Hands down, this is the best X-Men or X-men related film that has been made to date and unquestionably, the Wolverine movie, we’ve all been waiting for. Feeling more like a western rather than a comic book adaptation, film director James Mangold (The Wolverine, 3:10 To Yuma, Copland), brings us a visceral, violent, emotional and arguably, the most ambitious one since Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy.
The movie truly elevates the superhero genre to new heights—and along with Deadpool, could set off a chain reaction of R-rated superhero movies being flooded into theaters. That strategy would probably work with certain comic book characters; however, I think the PG-13 rating should remain the sweet spot for movie studios. With that being said, let’s get to the good stuff.
Before you venture on, I want to forewarn you that if you haven’t seen the movie yet and wish to see it with a completely fresh perspective, I’d stop here… there are some minor spoilers ahead.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
Here’s a quick breakdown of the story. In Logan, we discover that Wolverine’s healing powers are fading and the admantium—a fictional metallic alloy that was infused into his skeletal system, which allows him to have weaponized claws, is poisoning his body. Older and in constant pain, he’s also one of the few remaining mutants alive. I think the absolute horror of Wolverine’s dilemma is that he’s struggling to coming to grips that his powers will eventually kill him at his old age. Hugh Jackman saved his best for last—portraying a darker, gloomier version of the character that possesses the iconic stubbornness and badassery that X-Men fans remember from the past… or “future’s past,” sort of speak.
The other standout of the movie is scene-stealing Dafne Keen as Laura (or X-23 to the comic book zealots). Despite her character being mostly silent (with moments of enraged screaming) throughout the movie, I thought she was cast perfectly in her role. She also provided a great sense of realism in the gory action scenes and as well emotional touch, which was an integral part of the story.
No surprise here—Patrick Stewart puts forth another great performance as Professor X, lending lots of heart, and a surprising quantity of humor, that balances out the overall grim nature of the film. It is highly likely that this is Stewart’s final performance as Sir Charles Xavier, which was quite a different portrayal of the character from the one we’ve all grown used to seeing.
I don’t want to say much about the villains of the movie, but I found them to be relatively vague; not that it’s necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps, James Mangold kept things this way so that the movie wouldn’t deviate from too far from the main plot. I’d have to say that I found Boyd Holbrook (Narcos) to be entertaining and slyly charismatic—somewhat reminding me of Ben Foster’s character from 3:10 To Yuma. Overall, the movie had a unique atmosphere and takes it’s time, while giving the supporting characters moments to shine. The sudden and hyper-violent action scenes worked brilliantly for the storyline… it never seemed forced or out of context.
As I touched upon earlier, the movie is filled with heartache, pain and loss, which is all set in a bleak and sparse future. With 17 years of Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart donning their respective X-Men characters, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the movie is a big love letter to Logan and the X-Men films in general. It’s also a terrific sendoff to characters we followed for a long time, while opening up new possibilities for the X-Men franchise. Similar to last year’s Deadpool, Logan breaks away from conventional methods and vastly succeeds at doing so. Go see Logan now. 9/10.
What did you think of the movie? Which direction should the X-Men franchise go next? Let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by everyone!
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Logan Official Trailer:
The Perennial Aesthete 
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