The Wolverine

Inciting Event: Logan is summoned to Japan to say goodbye to the dying Yashida, a Japanese soldier he met and whose life he saved while he was a POW during World War II.

First Plot Point: Yashida’s granddaughter Mariko is kidnapped at his funeral. Yashida’s death is all a part of this same series of scenes, but it’s Mariko’s kidnapping that pulls Logan into the conflict.

First Pinch Point: Logan realizes he’s losing his ability to heal. The core theme of this story is life and death—and immortality. The possibility that Logan himself might become mortal is the overall antagonistic force, which is emphasized here.

Midpoint: Mariko is kidnapped again. By now, Logan is personally invested in Mariko and what happens to her. This time he’s not just reacting to the event of her kidnapping, but deliberately taking action to protect something he cares about.

Second Pinch Point: Logan discovers a spider poisoning his heart. Again, the pinch point hammers home the stakes now that Logan has lost his immortality—and he seems to die.

Third Plot Point: Logan is shot with poisoned arrows and kidnapped. This isn’t a bad Third Plot Point, but neither is it a stellar one. Obvious physical stakes notwithstanding, this scene is all about the plot and doesn’t offer much soul-wrenching from the character’s deepest inner self.

Climax: Yoshida reveals himself as the adamantium samurai fighting Logan. This final turning point reveals the true face of the antagonistic force Logan has been fighting all along.

Climactic Moment: Mariko kills her grandfather.

Resolution: Logan comes to peace with his demons and leaves Japan, while Mariko takes over her family’s company.

Notes: This isn’t a stellar movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it works because all its pieces are in the right places. It would have worked much better if those pieces had been more character-driven instead of focused mostly on the surface conflict of the plot.

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