There's been a bit of buzz lately about the new Wolverine movie acting as a sub-sequel to X-Men 3. Some people love the idea, and some don't.
Before we get into the quasi-legit reasons for qualifying a Wolverine movie, I want to go over why the first Wolverine movie failed so horribly, and what studio execs can do to fix the problem.
I saw Wolverine in theaters, and about 30 minutes in, I wanted to leave. I loved Wolverine as a kid, but even though we saw James Howlett grow from a traumatized child to traumatizing adult, there were a lot of things that just did not make sense in terms of storytelling.
We saw a very basic overview of his life, which came across as more of a wildlife special on National Geographic than a graphic portrayal of a child's troubled life leading to adulthood.
No core, no concept, no caringDisclaimer: I am aware that a movie may be written in one way, and post-production can radically alter the movie's meaning. I don't know what happened with the first movie, but consistently bad reviews point to problems somewhere along the line of production.In the book Le Miserables, we are given graphic depictions of hard lives of those in the 1800s, and how it shaped their character outlook and perspective. We then see Wolverine acting on a previously unexplained moral core, and we see a continuous vacillation between murderer and superhero stereotype.
With Batman, the Hulk and Spider-Man we know these characters had troubled lives, but even their questionable decisions have a sort of internal logic we accept. We are given no logic for Wolverine's already explained (by comics and previous movies) moral dilemmas.
The Adamantium extraction scene doesn't help. We're basically thrown along a ride of "what the heck" moments that seem more like a montage of events than a continuous story.
What can we expect from the second movie?
I hope we see a more cohesive form of storytelling, with less flashbacks. You can accomplish a plot point with a sentence of dialogue instead of a 5-minute flashback that does nothing but lengthen the movie and tax the viewer's patience.
I hope that, with the next Wolverine's setting as modern-day, we see events as a fluid progression, and dialogue that works with itself.
While I have no problem with this movie exploring Wolverine's ties with Japan, but I would give up seeing a populated world of famous mutants walking by the screen for some deep and impressive dialogue. Less mutants, more important characters, and action that makes sense in terms of the story, not just to sell seats.
