Genre fandom is a fascinating thing to me. Nowhere in culture, outside of maybe religion, can you find such devotion and dedication to a certain thing. But even more fascinating is how quick we are to get excited over a new version of something we didn't like in the first place.
The trailer for The Wolverine has just been released (after several teasers of teasers) and the response has been pretty positive. Though not surprising at all, the reaction is still no less baffling. People think this movie looks pretty cool. I think this movie looks pretty cool. It’s got all the requisites of what makes an action trailer exciting: dramatic start, mysterious plot hints, clips of fighting, some serious-looking dudes and dudettes, and Hugh Jackman snarling. If you’re a fan of Wolverine, what more could you ask for? It’s more Wolverine!!
However, I could use that exact same description to apply to that first spin-off FOX tried to throw at us, X-Men Origins. The point is, that movie had a good trailer, too, and fans were super excited. (Don’t pretend like you weren’t- I got laughed off the internet for DARING to suggest that movie might not be good.) Well, here we are again, and I’m going to do it again: I think The Wolverine looks only slightly better, if not exactly the same as Origins did.
I’m not sure what people are seeing that makes them inclined to be assured this is a better film than what we got in 2009. It looks just as flashy, just as sleek and shiny. I’m still seeing flashes of WWII history. And for some reason, black trenchcoats are still a thing these movies need to have. For something that promises to have nothing to do with that first spin-off, I’ve very curious as to
why I’m seeing Logan strapped down in another lab again, and we’re still hearing people make promises about powers and abilities.
This movie is coming from a stranger place than Origins in that Darren Aronofsky, an incredible filmmaker was at first attached to helm. He promised to do something tonally more serious, and deeper than what we had seen before. A reflection of his vision was in the very name of the film:
The Wolverine, a base title that strips away all the superfluous junk, and looks to get at the core of the character. This falls right in line with the Japan/samurai storylines the movie planned to follow.
Well, Aronofsky eventually dropped out, and James Marigold came in. He’s a fine director, and I’ve enjoyed all his movies. But I could say the same about Martin Campbell, too, and look how that turned out. The issue here is, despite stealing that badass title, Marigold isn’t making the movie Aronofsky was going to make, which would be fine…if this didn’t look like more of the same…When will FOX learn?
But the bigger issue here is why are we so forgiving? Do we remember the vows we made after seeing that the first Wolverine was a steaming pile? It happened with Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer and it happened with Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance as well; “I hated the first one, but man, this one looks so much better!” Only for the end result to be: yeah, not so much. For a group as impassioned as comic book fans, its pretty remarkable how quickly we can go from condemning a movie, to turning right around with excitement for the next one.
Are we fickle or forgiving? In the case of a mediocre sequel, it doesn’t seem to be a good thing, either way.