Preview: The Wolverine: Unleashed Extended Edition

In preparation for the Blu-Ray and DVD release of the Unleashed Extended Edition of The Wolverine, I attended a preview screening of the movie at The Hospital Club in the heart of London. When I reviewed the original version earlier in the year, I enjoyed the experience but felt the final act let the rest of the film down. This new version doesn’t fix the issues of the old, but there is enough added for fans of the character to enjoy.

After the appropriately Japanese-themed nibbles, we settled in to watch the longer, more violent take on The Wolverine. While I won’t go through a blow-by-blow of what has been added, I will say that most of the additions are relatively minor with one exception.

The majority of the extra content involves removing a lot of the hard cuts from the original. To maintain a 12A certificate when your main protagonist has three 10-inch metal claws on each hand is an unenviable task. It was mostly achieved by cutting away just as the action was about to become overly gruesome. In this outing, those cuts have now been removed. While the added blood and gore is not exactly a game-changer, it does make the fights more brutal.

The main addition comes in the penultimate battle which sees our titular hero take on a clan of ninjas in a snow-covered village. For fans who wish to experience it unspoiled, I will refrain from going into detail – suffice it to say, the added content ratchets up the body count and brutality of the combat. It may strike many as gratuitous, but that is actually something the previous movies have almost been lacking in my opinion.

After the credits rolled and we got to see the post-credits stinger again (which is a fantastically-executed tease by the way), we were also treated to two bonus features from the Blu-Ray and DVD release. Firstly, we saw an alternate ending which included a reveal that comic book fans will eat up. The second feature we got was a set tour of the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past movie, led by the director Bryan Singer. While nothing major was revealed here, it was simply nice to see some of the old sets that will be returning, as well as some intriguing shots of some new areas too.

Unfortunately, time was against us and we did not get the chance to see the last feature, called The Path of the Ronin, but it sound intriguing. However, we did learn about one final addition to the Blu-Ray release. Using BD-Live functionality, you will be able to use a second-screen app when watching the Unleashed Extended Edition. Downloadable for free on iOS and Android on Monday, it will allow you to watch additional content synced to the movie on your phone (but it can also be ‘flicked’ to your TV for the full screen experience). You will also be able to chat with friends in-app while you all watch the movie in different places at the same time (which seems like what most teenagers do at any cinema I go to anyway!).

Thanks to Abby from Substance Digital Agency for inviting us along. All in all, there has been plenty of stuff added that fans will enjoy. It doesn’t solve all the problems of the original but as I said at the time, it is still a fun movie.

Tags: 20th Century Fox, Marvel Studios, The Wolverine, Unleashed