Even if "The Wolverine" doesn't entirely clear away the stench of its misbegotten predecessor, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," this latest adventure of grizzled mutant Logan (Hugh Jackman) feels like a return to form for the oft-erratic "X-Men" series.
Moments in "The Wolverine" rank among both the franchise's best and worst, but there's enough in the positive column to make the movie a must for fans and entertaining viewing for casual observers.
This time around, we find Logan hiding out in the Yukon wilderness, haunted by both the loss of his beloved Jean Grey (Famke Janssen, who turns up throughout as a ghostly presence) and his survival of the nuclear blast at Nagasaki, where Logan was being held captive at the bottom of a deep well in a Japanese POW camp.