Every time I see a trailer for The Wolverine I’m torn between comic geek fascination and disgust.
I don’t normally search out every little thing I can about a movie before it opens, preferring instead to get my money’s worth by being surprised and entertained. I really shouldn’t be too hard on it either. Growing up it was our wildest dreams to see these movies made reality. Unfortunately, 30 years ago, the closest we came was sitting in a Denny’s at 2AM passionately arguing who would be the best person to play whomever. And we discussed everyone. We talked about stories and plot threads and what would look cool and breathtaking and in 2000 X-Men finally answered our prayers. As my dear friend, Craig, says more often than I can recount: “It may be an awful movie but it’s a f***ing comic book movie. G*D*, go see it. It’s better than nothing!” Those are quotation marks for a reason. I agree with him. You may not have liked Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane but we finally got to see MJ on the big screen. How many of you didn’t like the way Erik Larsen drew her when he was on Amazing Spider-man? Artists and writers will come and go, as will actors and actresses. Now the obverse side of that argument comes from John Payant, who’s helped make my writing look good and helped me fine tune my thoughts. John says Craig and I are the reason the studios believe that they can continue to shovel out “Drivel” and that comic book movie fans shouldn’t have to accept poor movies just because that’s what’s made. Not every movie has to be Oscar level yet we all know the difference between that and some of the movies, of any genre, that should never have been made. My stupid statement for the day would have to be that I agree with John, as well. A movie like Spider-man 2 will have my wife asking if I need something to hide my excitement. A movie like Superman Returns will have me asking "What movie?" I really don't want to remember that one.
So The Wolverine is a comic book movie. The fifth (sixth) time that Hugh Jackman has bared those claws (and yes, I know that Logan didn’t actually bare those claws in First Class) and I’m super tweaked to go see it. I want to see it. I want to love it! Yet that trailer just has me gnashing my teeth together.
About a year ago I wrote a column naming the Top 10 comic book properties that should be a movie and Wolverine made the cut. I acknowledged that Wolverine/X-Men had already been done, but Logan’s more than the claws. He’s more than the healing factor and I commented that “Wolverine” by Chris Claremont and Frank Miller was the seminal work in Wolverine’s history. In four issues they deconstructed the character and established the relationship between the man and his inner beast, the savagery that identified him. It was, and is, a great comic book story on many levels. It’s stood up to the test of time and not lost any of its poignancy as the years have passed. Beginning in the Canadian mountains and traveling to the back alleys of Japan, Logan found not only his sense of self, but his love.
I’ve said many times that I’m not critical of movies having to be what the books are, but I have said that if you stray too far from the source material you end up not with, in this case, Wolverine, but “Clawey Guy”. This trailer features the right characters; Shingen, Silver Samurai, Yukio... I don’t understand the tease appearance of Jean Grey since his love is supposed to be Mariko Yashida, daughter of Shingen, I expect her to be in the movie. The whole concept that Logan can be cured is what really sets off my ire however. Are they going to cure him of his healing factor? He’ll still have claws. Are they going to take away his mutation? I guess for this movie that’s his defining feature. Not his will or his sense of honor and nobility, not his moral compass or terrifying perseverance. As a character he’s admitted that it hurts every time his claws pop out, and still he takes pride in being “The best there is” at what he does.
And it hurts that the whole purpose of X3 was the mutant cure. We’ve seen that movie. If Wolverine wanted a cure he could’ve gotten it then. If you can’t stay true to the source material at least please be original enough to give us a new movie.
Either way, I’ll see it, and regardless of what I think I’ll buy the Blu-Ray. I’m a Comic Book Geek!
Michael R. Murray has been collecting and reading comics for more than 30 years. The comics are more than a passion, they are a lifestyle. Not just collecting and reading but they have influenced his life and the circle of friends he keeps and the way his children are raised. John Payant is one of those wonderful friends that he wouldn’t trade anything for. A smart, talented, comic book reading, video game playing, walking encyclopedia of sports trivia who’s been known to actually roll or fold his comics to fit in a pocket, because it’s not about what they’re worth, it’s about what they bring to us as readers. Michael can be found on facebook and Twitter @mycomicstore001. John can be followed on Twitter @jpayant70.