Wolverine

The Wolverine is a 2013 American-Australian superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Wolverine. It is the sixth installment in the X-Men film series and follows the events of X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Hugh Jackman reprises his role from previous films as the title character, with James Mangold directing a screenplay written by Christopher McQuarrie, Scott Frank, and Mark Bomback, based on the 1982 limited series Wolverine by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller. In the film, Logan travels to Japan, where he engages an old acquaintance in a struggle that has lasting consequences. Stripped of his immortality, Wolverine must battle deadly samurai as well as his inner demons.

McQuarrie was hired to write a screenplay for The Wolverine in August 2009. In October 2010, Darren Aronofsky was hired to direct the film. The project was delayed following Aronofsky's departure and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. In June 2011, Mangold was brought on board to replace Aronofsky. Bomback was then hired to rewrite the screenplay in September 2011. The supporting characters were cast in July 2012 with principal photography beginning at the end of the month in New South Wales before moving to Tokyo in August 2012 and back to New South Wales in October 2012. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.

The Wolverine was released on July 24, 2013 in various international markets; and was released on July 25, 2013 in Australia, and on July 26, 2013 in the United States.

Plot

In 1945, Logan, the Wolverine, is a prisoner in a Japanese POW camp near Nagasaki. When the Americans drop the atomic bomb, he rescues an officer named Yashida.

In the present day, Logan lives as a hermit in the Canadian wilderness, tormented by hallucinations of Jean Grey, whom he was forced to kill in the previous film. He is located by Yukio, a Japanese woman with the mutant power to forsee people's deaths. Yukio represents Yashida, now the CEO of a technology corporation, who is dying of cancer. Yashida wants Logan to accompany Yukio to Japan so that Yashida may repay his life debt.

In Tokyo, Logan meets Yashida's son Shingen and Shingen's daughter, Mariko. Yashida offers to conduct a transplant, removing Logan's immortality and transferring it to himself. Logan refuses and prepares to leave the following day. That night, while Logan dreams of Jean, Yashida's doctor, the mutant Viper, injects him with a robotic parasite, which affects his healing ability. The next morning, Logan is informed that Yashida has died, and attends the funeral, where he saves Mariko from Yakuza assassins with help from Yashida's associate Kenuichio Harada, a skilled archer and Mariko's former lover, who still loves her. Logan is shot and discovers he is not healing as before.

After fighting more assassins on a bullet train, Logan and Mariko hide in a local hotel. While Mariko sleeps, Logan stands guard outside and experiences another hallucination of Jean before passing out from his injuries. When he awakens, he discovers that Mariko had the hotel owner's grandson, a veterinarian, stitch his wounds. Meanwhile, Harada meets with Viper who, after demonstrating her mutant powers on him, demands he find Logan and Mariko.

Logan and Mariko go to Yashida's house in Nagasaki. As they slowly fall for each other, Logan starts revealing his past to Mariko. Meanwhile, Yukio has a vision of Logan dying, and goes to warn him. She is too late and Mariko is captured. After interrogating one of her kidnappers, Logan goes to confront Mariko's fiance, corrupt Chief of Justice Noburo Mori. Mori confesses that he conspired with Shingen to have Mariko kidnapped because Yashida had willed his corporate assets to her and not Shingen.

Shingen is holding Mariko prisoner at the Yashida estate when ninjas led by Harada attack and whisk Mariko away. Logan and Yukio arrive later and use Yashida's medical equipment to locate the parasite and extract it. During the operation, Shingen attacks them, but Logan recovers in time and slays him. Logan follows Mariko's trail to Yashida's natal village. There, he is captured by Harada's ninjas.

Logan is placed in a machine by Viper, who reveals her plans to extract his immortality and introduces Logan to her associate, the Silver Samurai, who has an adamantium sword and the ability to charge it with energy to increase its cutting power. After talking with Harada, who believes he is protecting her still, Mariko escapes and manages to direct the machine Logan is in into the Silver Samurai's sword strike, breaking it and freeing him. Harada sees the error of his ways and is killed by the Silver Samurai while helping Logan escape. Meanwhile, Yukio arrives and slays Viper, while Logan fights the Silver Samurai, who cuts off his adamantium claws and begins to extract Logan's healing abilities, revealing himself to be Yashida, who had faked his death and starts to regain his youth. Mariko intervenes and stabs Yashida with Logan's severed claws. Logan regenerates his bone claws and finishes off Yashida. He then collapses and has one final hallucination of Jean. He says goodbye this time, and Jean cryptically remarks that she is "all alone here".

Mariko becomes CEO of Yashida Corporation 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 post-credits scene, Logan returns to the United States two years after the events in Japan, and watches an ad for Trask Industries and their advances in the field of robotics before being confronted by Magneto (with his powers restored). Magneto announces that Logan's help is required to stop a new enemy that threatens to exterminate the mutant race. When Logan inquires why he should trust Magneto, Professor Charles Xavier arrives to reassure him. Logan is surprised to see Xavier alive. Xavier reminds Logan that he is not the only one with gifts.

Cast

Hugh Jackman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Brian Tee, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Famke Janssen