These type of first reactions are often initially pretty positive, so we won't have a proper gauge of the overall consensus until the first batch of full reviews hit..but, it at least sounds like The Wolverine was received pretty well.
Also, Twitch have posted a full review of the movie. Overall they seem to have liked it, but feel it falls "just short" of its aims and the last act is a tad disappointing after a very strong buildup. They do, however, praise Hugh Jackman's performance as his best yet as Logan, and say the supporting cast (with the exception of Svetlana Khodchenkova as Viper) do well with what they have to work with. Here are some excerpts:
"Aiming for a pulpy Japan noir feel, Mangold's film features a number of strong episodic elements and admirable restraint as it seeks to focus on the Wolverine's inner crisis. Like any war veteran, he suffers from fitful sleep and terrible nightmares. In addition, a vision of Jean Grey, his deceased lover, haunts him. His immortality is a burden and he knows that anything he loves will die. Early in the film he is poisoned and becomes mortal, albeit still extremely strong. While this lends some much-needed urgency to his fights, it also accelerates his personal journey...
As an action film, The Wolverine is far less ambitious and relatively tame when set alongside this summer's bombastic fare. Nevertheless, one scene in particular, set on a bullet train, is easily among the most thrilling moments we've had on screen in 2013. The film's mid-section largely dispenses with action as we retreat to the countryside, fill out the backstories, witness a burgeoning romance and wade through the Wolverine's emotional baggage. The budget then shows its muscle again in the big climax but after a promising start, it devolves into a pastiche of action scenes from the last few years, replete with yet another big screen robot. By playing it safe, the film ends on a whimper, it feels anticlimactic and worse, just a tad lazy...
As a Japan-set, character-based and episodic narrative, The Wolverine is almost a success. However, it plays a little fast and loose with some Japanese genre codes (such as a cadre of monks suddenly turning into tattooed, bare-chested, gun-toting yakuzas) and suffers from not being shot in Japan (plans were scraped following 2011's tsunami). 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."
For the full review click on the link below.
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