So they let the guy who directed "Walk the Line",
"Girl Interrupted", and "Cop Land" make a comic book movie. James Mangold has proven his worth as a
storyteller, and definitely understands the importance of strong, well
developed characters. The question is
whether this quality translates into a good comic book movie? That question leads to another; why are
movies still segregated into their source genres? It seems ridiculous that audiences (and by audiences
I mean me) would accept sub-par stories, acting, realism, etc. all because
"it was a cool comic book".
Likewise, I have concluded that it is irrational to demand faithful
adaptations when movies are inspired by comic books, or novels, or real life
events, or anything*. If you really care
how Wolverine or Charles Darnay behaves as originally envisioned, read the book.
The process of filmmaking is an artform in and of itself, which
depends on a different approach and execution than writing (or drawing). I have decided to accept this principle
whenever* I watch a film, critiquing the work presented, independent of its
source material.
By this
rationale, I can easily say that "The Wolverine" has the elements of
a great film, but is seriously burdened by its comic book roots. At its core, this movie is about loss, with
an interesting twist; sometimes those things which seem undesirable are what
will be missed the most. There is a
great story, and intriguing characters spread throughout this movie, but they
are so often interrupted by sequences which only a comic book fanboy could
appreciate. Perhaps there is a fanboy
out there somewhere blogging about how annoying the moments of contemplation
and internal struggle were… I think that
Christopher Nolan was able to translate the essence of the Batman mythology in
his Dark Knight Trilogy. Bryan Singer
understood what made mutants important when he directed the first X-Men movie. On the other side of that coin, overwhelmingly,
comic book adaptations have missed the point entirely; simply being moving
picture versions of books, which already contained all the motion necessary. Mongold's Wolverine movie contains the
ingredients which elevate it above the rabble, unfortunately it also tries to
be everything for everybody; which will never work**.
*I wouldn't apply
this rule to Biblical accounts, or Tom Clancy novels.
**Unless directed
by James Cameron apparently.
