It's funny looking back now at reviews and comments saying James Mangold is a bad director, considering he went on to do Logan which the vast majority of X-Men fans love. I think now in hindsight you would say they problems with The Wolverine were with the script and not the director.
shareWell, this certainly didn’t get the terrible reception Origins - justifiably- got. In terms of Mangold’s talents as a director, well before The Wolverine Mangold’s most well-known and best films were Cop Land, 3:10 To Yuma, & Walk the Line. These were all very well-received films, especially the Johnny Cash bio. So while some saw The Wolverine as mediocre, I don’t think it gave Mangold a bad rap.
However, as with most directors and actors, Mangold has definitely had a couple of missteps in his career. But I dare argue his direction has rarely been the problem in his lesser work. Sure, his direction has been anything but top-tier in several of his movies, but more often than not it’s been the script (in particular those he didn’t have any input in) and other elements that truly let down some of the films he directed. And while I do appreciate this Wolverine sequel and think it showed a lot of promise, as far as I’m concerned the script is exactly what holds back The Wolverine. Good film overall, but not great.
At any rate, in my eyes Logan is easily Mangold’s greatest+most accomplished film. All the acclaimed it received was very well-earned. Mangold completely knocked it out of the park with that one.
I didn't consider this bad at all.
shareI think The Wolverine was great too
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