The Wolverine

In 2015, Superman will battle Batman in Warner Brothers’ untitled Superman/Batman movie. But this summer, the Wolverine beat Superman in the battle of the summer superhero movies. (Iron Man 3 was the first week of May.) Unlike The Man of Steel, the fights are interesting and don’t go on forever.

That said, Wolverine is still not a great movie. Hugh Jackman shines star power in this iconic role and the Wolverine is one of the best comic book heroes, so I’m not sure why this isn’t a better script or convincing total production. But unlike 2009′s bland X-Men Origins: Wolverine, at least they are trying.

For starters, the creators find a good location and stay there (Hurray!). And they find a look, pace and story that hints on a good niche for this character; I’d call it superhero noir.

The film is just good enough and keeps clawing it’s way out of tedium, but the first-rate train scene makes you think about the great movie that it had potential to be. If only every action scene was as thrilling and inventive as that.

Simply put: Better than the first one, and showing some promise…but still not as super as any of the entries in the Iron Man or The Dark Knight series.

Award potential:  Potential for special effects.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks just for the first-rate train scene. You can leave after that.