With The Wolverine set to hit theatres next Friday, Hugh Jackman has been doing the press rounds and through an interview that the actor did with Hero Complex, we’ve learnt the reason that the film is rated PG-13 and not R. Furthermore, thanks to an interview with ComingSoon, it’s been confirmed that there will indeed be a post-credits scene.
On why the film went for PG-13 and not R, Jackman said:
“If there’s ever going to be a comic book character that deserves and could have an R-rated movie, it’s Wolverine, and I, in a way, would love to see that version of it. In the end, it won’t be. The thing about playing this character, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve met who are teenagers, it means a lot to them, this character, what he represents,” the actor told Hero Complex. “I said to [director] Jim Mangold, I said, ‘Look, we have to have a very, very good reason to deliberately exclude them because that’s what we’re saying, ‘This one’s not for you.’ ‘ We have to have a really great reason to do that, not just, ‘Oh, that would be cool.’ Tonally, this is a darker film than what has been before, but in the end we decided that’s not what we want. We don’t want to exclude them from this story, and I don’t think we need to compromise on that darker side of Wolverine’s character.”
On whether there will be a post-credit scene, this is what Jackman had to say:
“If you stay on after the credits you get to see a nice little preview for Bryan’s next film.”
Of course, by “Bryan’s next film,” Jackman is referring to X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Fox has a lot riding on The Wolverine. Marvel and Warner Bros. have both succeeded in their superhero endeavours this year and now it’s Fox’s turn to show us what they’ve got. The Wolverine is especially important too seeing as the character’s last solo outing, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, was a complete dud.
I haven’t yet seen the film but from the trailers and marketing material, it’s looking quite promising. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that many people feel the same way. The first reviews have started to appear online and for the most part, they are quite mixed. Check them out below, as organized/collected by The Playlist.
Positive
Sci-Fi Now: ” ‘The Wolverine’ manages the delicate balance of respect for the source and the convention of the genre, big top sensation, and an unlikely, heart-wrenching emotional punch.”
Mixed
Bleeding Cool: “When it works, it really works. But for my money the pace is a shade uneven. Turning over the final act to an (admittedly thrilling) standard CGI smackdown of just the kind that the film has been skilfully avoiding for the past hour seems like a cop-out. ‘The Wolverine’ promises much. And gives you just enough to realise what you’re missing.”
Den Of Geek: “But for the most part this is a good movie. It gets Wolverine in a way that the last film completely failed to. It has something to say about the character, and it says it. Because of that, we can mostly forgive the bizarre tone shift of the final reel, or the tics that weaken its presentation.”
Total Film: “The good news? An improvement on Origins. The bad? Not as big an improvement as you were hoping for: perfectly decent, but ponderous too.”
Twitch: “Jackman is on form, Mangold lends his solid if uninspired directing style and there’s a great Kurosawa reference, but the film lacks the punch it needs. By aiming a little too high and not quite meeting its promise, ‘The Wolverine’ is a slight disappointment.”
Flickering Myth: “Unfortunately though, the film is not without its flaws – most of which start to surface in the final third. While the script is fairly simple yet tidy initially, it starts to get quite clunky in the final half hour or so and feels as though more time could have been spent constructing a more suitable finale….The unique story coupled with beautiful scenery, an excellent supporting cast and berserker rage suited only to our favourite hero make this a film that anyone can enjoy – though I suspect that die-hard Wolverine fans may enjoy it a little more.”
Empire: “An improvement on the last outing for Jackman’s not-so-merry mutant. If only it trusted enough in its unique setting to forgo a descent into aggressively awful formula.”
Negative
The Telegraph: “Where is the quicksilver wit and lightness of touch of the Avengers and Iron Man films, or the formal ambition of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy? The previous X-Men film, ‘First Class,’ was secure enough in its own skin to embrace its comic side. Mangold’s picture affects a pubescent snarl instead: that’s the difference between comic and daft.”
Mirror: “Aside from the odd moment where our man flashes his claws, this looks like a burn-and-churn cheapie.”
So there you have, a bit of information on The Wolverine‘s rating and its post-credit scene along with a whole heap of reviews. As of now, things aren’t looking too positive for Wolvie but with a few weeks to go until the film releases, things can still change.
What do you think, will The Wolverine be the film that the character deserves? Let us know in the comments below, and check back soon for our full review.