The Wolverine (Mangold, 2013)

Finally: The Wolverine story comic fans have waited to see. Logan's adventure in modern-day Japan is a very popular story, and the loyal X-Men followers have patiently waited to see it on the big screen for over a decade.

After the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine is a welcome return to the famous X-Man. Benefitting from a strong performance by Hugh Jackman, the film will delight both hardcore franchise fans and newcomers alike. The Wolverine is one of the few members of the X-Men capable of standing alone in his own film, and this movie remarkably proves that point.

Set after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, The Wolverine sees Logan having to deal with the haunting memory of a former lover (whose cameo is cool at first, but repetitive as the film progresses), and has frequent flashbacks to his troubled past. But almost out of the blue, he meets a mysterious Japanese warrior (Rila Fukushima), who informs him that her master wants to say goodbye to the Wolverine that saved his life so many years ago. Logan reluctantly follows her to Japan, and discovers a shocking truth in the country he has not seen since World War II. The Wolverine must now make a fateful choice that could drastically affect his future forever.

The Wolverine is Hugh Jackman's vehicle; it easily remains the actor's best performance in the role that made him a household name since 2003's X2: X-Men United. James Mangold proves a better director than Origin's Gavin Hood, and captures the essence of the comic book story by maintaining the titular character's personality as well as the beautiful locales of Japan.

The villains are pretty pathetic, and normally would not stand a chance against Wolverine. The screenwriters, although they did a fair job otherwise, should have chose better bad guys to at least make the cockamamie villainous plot seem somewhat threatening. Nevertheless, there are several genuine thrills to experience in the picture.

As an action movie, there's enough mutant battles and samurai fights to keep audiences interested. The stunt work is incredible and (almost) believable. However, the drama portions are also well done, thanks in part to the committed performances. The Wolverine does not rely on CGI to craft a well-integrated story, which is a nice change of pace from the normal superhero fare.

There's plenty for comic fans to chew on, but those new to X-Men can still find enjoyment from this solid action flick. I would recommend reviewing X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), but this is a story that rightfully depends on Hugh Jackman and the viewer's appreciation for Wolverine. Thankfully, it succeeds on both these levels.

Four out of five stars.

The Lone Ranger (Verbinski, 2013)

It's horribly written and edited, but The Lone Ranger remains a wallop of a good time.

Produced by the team behind The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, The Lone Ranger will certainly appeal to viewers looking for mindless adventure. It has a very long runtime, but overall keeps the action moving so that audiences do not notice. The multitude of actors are committed, the direction is solid, and the plot is unnecessarily complex.

Overall, a typical Gore Verbinski film.

The Lone Ranger is faultily narrated by Tonto (Johnny Depp), a Native American warrior who recounts the story of the Lone Ranger to a young boy. Basically, John Reid (Armie Hammer) is a man of law and justice, committed to the system and naive in the ways of the real world. He returns from the city to his Wild West home, where a dangerous criminal named Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) has recently escaped. When Reid goes after the criminal with his sheriff brother's deputes, the rangers are ambushed by Butch's goons. All of the rangers are killed, and Reid is left for dead.

Tonto finds Reid and, believing him to be a Spirit Walker, saves the lawyer from the desert. Reid wants to bring Butch to justice, while Tonto has his own ulterior motives behind wanting to find the criminal. The two team up, Reid dons a mask, and they set out to bring justice to the old West.

The writing is never in focus. The actions of the characters do not make much sense, and the story progresses rapidly where it show go slow and glacially where it should go fast. The writer knew all the characters well enough to do justice to them, but just tries to fit too much in at one time.

The biggest problem with The Lone Ranger is in it's core narration: the movie blames many of its plot holes on the fact that Tonto is an old man who forgets things. This leaves the audience shaking their heads in disbelief as Reid and Tonto are constantly placed in ridiculous situations that have no resolutions. One minute, one man's in a jail cell, and the next, he's out in the open. It remains a combination of poor editing and writing that is never truly resolved.

But the target audience of The Lone Ranger will not care about editing or directional issues, so for those people, the film indeed remains enjoyable throughout. It does have a lot of characters, but all are developed enough to avoid confusion. Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp lead the cast with enjoyable chemistry and great stuntwork.

The Lone Ranger remains a fun tale, not very well made, but highly entertaining. It makes viewers feel like they are young boys sitting in front of a ten-inch TV screen, smiling over each explosion and gunshot.

Do not go in expecting to see a work of art, kemosabe, and just enjoy the movie for what it is.

Three out of five stars.

The Heat (Feig, 2013)

Sandra Bullock's Ashburn and Mellisa McCarthy's Mullins are the new Murtaugh and Riggs.

One of the funniest movies released in the past decade, The Heat delivers as both buddy-cop gold and comedic genius. The jokes are right on cue, and at times it's hard to hear the next line after the hilarity of the previous leaves the auditorium in hysterics. It's raunchy, hilarious, and vastly entertaining to watch. 

Sandra Bullock plays Sarah Ashburn, an uptight, by-the-book New York FBI agent who's cockiness makes her disliked by almost all her co-workers. She vies for a promotion, and thinks her chance has come when she's assigned to take down a drug lord in Boston. In that city, she meets Mellisa McCarthy's Shannon Mullins, an extremely vulgar city cop who fights her way through cases. Ashburn and Mullins butt heads at first, but eventually realize that they need each other to finish the job. 

Unfortunately, The Heat is as predictable as it is funny. But that does not stop Bullock and McCarthy from giving two of the best performances of their careers. Sandra Bullock is fantastic in these type of roles, and she is finally back on the map after almost four years of not following up her Oscar win. McCarthy has no moral line, so her jokes can take audiences anywhere, anytime. That makes her unpredictable and exceptionally hilarious. The supporting players do not get much to work with, and at most get one or two funny punchlines in before McCarthy shows them up. 

The Heat also subtly addresses themes of sexual discrimination in the justice system, corruption in the police force, and family values. The pacing works for a comedy, but it takes longer than anticipated for the film to get truly entertaining. The beginning seems uncomfortable, with McCarthy swearing every other word and Ashburn just being annoying to watch. It picks up speed after the two finally meet. 

Director Paul Feig provides a funny summer comedy with The Heat. But it's Bullock and McCarthy's hugely entertaining performances that makes viewers want to stay. 

Four out of five stars.