The Wolverine is a vast improvement over the previous solo incarnation about the character's origin. It's not a great film; a clunky third act prevents that. But it is more grounded and emotionally meaningful, revealing the inner turmoil of a devastated warrior. Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) ferocity and mutant healing ability has long been extolled as his greatest strengths, when the sad fact is they are a burdensome curse. Director James Mangold, along with co-writers Mark Bomback and Christopher McQuarrie, show the weight carried by this tragic hero. Everyone Logan loves will die before him. The memories of love lost, especially at his own hands, have finally put a ch*nk in the invulnerable adamantium armor.

The story begins after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand. Logan is a shell of man, living in the wilderness of the Canadian Yukon. The memory of Jean Gray (Famke Janssen) haunts his every moment. Killing her, his only love, has left him broken. He is found by Yukio (Rila Fukushima), an agent of the Japanese business titan, Yashido (Hal Yamanouchi). As a young officer in a Japanese POW camp, Yashido was saved by Logan when Nagasaki was destroyed by the atomic bomb. He saw Logan burnt to a crisp, only to heal miraculously in front of him. Yukio convinces Logan to come with her to Japan to meet with Yashido, who is on his death bed. He has left his vast business empire to his beloved granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto); much to the anger of his only son and her father, Shingen (Hiroyuki Sanada). When Yashido dies suddenly, Mariko comes under attack. Logan saves her, but as they go on the run in Japan, he realizes that something is taking away his ability to heal.

The first thing that strikes you about this film is the tone. The Wolverine is a serious story with a lot of dramatic themes. Wolverine isn't chomping cigars or tossing out "hey bub" at every character he kills. In fact, the look of Logan is more restrained than we've seen. His trademark hair and sideburns are as close to normal without the character losing the expected look. Mangold is a heavyweight director that doesn't engage in cavalier filmmaking. Logan is conflicted, dealing with serious psychological trauma over the loss of Jean Grey. Famke Janssen has a sizable role in this film. I expected her to have a cameo, but she literally haunts Logan with guilt. When the romance between Mariko and Logan begin to develop, Logan is torn between his new feelings and whether he's betraying Jean. This is heady stuff. Mangold and Hugh Jackman really develop an emotional core to Wolverine that has only been chipped at in the previous films. He's an unstoppable killing machine, but he has a heart and can be wounded.

The action in this film starts off fantastic then falls prey to comic expectations by the final act. I was hooked by the first two thirds of this film. Mangold plays it like a dark crime drama. They take a classic comic storyline, the Japanese setting, and initially run with it to glory. But it kind of peters out with the blasé, big action scene ending. I'm not revealing spoilers, but I wasn't happy with the way they handle the Silver Samurai. Mangold was en route to delivering a completely different kind of comic adaptation when he yanks it back to form. Maybe it's not him, as the studio and Marvel completely runs the show, but it could have been a fantastic ending instead of one we've seen in almost every film of this ilk.

Props go to Hugh Jackman for completely embodying the character of Wolverine. It has made him a star, but he's never dialed in a performance yet. Most actors would lose a step playing a comic book character in numerous films, but Jackman is at his best with Wolverine here. He is a physical beast, pulling off the raw savagery flawlessly, but then being as emotive and compassionate as needed. The guy is a tremendous talent. It's almost impossible to imagine anyone else playing Wolverine at this point. Make sure you stay through the credits, there's a HUGE reveal regarding the upcoming Days of Future Past.