THE WOLVERINE gets wrong what SPIDER-MAN 2 does right

The X-Men films are not without their flaws. Much of the dialogue is hokey. The CGI is questionable, and too many characters appear at once. It's difficult to focus on any one specific character. 

The Wolverine 2013

But James Mangold's 2013 THE WOLVERINE learns from those mistakes. 

THE WOLVERINE is a very compact, tight story. It has limited characters, and CGI only appears in the third act. 

But aside from the technical and plot issues, what THE WOLVERINE does exceptionally well is that it forces the Logan character to lose his healing factor to a certain degree. He still has it, though it is reduced in its power. Logan could always take multiple bullets and knives and whatever other superpower is used on him, and he would just shrug it off. 

Logan was unstoppable in prior movies. But as cool as that is, it's also a hindrance because there isn't any threat against him. He can do anything, and nobody can stop him.

The writers here strip away Logan's healing factor and force him to experience pain as it's normally felt by non-mutants.

However, I can't help but think they (the writers) missed the mark.

Having seen Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 2 countless times, I must compare THE WOLVERINE to it because it mimics the same plot. Sort of.

Just as Logan loses his ability to heal his wounds, Peter Parker loses his Spidey mojo, too. Peter's loss of his powers is related to his love story with Mary Jane. She has found another man of interest since the first film. She's moved on. But Peter hasn't. It's because of Peter's desire to have her as his love interest that affects his abilities as Spider-Man.

He actually embraces his loss of powers at one point. Because he disregards his Spidey requirements to fight crime, he excels in college and finds happiness. He even saves a kid from a burning building.

Spider-Man 2 2004

Of course, he chooses to be Spider-Man when Doctor Octopus kidnaps MJ. It's a very powerful scene because Peter makes the choice.

Logan doesn't have that in THE WOLVERINE.

When he loses his healing factor, he doesn't experience life differently. So, when he gets his powers back, it doesn't feel missed or earned. There wasn't any doubt that Logan would still want his immortality, which acts as a curse just as much as it is a gift. There isn't any doubt from the audience that, of course, Logan would save the day again.

That's my only gripe with the story. 

The writers could have made it more difficult for Logan to decide to want his powers back. They could have shown how much he enjoyed being with Mariko as a non-mutant, something he could only have if he stayed as a non-mutant. So, when the time comes for him to remove those bugs in him, it would have made for a much more powerful scene.