Hugh Jackman in a scene from The Wolverine. (AP/20th Century Fox)

After the forgettable first Wolverine spin-off, X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009, fans of the X-Men franchise can now look forward to an enthralling, suspenseful, follow up in The Wolverine.

A flashback sequence in the beginning of the movie takes us to Nagasaki, Japan in 1945, just moments before the historic atomic bombing happens.

Logan, '€œThe Wolverine'€ (Hugh Jackman), is confined to a well in the ground with no possibility of escape when a young Japanese soldier has the sensibility to release prisoners held captive, including Logan.

Seeing no alternative to death by nuclear explosion, Logan informs the Japanese soldier that he has a much bigger chance of surviving if he stays in the well with him. Choosing a more honorable death, the soldier is about to carry out a harakiri (honorable suicide ritual) when Logan saves him from the devastating explosion by taking him back to the well and covering him with a large piece of metal.

They both survive but Logan is badly hurt. But being the fast healer he is, the Wolverine is back to normal condition in a matter of seconds.

The movie then takes us back to present day where Logan now resembles a caveman with long hair and unshaven facial hair. A nod to Christopher Nolan'€™s Inception, the event in Japan happens in a dream within a dream.

Logan first awakens from the Japan dream to see Jean Grey (next to him, the woman that he loves but had to kill in a previous X-Men movie). Knowing that Jean is actually dead, he then wakes up in the middle of a forest.

When a grizzly bear is shot dead with a poisoned arrow by an irresponsible hunter, Logan grows angry and begins to seek out the hunter at the town bar. A bar fight is about to ensue when a young Japanese girl Yukio (Rila Fukushima) shows up to stop him from killing the civilians.

Yukio has been sent to fetch Logan by Yashida (Hal Yamanouchi), the Japanese soldier he saved in Nagasaki, now a very wealthy businessman whose dying wish is to say goodbye to the man he owed his life to.

When Logan meets Yashida in Japan, we learn about Yashida'€™s real intention of bringing Logan there. He offers Logan an end to the misery that comes with immortality by transferring that ability to his dying self.

Directed by James Mangold, this newest installment of the X-Men franchise is a different kind of superhero movie as it includes fresh Japanese elements and a for once a mortal Wolverine.

Samurai sword combats, martial arts, stealthy ninjas, suspenseful battle on top of a fast-moving bullet train and chase scenes involving the Yakuza, all keep this flick an exciting and engaging action movie, if somewhat a bit disappointing as a superhero mutant movie.

During the whole movie, we only see a total of two mutants (three if you include Jean Grey lying on the bed). One is Wolverine, and the other Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova), an invincible lizard-like, poison-spitting woman who was first introduced as Yashida'€™s doctor.

We immediately expect a grueling battle between the two mutants but are let down by the mini robot that Viper planted in Wolverine that causes him to become weak. Unlike the previous X-Men films, this one lacks the surprising revelation that every other villain '€” or any other character '€” is a mutant.

Infused with a theme of distinct Japanese honor and respect, the movie is a character-driven flick that chronicles family politics, which eventually relies on Logan'€™s romance with Mariko (Tao Okamoto), Yashida'€™s granddaughter, who falls under his protection, to move the plot further.

Logan'€™s longing to be reunited with the dead Jean Grey serves as the emotional background of the movie while Mariko'€™s presence in Logan'€™s life gives him a reason to keep on living.

A weak aspect of the movie is that it fails to create a memorable villain. Most of the time, we fear the generic Yakuza minions or an army of masked ninjas. There is minimal contact with the big boss of the bad guys, stringing us along to the film'€™s climax.

The story line provides Logan with closure as he had felt guilty for having killed Jean Grey in a previous film. A fresher follow-up installment is expected in X-Men: Days of Future Past, set to be released next year.

Overall, The Wolverine is suspenseful, making it a great action movie to enjoy on night out. Two thumbs up!

The Wolverine
(126 minutes, 20th Century Fox)

Director: James Mangold
Screenwriters: Mark Bomback, Scott Frank
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Famke Janssen, Will Yun Lee, Rila Fukushima, Tao Okamoto, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Hal Yamanouchi
Producers: Lauren Schuler Donner, Hutch Parker

The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.

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