The Wolverine (James Mangold, 2013)

Hugh Jackman gets a sixth outing as the unkillable berserker, and this time the action has been moved to Japan to try to breathe some life into the hack-and-slash formula, although unfortunately this turns out to be a Japan for beginners, with every cliche in the book explained to and even more beefed-up Jackman, who has to stoically feign ignorance of yakuza and the like. While there is an attempt to inject depth into the character through making him even more tortured by his past than before, and also temporarily mortal, breakneck action is the film's overriding concern and predominant asset. It passes muster, but it's doubtful whether there is any mileage in another instalment after this, even though Jackman is an exemplary fit for the role and the character is at least more interesting in terms of unpredictability, as superheroes go, than Superman or James Bond.

5/10