Hugh Jackman hangs up his claws in his last outing as the titular character in Logan (2017). The following review contains spoilers.
The Plot: The year is 2029 and almost all the mutants in the world have become extinct. The survivors are Wolverine, Professor Xavier and Caliban. But when Professor X gives a hint to Logan that a new mutant has emerged, it seems that there is still hope for their kind.
The Good: Firstly, the action is unparalleled by other superhero ventures. This Wolverine feature finally got an R-rating, and though it’s a bit equal to Deadpool in terms of blood spilling, the latter does not share the former’s serious level of gore.
We get a taste of what the overall action will be in the beginning. Logan is busy sleeping in his limousine when he’s awakened by the sound of a gang stealing his vehicle’s tires. He gets out of the car and badly mutilates almost all of them. This scene does two things: One, as I earlier mentioned, it allows us to see what’s in store for the razor-sharpened sequences. Two, we realize that Wolverine is not at his prime anymore. So, it was a smart move by the director to incorporate this scene at the starting point.Logan director James Mangold is also responsible for the previous Wolverine entry titled The Wolverine (2013). It’s been four years since the last one but it was well worth the wait. Whereas X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) was a popcorn flick that didn’t do justice at all to the titular character, The Wolverine was far superior, and I consider it one of the foremost X-Men movies.
Mangold continues his directorial brilliance with this farewell to the character. It doesn’t even look like a superhero movie. It’s more like that kind of film where the main character just wants to drink themselves to death. Still, the desert landscapes and casinos complement the desolation of Wolverine and what’s left of the mutants. In previous X-Men films we saw hope with the inclusion of the X-Mansion. But here the cinematography by John Mathieson is depressingly perfect. There is no better way to showcase a dystopian world in terms of a comic-book adaptation better than Logan.
The movie is based on the graphic novel Old Man Logan written by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven. And though there are many differences between the comic book’s plot and the film’s storyline, screenwriters Scott Frank and Michael Green did a top-notch job in the writing department. Mangold is also credited with the story idea for this exhibition. <br />
The second-best aspect of Logan is undoubtedly the acting. Hugh Jackman deserves another Oscar nod for his portrayal of one of Marvel Comics’ greatest anti-heroes. After 17 years of portraying Wolverine, he didn’t let fans down with his ultimate enactment. In my opinion, this was his all-time best movie performance. The make-up and costume design of all the individuals added to the depth of the cinematography. Logan is just a shadow of what he once was in the previous outings. Here, his hair and beard have a hint of gray and his body is badly scarred, and not healing as well as it used to.
Even Patrick Stewart’s Professor Xavier is looking his worst. And so is their associate Caliban. Hopelessness is the primary theme of Logan and it’s translated so well onto the screen you simply feel like crying. Jackman did his best as Logan whether at moments of joy, sadness or his berserk rage, the thespian gave it his all. Wolverine is my second-favorite comic-book hero with Superman being the first. And to see my sophomore-prized individual portrayed so well gave me tears of joy. The ending of the movie is the most emotional one yet for a superhero picture.
Boyd Holbrook, who was dull and bland in Netflix’s Narcos as DEA Agent Steve Murphy, is menacingly on-point as the villain Donald Pierce. Richard E. Grant and Stephen Merchant also gave excellent performances as Doctor Rice and Caliban respectively. What I didn’t expect was such awesome acting by the newbie to the franchise, Dafne Keen, who played Laura AKA X-23. She was as wonderful as Jackman and Stewart and I hope to see her in upcoming ventures.
I could also say that Logan is more of a character-based movie than a narrative one. Sure, there are many twists in the plot as the movie progresses, but our attention is always focused on the road-trip trio. You want to know what will happen to these three primary characters and that suspense is what drives the plot forward. I’ve been an X-Men fan since I was nine years old and this was an emotional rollercoaster of an action flick for me.
Praise must be given again to the fight sequences. The most thrilling of which were those between Wolverine and X-24. I have to say I didn’t see a new Wolverine clone being introduced in the movie. That part where the clone stabs Professor X made me jump in my seat. And Wolverine’s emotional outburst after burying his mentor is one of the most sentimental sequences depicted on celluloid.
The Bad: Logan is not without its flaws. There were two main faults: The slow pacing and unexplained events. The former can be forgiven as the gradual pacing does suit the narrative at times, yet at other moments, the movie becomes tediously sluggish. Still, it’s a farewell flick, and it wasn’t meant to be fast paced.
In case of the following point, there were no flashbacks to depict the backstory. This issue is resolved by dialogues stating that one of Professor Xavier’s seizures caused seven mutant deaths at Westchester where the X-Mansion is located. And later on Doctor Rice reveals that he wiped out mutantkind by a virus the Transigen Project created to curb the mutant population and create their own mutants as weapons. Still, those new to the series might not be able to grasp the pre-narrative events until halfway into the running time.
The Verdict: Logan is a must-watch for comic-book fans and non-enthusiasts alike. It’s distinct from the typical comic-book adaptations, and its R rating only adds to its uniqueness. It isn’t the finest X-Men installment, that honor belongs to Deadpool, but it surely is the penultimate-best one to date.
