If ever there was a road designed for Wolverine, it’s Hell Road.
What They Say:
Hell Road – Logan and Yukio face a gauntly on the way to the Dragon Palace.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Logan’s journey to get Mariko back has definitely taken him to some interesting areas in Japan, but it’s his trip to Madripoor that’s really been fun to watch even if it’s been awkwardly paced. With the promise made now to Yukio’s grandfather, he’s set to create the diversion necessary to draw attention away from the resistance’s plans to get into the Dragon Palace. Logan’s more of a front door approach kind of guy at this stage anyway, so it works to his style to go up Hell Road and all of its traps in order to get there. And it’s a pretty deadly road right from the start with the section filled with dead bodies that are all speared up.
Of course, it’s not a surprise that Koh lied about things in order to get Logan to do what he needed him to do so they can get to the Dragon Palace. With there really being no underground passage there, he needed Logan to clear the way and was even willing to sacrifice his granddaughter in order to achieve it. Min’s not thrilled by the idea but she has to back Koh at this point because she believes in him and there has to be solidarity amongst the resistance in order to accomplish their mission. They’ve all faced difficult times since Kurohagi took over there and his son succeeded him, and they all see Logan as their chance to really change how everything is there.
While there is some good tension here at times and some amusing creativity when it comes to the traps that they face on Hell Road, it’s not something that you can feel you can take seriously. When it’s more hands on, it works fairly well, but when they have giant, swinging axes lowering on them, trapping them in cement and other medieval kinds of traps, it doesn’t capture your attention in a positive way. When Koh and the resistance join the fray, it does turn more into a solid rumble and that helps to rebuild the energy for it all while still keeping the focus on Logan and Yukio. The two have quite the goal ahead of them so seeing them inch closer in a tangible way is welcome, even if Kurohagi could be an ass and just put Mariko in a helicopter and fly out of there.
In Summary:
Wolverine continues to be a hard show to really rally behind on a number of levels. The story has a solid grounding but it’s the type that’s being drawn out in ways that don’t really engage. It feels like it’s being drawn out rather than well plotted, putting Logan into obvious delays rather than real story driven possibilities. The voice acting doesn’t help much either and the way the show lacks some solid tension that it needs is just another nail into that coffin. I love the character and the places he’s going, but it just hasn’t come together in a way to really make you want to watch it. It’s full of unrealized potential but just scratches at it lightly. I like some of what it does though and the characters involved, but just want it to be more than it is.
Content Grade: C
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
