”The Wolverine” is the sixth film in which actor Hugh Jackman has played the role of Wolverine/ Logan, and he only keeps getting better.

In this film we get a better look at what drives Logan, and what demons he faces.

The film opens to a scene of WWII, just outside of Nagasaki as it is about to be bombed. Logan is trapped inside an oubliette and there are other American prisoners being kept inside a makeshift jail. As we see the bomber planes approaching, a young Japanese officer frees the prisoners (a daring act in and of itself) so they may run for cover. Logan in turn saves his life by throwing him down into the well and shielding him with a piece of metal and his own body. The man’s name is Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi).

In present time, Yashida is dying, and wishes to say goodbye to his old friend, and to offer him a gift. He sends a young woman named Yukio (Rila Fukushima) to track him down and bring him to Tokyo. There Logan is told that Yashida wishes to grant him mortality, and take away his suffering of living forever. He is told that his super healing power can be passed on to another person. We also meet Yashida’s granddaughter Mariko (Tau Okamoto). Logan becomes her bodyguard of a sort, as she is being targeted by the Yukuza - the Japanese Mob, in order to get to Yashida.

Through a series of events, Logan does lose his healing power and he is forced to live and fight as any normal human would (with the exception that he does still have his adamantium skeleton and claws). This forces him to re-examine his life and face some of his inner demons that he has been living with.

The special effects in this movie are fabulous, and the reason I recommend seeing this film in the theatre if you get the chance. The train scene alone is worth it. Yes, train fight scenes have been done in “Mission Impossible” and most recently in “The Lone Ranger” – but neither one of these films had it take place on the bullet train of Japan at 300 mph. The silver samurai is impressive, too. Also there are ninjas. With the exception of Logan, the characters are a little thin, we don't really get invested with many of them. The plot is good, with many twists, especially towards the end where you will be left looking left and right to see where the next twist is coming from. Oh, and as usual, be sure to stay through the credits (at least partways.)

This is by far Hugh Jackman’s best performance, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of his other movies. He digs really deep for this one, and we can feel his pain and confusion in the film. My 16 year old daughter enjoyed it as well. This is a DVD we will be buying when it comes out.

This movie is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence – lots of that, some mild sexuality and language – less of that than I’ve come to expect.

I purchased the tickets to this film with my own funds.