The Wolverine is a 2013 superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. The film, distributed by 20th Century Fox, is the sixth instalment in the X-Men film series and the second film of the Wolverine solo film series. Hugh Jackman reprises his role from previous films as the title character, with James Mangold directing a screenplay written by Scott Frank and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. In the film, which follows the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his healing factor, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai while struggling with guilt over Jean Grey's death.
Plot[]
In 1945, Logan is held in a Japanese POW camp near Nagasaki. During the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Logan saves an officer named Ichirō Yashida by shielding him from the blast.
In the present day, Logan lives as a hermit in Yukon, tormented by hallucinations of Jean Grey, whom he was forced to kill to save the world.[nb 2] He is located by Yukio, a mutant with the ability to foresee people's deaths, on behalf of Ichirō, now the CEO of a technology zaibatsu. Ichirō, who is dying of cancer, wants Logan to accompany Yukio to Japan so that he may repay his life debt. In Tokyo, Logan meets Ichirō's son, Shingen, and granddaughter, Mariko. There, Ichirō offers to transfer Logan's healing abilities into his own body, thus saving Ichirō's life and alleviating Logan of his near-immortality, which Logan views as a curse. Logan refuses and prepares to leave the following day. That night, Ichirō's physician Dr. Green (also known as Viper) introduces something into Logan's body, but Logan dismisses it as a dream.
The next morning, Logan is informed that Ichirō has died. At the funeral, Yakuza gangsters attempt to kidnap Mariko, but Logan and Mariko escape together into the urban sprawl of Tokyo. Logan is shot and his wounds do not heal as quickly as they should. After fighting off more Yakuza on a bullet train, Logan and Mariko hide in a local love hotel. Meanwhile, Ichirō's bodyguard Harada meets with Dr. Green who, after demonstrating her mutant powers on him, demands he find Logan and Mariko. Logan and Mariko travel to Ichirō's house in Nagasaki, and the two slowly fall in love. Meanwhile, Yukio has a vision of Logan dying and goes to warn him. Before Yukio arrives, Mariko is captured by the Yakuza. After interrogating one of the kidnappers, Logan and Yukio confront Mariko's fiancé, corrupt Minister of Justice Noburo Mori. Mori confesses that he conspired with Shingen to have Mariko killed because Ichirō left control of the company to Mariko, and not Shingen.
Mariko is brought before Shingen at Ichirō's estate when ninjas led by Harada attack and whisk her away. Logan and Yukio arrive later and, using Ichirō's X-ray machine, discover a robotic parasite attached to Logan's heart, suppressing his healing ability. Logan cuts himself open and extracts the device. During the operation, Shingen attacks but Yukio holds Shingen off long enough for Logan to recover and kill Shingen. Logan follows Mariko's trail to the village of Ichirō's birth, where he is captured by Harada's ninjas. Logan is placed in a machine by Dr. Green, who reveals her plans to extract his healing factor and introduces him to the Silver Samurai, an electromechanical suit of Japanese armor with energized swords made of adamantium. Mariko escapes from Harada, who believes he is acting in Mariko's interests and frees Logan from the machine. Harada sees the error of his ways and is killed by the Silver Samurai while helping Logan escape.
Meanwhile, Yukio arrives and kills Dr. Green as Logan fights the Silver Samurai. The Silver Samurai severs Logan's adamantium claws and begins to extract Logan's healing abilities, revealing himself to be Ichirō, who had faked his death. Ichirō regains his youth, but Mariko intervenes and stabs Ichirō with Logan's severed claws. Logan regenerates his bone claws and kills Ichirō. Logan collapses and has one final hallucination of Jean, in which he decides to finally let her go. Mariko becomes CEO of Yashida Industries and bids farewell to Logan as he prepares to leave Japan. Yukio vows to stay by Logan's side as his bodyguard, and they depart to places unknown.
In a mid-credits scene, Logan returns to the United States two years later and is approached at the airport by Erik Lehnsherr, who warns him of a grave new threat to the mutant race; and Charles Xavier, whom Logan previously thought was dead.
Cast[]
- Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine
- Tao Okamoto as Mariko Yashida
- Rila Fukushima as Yukio
- Hiroyuki Sanada as Shingen Yashida
- Hal Yamanouchi as Ichirō Yashida/Silver Samurai
- Ken Yamamura as young Yashida
- Svetlana Khodchenkova as Ophelia Sarkissian/Viper
- Brian Tee as Noburo Mori
- Will Yun Lee as Kenuichio Harada
- Famke Janssen as Jean Grey
- Qyoko Kudo as Aya
- Yaeko Kimura as Mieko
- Ryuta Kimura as Hitoshi
- Kimi as Saki
- Keiko Matsumoto as Shizu
- Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier/Professor X
- Ian McKellen as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto
Sequel[]
The Wolverine was followed by a sequel: Logan (2017).
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
| Wolverine |
|---|
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), Logan (2017) |
| X-Men |
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| X-Men (2000), X2 (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), X-Men: First Class (2011), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Deadpool (2016), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), Logan (2017), Deadpool 2 (2018), X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019), The New Mutants (2019), Deadpool 3 (2024) |