Claws encounters of the sixth time

MANILA, Philippines - If we include the cameo in First Class, this is the sixth time that Hugh Jackman has donned the claws and played the role of Logan, a.k.a. The Wolverine. That dates back to the year 2000 and the first X-Men film, and it would be a handful of other franchise film series that has required an actor to play the same role that often.

Call it a blessing or a curse: Jackman can do his Oscar-nominated Jean Valjean of Le Miserables, or what I consider my favorite, his Robert Angier the magician in The Prestige (2006), but for countless fans all over the world, he will always be Logan, the Wolverine. All other screen or stage appearances (he won a Tony for The Boy From Oz) will be just window-dressing in his resume.

So coming on the heels of the Origins Wolverine film, the challenge was to come up with something different and compelling for the current release. Chronologically, the events of this film transpire after The Last Stand, as Logan travels to modern Japan — as what happened in the limited 1982 comic book series that Chris Claremont and Frank Miller created. Developing this Japanese arc for the film were screenplay writers Christopher McQuarrie, Scott Frank and Mark Bomback, with James Mangold as director.

And this Japanese arc works in imbuing the film with something very different — Logan encountering ninjas, yakuzas, bullet trains, modern Japan and centuries-held customs and traditions. Plus, the Yashida clan, starting with the patriarch (Hal Yamanouchi) — whom, as the film’s intro shows, Logan first meets in Nagasaki in 1945 — to the son Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada) and the granddaughter Mariko (Tao Okamoto). Throw in a sword-wielding “bodyguard” named Yukio (Rila Fukushima) and fellow mutant Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), and you have the elements for a timeworn story about bonds of friendship, greed and ambition, turning the Wolverine into something mortal, diminished of his powers and defining honor. The “presence” of Jean (Famke Janssen) serves as a connection to what has happened in Logan’s past.

I would consider this outing a qualified success, with only the last 20 minutes lacking in impact. Resolving the story and the demise of the villains comes a little too pat, given the powers they’ve exhibited. And be forewarned that this is more a martial arts film than one of mutant superpowers. Having said that, do stay glued to your seats when the end credits run, as there’s an added scene which serves as a teaser for the next X-Men installment, Days of Future Past. With action and humor aplenty, this film franchise certainly still has a lot of leg under it.