The Wolverine

"Let the healing begin. After the sheer awfulness of James “Logan” Howlett’s 2009 Origins story, Wolvie is back with a vengeance in this brooding yet bravura tale based on one of his most popular comic arcs. Taking him from Grizzly Adams-esque recluse back into the fighting fold, this Japanese sojourn owes more than a debt to Nolan’s Dark Knight and Marvel’s own Avengers series with its sombre storytelling and breadcrumbs of things to come (or should I say Future Past)."

"Though Wolvie comes across a bit world-weary and battle-worn by now, Jackman is in top form, taking the opportunity to test the character's physical and emotional extremes."

"It’s a step up from the garbled silliness of Wolverine’s first solo outing. Unlike Origins, the storytelling is more sharply focused here, ignited by flashes of stylised superheroism."

"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."

"The flat hammerblows of The Wolverine bear little relation to the zing and pop of Matthew Vaughn's colourful treatment. Inconsistency is inevitable in a world that's constantly being dug up and done over, but it leaves us no time to fall in love with anything being flung at us."

"Until a third act that collapses in a harebrained heap, the director largely succeeds in keeping the more cartoonish aspects at bay, roughing up the surface with organically staged fight scenes and, crucially, raising the stakes."

"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."