakuza
Kosuke Masano - Army Officer 1
Yoji Tatsuta - Army Officer 2
Yoshinori Fukushige - Train Commuter
Hiroshi Kasuga - Yashida Security Guard
Yumiko Nakamura - Mariko Staff
Kimi - Saki
Keiko Matsumoto - Shizu
Louis Toshio Okada - Pat Down Guy
Ian McKellen - Magneto (Cameo)
(Uncredited)
Patrick Stewart - Charles Xavier/
Professor X (Cameo) (Uncredited)

Crew
Director - James Mangold
Screenplay - Mark Bomback
and Scott Frank
Associate Producer - Tom Cohen
Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager -
Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.
Executive Producer - Stan Lee
Producers - Hutch Parker
and Lauren Shuler Donner
Casting Directors - Lisa Beach,
Suzanne Crowley, Priscilla John,
Sarah Katzman, Jessica Kelly
and Yôko Narahashi
Australian Casting Director - Nikki Barrett
Production Designer - François Audouy
Supervising Art Director - Ian Gracie
Set Decorator - Rebecca Cohen
Property Master - Richie Dehne
Props Manufacture Supervisor - Peter Wyborn
Costume Designer - Isis Mussenden
Armourer - John Bowring
Makeup/Hair Supervisor - Jennifer Lamphee
Special Makeup Effects Supervisors - Paul Latte
and Nick Nicolaou
Additional Makeup - Rick Connelly
Director of Photography - Ross Emery
Director of Photography: Second Unit - Brad Shield
"A" Camera Operator - Marc Spicer
Camera Operator: Second Unit - Calum McFarlane
US Production Manager: Japan Unit - Paul Deason
First Assistant Director - K.C. Colwell
First Assistant Director: Second Unit - Drew Bailey
Second Assistant Director - Deborah Antoniou
Second Unit Director - David M. Leitch 
Stunt Coordinator - Allan Poppleton
Stunt Coordinator: Sydney - Kyle Gardiner 
Fight Coordinator - Jonathan Eusebio 
Special Effects Supervisor - Brian Cox
Special Effects Office Coordinator - Leanne Brooks 
Visual Effects Supervisor - Phil Brennan
Visual Effects Supervisors: Rising Sun Pictures -
Tim Crosbie, Jason Madigan, Paul Kirwan,
Dennis Jones and Nick Pill
Visual Effects Supervisor: WETA Digital - Martin Hall
Visual Effects Producer - Jamie Stevenson
Visual Effects Producer: WETA Digital - Annette Wullems 
Animation Supervisor: WETA Digital - Michael Cozens
CG Supervisors: WETA Digital - Phillip Leonhardt,
Luke Millar and Mike Perry
Creature Lead: WETA Digital - Matthew Muntean
Film Editor - Michael McCusker
Additional Editor - Andrew Buckland
Supervising Sound Editors - Donald Sylvester
and John A. Larsen
Sound Designers - Chuck Michael
and Dhor Mohar
Additional Sound Editors - Warren Hendriks,
Paul Apted, Wayne Lemmer and John Morris
Re-Recording Mixers - Ron Bartlett
and Doug Hemphill
Additional Re-Recording Mixer - James Bolt
Music - Marco Beltrami
Additional Music - Buck Sanders,
Brandon Roberts and Marcus Trumpp
Score Recordist & Mixer - John Kurlander


Review
I was expecting to see Pacific Rim in theatres in the late morning, and once again..., inconvenient session times stood in the way. I ended up watching the X-Men spin-off, THE WOLVERINE, which has exceeded audiences' expectations and made a lot of money at the box office. It seems less exciting to see another standalone film of the series than watching mechs beating up gigantic monsters, as an anime fanatic would see in their imagination. The movie was great, but the final part of the climax was weak, which lowered the quality of the film. The same goes for one of the villains, Viper, who is similar to Uma Thurman's Poison Ivy. Charlize Theron would have been a better fit for the character than an unknown Russian actress, which would explain her likeness. The mood and the intense action were brilliant. Even better was the profound themes of the movie. Hugh Jackman still plays the titular hero after a whopping thirteen years.

I feel happy and reassured that they finally got Wolverine to succeed in his movie, unlike X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which is not as good as its predecessor. However, THE WOLVERINE was good and is likely the only film enjoyable for the character's fans.

Star rating: (4/5) Good Movie

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1 comment:

  1. Great review, I am looking forward to seeing this since Wolverine is one of my favorite comic book characters.

    -James

    ReplyDelete